APPLICATION DEADLINE: 17 OCTOBER 2019 AT 12:00 noon GREENWICH MEAN TIME

The application process consists of two compulsory parts:
(1) online survey (https://ohchr-survey.unog.ch/index.php/283689)

and
(2) application form in Word format (to be downloaded from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SP/Pages/HRC43.aspx)

Once fully completed, the Word application form should be submitted by email to hrcspecialprocedures@ohchr.org

A maximum of up to three optional reference letters may be attached to the email (in Word or pdf format).

No additional documents (e.g. CVs, resumes or supplementary reference letters) will be accepted.

Applicants will receive an acknowledgment email when both parts of the application process, i.e. the data submitted through the online survey and the Word application form, have been received by the Secretariat. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed at a later stage.

Please note that an application will only be considered if both parts and all sections of the Word application form have been completed and received by the Secretariat before the expiration of the deadline. No incomplete or late applications will be accepted.

General description of the selection process and answers to frequently asked questions are available at https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SP/Pages/Nominations.aspx and https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SP/Pages/BasicInformationSelectionIndependentExperts.aspx

In case of technical difficulties or problems with accessing or completing the forms, you may contact the Secretariat by email (hrcspecialprocedures@ohchr.org) or fax (+41 22 917 9008).

I. PERSONAL DATA

1. Family (last) name: KOTHARI	5. Year of birth: 1956
2. First (given) name: MILOON	6. Place of birth: MUMBAI, INDIA
3. Other name, if any:	7. Nationality (please indicate the nationality that will appear on the public list of candidates): INDIAN
4. Gender: MALE	8. Any other nationality:

II. MANDATE-SPECIFIC COMPETENCE / QUALIFICATIONS / KNOWLEDGE

NOTE: Please describe why the candidate’s competence / qualifications / knowledge is relevant in relation to the specific mandate:

QUALIFICATIONS (200 words)

Relevant educational qualifications or equivalent professional experience in the field of human rights; good communication skills (i.e. orally and in writing) in one of the six official languages of the United Nations (i.e. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish.)

I have been working in the field of human rights since 1986 in various capacties:

- As Coordinator of the Habitat International Coalition's Housing and Land Rights Network; as Coordinator of the International NGO Committee on Human Rights in Trade and Investment (INCHRITI); as UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing (2000-2008); as Convener of the Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR); as Dr. Martin Luther King Visiting Scholar and Lecturer at the Massachusettes Institute of Technology's (MIT) Program on Human Rights and Justice and most recently in Independent practice on human rights and social policy. I am also actively involved in work across the world on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as President of UPR Info and as a trainer on the UPR.

RELEVANT EXPERTISE (200 words)

Knowledge of international human rights instruments, norms and principles. (Please state how this was acquired.)

Knowledge of institutional mandates related to the United Nations or other international or regional organizations’ work in the area of human rights. (Please state how this was acquired.)

Proven work experience in the field of human rights. (Please state years of experience.)

I have extensive knowledge of the international human rights system first as NGO representative in Geneva (1991-1998); as UN Special Rapporteur (2000-2008); as Asian Regional repesentative for the Housing and Land Rights Network (1998-2003); as Convener of the Working Group on Human Rights and the UN (WGHR) (2009-2013): as Visiting Scholar and Lecturer on the International Human Rights System at MIT (2013-2015; as President of UPR Info since 2015 and in my current capacity as independent expert on human rights and social policy.

ESTABLISHED COMPETENCE (200 words)

Nationally, regionally or internationally recognized competence related to human rights. (Please explain how such competence was acquired.)

Please see above. This work has included extensive capacity-building, research, fact-finding and teaching experience in a range of human rights issues. I also have extensive national, regional and international experince on detailed work on national situations, including as Principle Trainer, on the UN Human Rights System, with National Human Rights Institutions, civil society groups, governments and UN agencies. During the course of my career I have also developed competence in the implementation of human rights standards and offerring constructive advise to governments on the adoption of human rights strategies into social planning and policy. Through my research and training work, I have also acquired competence in linking the provisions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) and climate change imperatives with obligations arising from the international human rights instruments.

