In its resolution 18/6, the Human Rights Council established the mandate of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order and requested the Independent Expert to report annually to the Council and the General Assembly. The mandate of the Independent Expert, and the Council’s request for annual reporting to both bodies, was most recently renewed by Council resolution 36/4.
The Human Rights Council, at its thirty-seventh session, appointed Livingstone Sewanyana as the second holder of the mandate of Independent Expert. He formally took up his role on 1 May 2018.
In his first report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/39/47), drafted in the brief period after he assumed his function, the Independent Expert sets out preliminary views and presents his approach to the mandate. In addition to proposing priority issues to be covered during his tenure, the Independent Expert seeks input on highlighted topics, identifies stakeholders with whom he plans to cooperate and outlines his intended methods of work.
Given the brief period since his appointment and the timing of the reporting cycle, the Independent Expert intends for his report to the Human Rights Council to also be a submission to the General Assembly. The Secretariat therefore has the honour to refer the Assembly to that report.