New Geneva-Based Team Leads Voting Rights Discussions at the Human Rights Committee

Santiago Ruiz Pérez, Geneva-based staff member at the Centre, at the Review of Ecuador / CCPR-Centre

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Centre is pleased to announce the expansion of our team beyond the Americas and into Geneva, Switzerland. In light of our recent efforts to spotlight participation in civic processes at a global scale, our new team will regularly engage in research and advocacy at the United Nations.  

American-based staff will work in partnership with our Geneva-based staff to analyse human rights situations as it concerns voting rights. These new additions enable our global advocacy to expand, as we continue championing discussions on voting rights across multiple areas of international law. The Centre is delighted to welcome our new colleagues: Alejandra Lassaletta; Santiago Ruiz Pérez, Julie Loustaunau; Iren Neeranzona Khan; and Till Zumstein. Combined, they will bring nine new languages to the Centre across 13 nationalities. 

Most recently, the Geneva-based team helped author and present State reports for the 142nd Session of the Human Rights Committee, advocating for recommendations relating to voter participation in Ecuador, France, Pakistan, and Turkey. The Centre was pleased to see the Committee take several measures to address voter issues in its dialogues and recommendations.

For Pakistan, a large portion the Centre’s report highlighted how civic education could serve as a tool to empower female representation in decision-making positions. As a result of our contribution, the Committee recommended Pakistan to take “measures to guarantee de facto equality between men and women, including combating patriarchal attitudes and intensifying civic education efforts directed at empowering women in the civic process”.

In France’s contribution, the Centre illuminated the lack of political representation for the Kanak persons in New Caledonia, undermining their rights to self-determination under Article 1 of the Covenant. Following our intervention, the Committee emphasised the “importance of adhering to the Nouméa Accord, ensuring the indigenous population's full participation in decisions related to self-determination”.  

The Committee’s recommendations highlight the Centre’s impact in Geneva: written contributions and dialogue interventions ensure human rights experts have a clear perspective about civic participation across numerous contexts. These contributions ensure States have actionable aims to achieve, ultimately enshrining core principles of representation under international law. 

Read our Article 25 contributions to the 142nd Session of the Human Rights Committee here: https://www.cvia.ch/human-rights-reports.