The extensive work in different capacities led, in 2017, to my being bestowed with a Doctor of Laws (LL.D) honoris causa, from the Simon Fraser University. The citation for the degree is available at: http://www.sfu.ca/content/dam/sfu/convocation/hdr/honorary-degrees/2017%20Citation%20Final%20-%20For%20Web%20-%20Millon%20Kothari.pdf

PUBLICATIONS OR PUBLIC STATEMENTS

Please list significant and relevant published books, articles, journals and reports that you have written or public statements, or pronouncements that you have made or events that you may have participated in relation to the mandate.

Enter three publications in relation to the mandate for which you are applying in the order of relevance:

1. Title of publication: 'Human Rights' in PLURIVERSE: A Post-Development Dictionary,

Journal/Publisher: Authorsupfront and Tulika Books

Date of publication: 2019

Web link, if available: https://degrowth.org/2018/04/14/new-book-pluriverse-a-post-development-dictionary/

2. Title of publication: ESC rights: The need for a courageous, uncompromising approach

Journal/Publisher: The Human Rights Council @ 10. Special Edition, ISHR Human Rights Monitor.

Date of publication: June 2016

Web link, if available: http://www.ishr.ch/news/esc-rights-need-courageous-uncompromising-approach

3. Title of publication: The Global Crisis of Displacement and Evictions: A Housing and Land Rights Response

Journal/Publisher: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung

Date of publication: December 2015

Web link, if available: http://www.rosalux-nyc.org/the-global-crisis-of-displacement-and-evictions/

If more than three publications, kindly summarize (200 words): Over the past 30 years, I have published over 70 books, articles, book chapters, opinion pieces and blogs in my name and have made significant contributions to numerous publications with a range of organisations. The persistence of poverty in the world and its impact, as well as solutions to the crisis, are a consistent theme in the vast majority of these publications. I continue to conduct research and write on the poverty theme. I have just completed a chapter, for example, titled 'Adressing Poverty at its Base: The Housing and Land Rights Approach' for the forthcoming research handbook on human rights and poverty to be published in 2020 by Edgar Elgar Publishers.

Enter three public statements or pronouncements made or events that you may have participated in relation to the mandate for which you are applying in the order of relevance:

1. Platform/occasion/event on which public statement/pronouncement made: Conference on the Connectivity of Human Rights Mechanisms

Event organizer: The Geneva Human Rights Platform

Date on which public statement/pronouncement made: 3 June, 2019

Web link, if available: https://www.geneva-academy.ch/joomlatools-files/docman-files/First%20Annual%20Conference%20of%20the%20Geneva%20Human%20Rights%20Platform%20-%20agenda%20-%2029.05.2019.pdf

2. Platform/occasion/event on which public statement/pronouncement made: Confering of Honorary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Event organizer: Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada

Date on which public statement/pronouncement made: 9 June, 2017

Web link, if available: http://www.sfu.ca/content/dam/sfu/convocation/hdr/honorary-degrees/2017%20Citation%20-%20Miloon%20Kothari.pdf

3. Platform/occasion/event on which public statement/pronouncement made: Panel discussion on Support to National Follow-up Systems & Processes

Event organizer: UN Human Rights Council - Intersessional Meeting

Date on which public statement/pronouncement made: 9 November 2016

Web link, if available: http://webtv.un.org/watch/panel-discussion-on-international-cooperation-intersessional-meeting-of-human-rights-council/5202313863001

If more than three, kindly summarize (200 words): I am a regular speaker on human rights at academic institutions and as keynote speaker at workshops and conferences across the world. A common thread that runs through my statements at these events is the reality that people in poverty confront. See, for example, my keynote address on 'The realisation of human rights in India' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZEFm4VX0tI&t=1000s

flexibility/readiness and AVAILABILITY of time (200 words)

to perform effectively the functions of the mandate and to respond to its requirements, including participating in Human Rights Council (HRC) sessions in Geneva and General Assembly sessions in New York, travelling on special procedures visits, drafting reports and engaging with a variety of stakeholders. Kindly indicate whether the candidate can dedicate an estimated total of approximately three months per year to the work of a mandate.

