Barriers and Importance of Civil Society Engagement in the Universal Periodic Review: A Case Study of the United States by Melisa Oleschuk

07 November 2023, 5-6pm. Click here to join the session. 

This seminar is co-hosted by the College of Law, Social & Criminal Justice Research Seminar Series and the Centre for Human Rights. Our series offers exciting insights into ongoing research projects within the law school and conducted by our external research partners. We often feature work from our research centres. Join us for invigorating discussion!

In this session, we hear from Melisa Oleschuk. Melisa is a postgraduate researcher entering the third year of her PhD at BCU. She is funded by an AHRC Midlands4Cities studentship. Her research focuses on the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its potential for more effective use by civil society organisations (CSOs) to communicate human rights standards both domestically and internationally. Her research considers fundamental human rights principles and established theoretical CSO practice models. The anticipated outcome of her project is the development of a model for CSOs to advocate for targeted, accessible, and human rights-aligned law reform using the UPR.

Outside of her research, she is engaged in several extra-curriculars, including as a co-author on a prestigious BA Leverhulme funded project examining the role of CSOs in the implementation of UPR recommendations with Dr Alice Storey, and as a research assistant on a cross-institutional project aiming to improve postgraduate student experience for global majority students. Melisa recently completed a two-week graduate study programme at the United Nations in Geneva, chosen among 50 candidates from a pool of over 800 applicants worldwide, and is currently awaiting the outcome of an intensive selection process to participate in a two-year programme on nuclear disarmament in Japan.

Beyond her research, she has several interests including the rights of women and children, disarmament, the protection of human rights defenders and emerging topics such as environmental and AI-related human rights issues.

In this session, Melisa will give the following presentation, followed by an interactive Q&A:

Title: Barriers and Importance of Civil Society Engagement in the Universal Periodic Review: A Case Study of the United States

Abstract:

This presentation is dedicated to the exploration of the crucial role of civil society participation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with a specific focus on the reform of the criminal justice system in the United States (US). Although civil society organisations (CSOs) are unable to directly participate in the review process, they possess the capacity to shape and influence it, ultimately impacting the final Working Group report.

Throughout the presentation, I will delve into the challenges faced by US-based CSOs due to a political climate that exhibits limited interest in incorporating international human rights standards at the domestic level, often influenced by the concept of American Exceptionalism. This presentation underscores the importance of CSO involvement in the UPR, particularly in the context of advocating for criminal justice reform in the US, and provides insights based on the data collected in my thesis so far.

Despite the challenges encountered, the UPR represents a significant avenue for CSOs to raise awareness about human rights issues within their respective domains and to hold the government accountable for its international legal obligations, rules, and standards. I contend that a well-planned strategy for utilising the UPR process can serve as a catalyst for policy reform.

This seminar has now concluded but it is available on demand. If you find that you do not have access, you can email the research seminar series leader at mitchell.longan@bcu.ac.uk in order to gain access.