CCIG recently offered trainings on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism to a group of about 30 local actors in Kenya in partnership with Fastenaktion. The trainings took place online on April 26 and May 3, 2024.

During the first session, CCIG Secretary General Maria D’Onofrio provided a thorough explanation of the UPR process and opportunities for civil society participation. Training participants learned how NGOs can be involved in each stage of the cycle, including through submitting a UPR stakeholders’ submission, lobbying Member States to put forth priority recommendations, taking the floor during the adoption of the Working Group Report, and monitoring state implementation of accepted recommendations.

The second session focused on the process of drafting a UPR submission. Maria began her intervention by helping participants analyze how recommendations made in the previous Working Group Report of Kenya related to key areas of concern for the group, including access to food and social services and the rights of indigenous peoples and other minority groups. She then walked the participants through the process of drafting the text step-by-step, from identifying human rights issues and conducting research to writing and publishing. Participants had the opportunity not only to ask questions, but to share their ideas and concerns regarding writing a UPR submission and to begin to coordinate the process among themselves.

The training sessions were offered by CCIG as part of its UPR Platform to promote the human rights work of NGOs by providing them with the tools needed to effectively contribute to UPR cycles. Through the trainings, local human rights actors gained detailed knowledge of the UPR process, empowering them to use the mechanism in their own human rights work.