Please note that the work of mandate holders is unpaid. Those appointed as mandate holders serve in their personal capacities. They are not United Nations staff members, they are not based in United Nations offices in Geneva or at another United Nations location, and they do not receive salary or other financial compensation, except for travel expenses and daily subsistence allowance of “experts on mission”.

Yes I can dedicate significantly more than three months of my time for the mandate. In the remaining time I will also be working, in an independent capacity, on training, teaching and field work with groups living in povert and the institutions that support them. These activities include training on the UN human rights system, researching and contributing to solutions to emerge out of poverty including through the building of synergies amongst governments, independent institutions, the private sector and civil society.

III. Motivation Letter
(600 word limit, must be included below and not in a separate email or as an attachment)

The upliftment and empowerment of people and communities living in poverty have been at the heart of my thirty-year career in human rights.

In various capacities, as independent consultant and trainer, civil society leader, academic scholar and teacher and as UN Special Rapporteur, I have striven to promote what I consider to be a fundamental tenet of human rights - concern for the most vulnerable first. During experience gained through extensive work at the grassroots level, with civil society, as an academic and as a global trainer on human rights, the human rights of those living in poverty have been my primary concern. My direct work with those living in poverty - as a trainer, researcher relying on primary data collection, as a civil society leader and participant in numerous fact-finding missions and member of juries of public hearings and tribunals – has given me deep insights into the layers of obstacles faced by those living in poverty to claim their human rights.

The experience gained as Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing and subsequent work on land and displacement related issues, has contributed to my being able to understand the bundle of human rights that those experiencing poverty have to confront. The people and communities living in poverty are daily confronted with obstacles to claim their rights to health, housing, livelihood, food and so forth. My longstanding experience of having worked with these communities, including developing through their direct participation, strategies to implement human rights, can be of benefit to the Extreme Poverty mandate as.

During my work with the homeless in India as well, I have contributed in developing collaboration with institutions of justice and administrations of governments at the different levels to create a series of good practices to solve various human rights issues that the homeless faced.

I have had a longstanding interest (including the three reports I prepared for the UN Commission on Human Rights) on women’s human rights, especially the rights related to land, housing and displacement. The standards I developed during my tenure as Special Rapporteur, including the Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Displacement and Evictions, also reflect a strong gender perspective. My work, spanning several decades, with homeless and displaced women, enables me to bring a rigorous gender perspective to the work of the Extreme Poverty mandate.

I am keen to build on the excellent work carried out by previous holders of the mandate. I am confident that I can bring a new dimension to the mandate based on the many years of experience as a human rights trainer and urban and regional planner. Studies on the poverty dimensions of income disparity and inequality, have rarely focused on where the poor live and whether the disparity of income is also a reflection of disparity of location. The physical segregation and ghettoization that those living in poverty is being exacerbated by rapid urbanisation but also the agrarian crisis A morphological approach to the study of poverty, why apartheid cities are being created across the word, for example, would lend a different but critical dimension to studies on poverty.

It is critical that the spatial, morphological dimensions of poverty are studied and used as a basis for the solutions that are necessary. If the morphological approach is adopted, then it would also require an inter-disciplinary approach drawing on the disciplines of human rights; geography; planning; environment; sociology and political science.

My work has also involved developing methodologies and tools to track implementation of international human rights obligations of States, including through the use of the UPR and the links to the SDG’s and climate imperatives. This experience will be of immense benefit as it will inform my activities in the extreme poverty mandate to direct the UN human rights system, and indeed all relevant UN institutions, towards seeking solutions for those living in poverty.

IV. LANGUAGES (READ / WRITTEN / SPOKEN)

Please indicate all language skills below.

