Created in 2008, the Universal Periodic Review or UPR is a mechanism created by the UN Human Rights Council which is a review human rights record of UN member States every 4.5 years. This process allows for a review of all human rights instruments that a state is signatory to. The result of each review is reflected in an outcome report listing the recommendations the State under review will have to implement before the next review.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “the UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations.” It also is a process in which civil society, via NGOs, can submit information on the human rights situation in the country, such as with other parallel reporting processes, as well as through monitoring state commitments to human rights obligations.

Information on past and upcoming reviews, as well as the UPR process can be found here: http://www.upr-info.org/