INTRODUCTION The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) was established in 2006 to promote and protect human rights across the globe. A mechanism known as the Universal Periodic Review was created by the HRC as a tool to assess each member states human rights situation. This essay will look at the UPRs first cycle across several member states, analysing effectiveness of the mechanism if any at all. TOPIC 1: Historical Context It can be said the body of Human Rights was first identified in the early eighteenth century, drawn up in response to the experiences of the Second World War. Post war seen the formation of a global organisation known as the United Nations, whose aim was never to let such brutality and conflict happen again. Its members believed that the individual rights of human beings were ˜absolute and inherent'. World leaders came together in a General Assembly in January of 1946 where a drafted declaration of fundamental human rights was received from the Economic and Social Council. This was the first of its kind. It was at the second General Assembly in 1947 that the Commission coined the term ˜'International Bill of Rights'' and applied it to a declaration and a covenant, together with processes of application. On the 10th December 1948 the General Assembly implemented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with 48 of a panel of 56 in its favour. This body of world leaders compiled a document containing 30 articles defining basic human rights which we now know as ˜The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 28 (civil and political rights) of the declaration states: ˜There shall be an established Human Rights Committee ¦ It shall consist of eighteen members and shall carry out the functions hereinafter provided'. Years of dissatisfaction of the Human Rights Commission resulted in the UN in 2006 created a new institution namely the Human Rights Council. It was here that the Human Rights Council established and implemented the Universal Periodic Review. The Universal Periodic Review also known as the UPR is a process whereby all 193 UN member states human rights records are reviewed periodically, every four years. It was established in a New York negotiations process by the General Assembly 60/251 on 15 March 2006 and implemented as part of the Human Rights Council in order to ensure equal treatment for all countries; this system is the first of its kind to exist. The establishment of this review was to enable all states to put forth ideas and actions they have developed to try and improve the rights of all of mankind in their countries. A sharing of the best human rights practices across the world is also part of the UPR. The formation of this mechanism has been approved and welcomed across the world, being described by one state as ˜an undertaking imbued with a shift from the former Commission's policies and practice of shaming to a new consensual and cooperative model of human rights evaluation'. TOPIC 2: What is UPR? How it Works and its Functions The UPR, as previously mentioned, was established as a mechanism to improve the human rights situation around the world, working from the ground up to help uphold the protection of human rights for all people in all countries across the globe, addressing violations as they arise. It addresses a broad range of human rights issues such as racial discrimination, rights of the woman, traveller rights, people with disabilities and people facing poverty. The review is based upon but not exhaustive to the International Bill of Rights and regardless of the Treaties the state under review (SuR) has ratified it incorporates whole spectrum of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 47 members of the Council are part of a group known as the UPR Working Group; it is within this group that the review takes place. The review compromises of three key elements: firstly a report drawn up by the SuR, a collection of information arranged by the OHCHR which details reports on various treaty bodies and other significant UN bodies. Lastly, information is submitted by other stakeholders such as human rights institutions and NGOs and summarised into a report written by the OHCHR. Troikas were set up to assist in the reviews of every state; these were groups that consisted of three of its member states. The General Assembly nominates the troikas for each state after elections for the Council Membership. All UN Member States were reviewed in what has come to be known as the first cycle from 2007-2011. A second cycle started in May 2012; 42 States will be reviewed each year. Each review takes place in Geneva during the meetings of the UPR Working Group. The UPR Working group meets with the SuR and other UN member states to talk about the review in a three and a half hour long discussion. During this meeting any of the UN member states can make recommendations and ask questions to the SuR. The troika then prepares a concluding summar