Prof. Changrok Soh Participated in the 145th Session of the UN Human Rights Committee (2 to 19 March 2026)
Professor Changrok Soh, the first South Korean elected Chair of the UN Human Rights Committee, has served on the Committee since 2021 and participated in its 145th session. An overview of the session is provided below, based on materials published by the NGO Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR Centre).
State reviews of five countries, including the first ever review of Andorra
The session opened with a tribute to former Committee member Ms. Marcia Kran following her passing. Ms. Kran served on the Committee for eight years and was widely recognized as a key bridge-builder in advancing human rights. She also served as Special Rapporteur on Follow-up to Concluding Observations and worked closely with the CCPR-Centre for several years. During the review of her home country, Canada, her contributions were also mentioned repeatedly.
The Committee conducted five reviews of periodic reports and adopted Concluding observations on the first periodic report of Andorra, the seventh periodic report of Canada, the fifth periodic report of Slovakia, the third periodic report of Chad, and the fourth Periodic report of the Republic of Moldova.
The Committee also adopted the List of Issues of Rwanda and the List of Issues prior to Reporting of Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Hungary, Mexico, and Senegal in total, the Centre facilitated the engagement of 115 Human Rights Defenders with the Committee, including several who participated remotely. Three CSO briefings were organized by the Centre in addition to the two formal briefings organized by the Secretariat.
In addition to this, the Committee adopted three Follow-up reports on Concluding observations, one for Botswana, Cambodia, and Ukraine.
Decisions adopted on Individual communications
The Committee adopted 45 decisions, 34 were decided on the merits, 11 cases were declared inadmissible, and 20 communications were discontinued.
Regarding the cases which were decided on the merits, the Committee found: 34 violations
Moreover, a Follow-up report on Views was also implemented. It was the first one since 2024.