A/HRC/13/44 Annex III Draft notes on the Fifth Conference of the Arab National Human Rights Institutions on “Elections in the Arab World and their Impact on Human Rights”, Amman, Jordan, 8–9 March 2009 Background Under the patronage of H.E. Nader al-Dahabi, the Prime Minister of Jordan, a twoday conference on the impact of elections on human rights in the Arab world was organized by the National Center for Human Rights of Jordan (NCHRJ) in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Amman, Jordan, from 8 to 9 March 2009. The Conference marked the fifth annual meeting of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from the Arab Region. Between 70 and 80 participants attended the sessions on both days, amongst whom were representatives of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia;4 representatives of the countries which do not have NHRIs, such as Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, nongovernmental organizations from Jordan, Iraq and Bahrain, United Nations agencies such as OHCHR, UNESCO and UNDP, as well as international organizations such as the National Democratic Institute (NDI), amongst many others. The Conference was opened with remarks from His Excellency Dr. Adnan Badran, President of the Board of Trustees of the NCHRJ, Mr. Gianni Magazzeni, OHCHR Coordinator of the National Institutions Unit, and His Excellency Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, President of the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt. The opening session was attended by the Jordanian Prime Minister, H.E. Nader al-Dahabi. Working sessions and discussion The Conference was organized into seven working sessions, including a postConference event on Israeli violations of human rights in Gaza presented by the Independent Commission for Human Rights of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Each session was dedicated to a particular topic related to the protection of human rights at times of elections. While the first day explored a wide range of themes on elections and human rights including international standards pertaining to the organization and conduct of free and fair elections, the second day focused more specifically on the role of NHRIs in promoting free and fair elections. Each session began with presentations of one to three speakers on the given topic. Sufficient time was allocated at the end of the presentations for general discussion, questions and comments. The speakers included members of NHRIs, independent researchers, and international electoral experts. 4 26 These institutions have both varying records of cooperation with United Nations human rights machinery and different levels of compliance with the international standards relating to national human rights institutions (“the Paris Principles”). GE.10-10269