Giving birth to the Human Rights Council (HRC) in 2006 via its Resolution 60/251, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) already determined to review the functions and the work of the HRC after five years, that is, in 2011. The review process had already started in October 2009, when the Human Rights Council established an open-ended intergovernmental Working Group on the review of the work and functioning of the HRC at its 12th session. The first HRC Working Group started 25-29 October 2010, which marked the formal launch of the review process in Geneva. A second Working Group meeting is scheduled for January 2011.
This report constitutes the summary of the conference outcome and presents the recommendations developed on the five general themes. The present paper is an attempt by the author to capture the collective wisdom expressed during the Berlin meeting, to which all participants effectively contributed. The recommendations do not pretend to be comprehensive but reflect the key issues arising in the discussions.
