46th Plenary Meeting of the Portuguese National Human Rights Committee – PNHRC

The 46th Plenary Meeting of the National Human Rights Committee took place on 16 April at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ana Isabel Xavier, this session brought together Secretaries of State from the governmental areas represented in the Committee.

The Chair of the PNHRC recalled the interministerial nature of this mechanism and highlighted its main achievements over recent years, namely its international recognition and national leadership in the agenda of National Mechanisms for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up (NMIRFs). To illustrate the practical implementation of this work, Secretary of State Ana Isabel Xavier also presented the 2026 international calendar of human rights commitments within the framework of the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

Other issues addressed were the ongoing work in the field of implementation, reporting and follow-up including the preparation of the mid-term report of the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review and the usage of the UN digital tool for tracking and reporting commitments.

At the thematic level, particular emphasis was placed on the recent approval of the IV National Action Plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security (2026-2030), highlighting the importance of its implementation.