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Welcome to Freedom of Thought, the podcast by Humanists International.

This week the roles reverse. Instead of interviewing a guest, Leon Langdon becomes the policymaker explaining how Humanists International works inside the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Leon walks through how the Council functions, why the Universal Periodic Review matters, and what actually happens during a typical session, from negotiating resolutions and delivering statements to meeting diplomats and civil society partners. The episode also explores the growing pressures on the UN system and why civil society organisations remain essential to documenting abuses and defending universal human rights.

In this episode we cover

• What the UN Human Rights Council is and how it works
• Why the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) holds every state to account
• The role of Special Rapporteurs and independent human rights experts
• How Humanists International supports members engaging the UN
• Freedom of religion or belief debates at the Council
• What actually happens during a Human Rights Council session in Geneva

Further reading and references

• UN Human Rights Council overview: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/about-council
• Universal Periodic Review explained: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/upr-home
• Special Rapporteurs and UN Special Procedures: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures-human-rights-council
• Freedom of religion or belief mandate: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-religion-or-belief
• Freedom of Thought Report: https://humanists.international/what-we-do/freedom-of-thought-report/

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This podcast is produced by Humanise Live.

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🎶Music: Horizon by Simon Folwar

Podcast transcripts are AI-generated and may contain errors or omissions. They are provided to make our content more accessible, but should not be considered a fully accurate record of the conversation.