1. Mother tongue: Gujarati

2. Knowledge of the official languages of the United Nations:

Arabic: Yes or no: If yes,

Read: Easily or Not easily:
Write: Easily or Not easily:
Speak: Easily or Not easily:

Chinese: Yes or no: If yes,

Read: Easily or not easily:
Write: Easily or not easily:
Speak: Easily or not easily:

English: Yes or no: YES If yes,

Read: Easily or not easily: EASILY
Write: Easily or not easily: EASILY
Speak: Easily or not easily: EASILY

French: Yes or no: YES If yes,

Read: Easily or not easily: EASILY
Write: Easily or not easily: NOT EASILY
Speak: Easily or not easily: NOT EASILY

Russian: Yes or no: If yes,

Read: Easily or not easily:
Write: Easily or not easily:
Speak: Easily or not easily:

Spanish: Yes or no: YES If yes,

Read: Easily or not easily: EASILY
Write: Easily or not easily: NOT EASILY
Speak: Easily or not easily: NOT EASILY

V. EDUCATIONAL RECORD

NOTE: Please list the candidate’s academic qualifications (university level and higher, indicating type of degree, subject, and whether full or part-time, ex. Masters in law, University of xxx, part-time).

Name of degree and name of academic institution, full or part-time:	Years of attendance (provide a range from-to, for example 1999-2003):	Place and country:
Pratt Institute (Bachelor of Architecture B.Arch)	1980-1983	New York, USA
Columbia University (Bachelor of Arts BA)	1976-1979	New York, USA
Maharaja Sayajirao University	1973-1976	Baroda, India

VI. EMPLOYMENT RECORD

NOTE: Please briefly list ALL RELEVANT professional positions held in the area of human rights, beginning with your current occupation. Also indicate whether positions held were not full-time.

Name of employer, functional title, main functions of position, full or part-time:	Years of work (provide a range from-to, for example 1999-2005):	Place and country:
Independent Expert on Human Rights and Social Policy	2016-Present	New Delhi, India
Dr. Martin Luther King Visiting Scholar and Lecturer, Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT) Program on Human Rights and Justice	2013-2015	Cambridge, USA
Coordinator, South Asian Regional Programme, Housing and Land Rights Network	1998-2013	New Delhi, India
UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing	2000-2008

VII. COMPLIANCE WITH ETHICS AND INTEGRITY PROVISIONS
(of Human Rights Council resolution 5/1)
To be completed by the candidate or by the nominating entity on the candidate’s behalf.

1. To your knowledge, does the candidate have any official, professional, personal, or financial relationships that might cause the candidate to limit the extent of inquiries, to limit disclosure, or to weaken or slant findings in any way? If yes, please explain.

No

2. Are there any factors that could either directly or indirectly influence, pressure, threaten, or otherwise affect the candidate’s ability to act independently in discharging the mandate? If yes, please explain:

No

3. Is there any reason, currently or in the past, that could call into question the candidate’s moral authority and credibility or does the candidate hold any views or opinions that could prejudice the manner in which the candidate discharges the mandate? If yes, please explain:

No

4. Does the candidate comply with the provisions in paragraph 44 and 46 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1? (Please answer YES if the candidate complies, NO if the candidate does not comply, together with an explanation.)

Para. 44: The principle of non-accumulation of human rights functions at a time shall be respected.

Para. 46: Individuals holding decision-making positions in Government or in any other organization or entity which may give rise to a conflict of interest with the responsibilities inherent to the mandate shall be excluded. Mandate holders will act in their personal capacity.

Yes

5. Should the candidate be appointed as a mandate holder, the candidate will have to take measures to comply with paragraphs 44 and 46 of the annex to Council resolution 5/1. In the event that the current occupation or activity, even if unpaid, of the candidate may give rise to a conflict of interest (e.g. if a candidate holds a decision-making position in Government) and/or there is an accumulation of human rights functions (e.g. as a member of another human rights mechanism at the international, regional or national level), necessary measures could include relinquishing positions, occupations or activities. If applicable, please indicate the measures the candidate will take.

Not Applicable

VIII. CERTIFY AND SUBMIT APPLICATION
To be completed by the candidate or by the nominating entity on the candidate’s behalf.

I hereby certify that all of the statements made in this application are true, complete and are made in good faith. I understand that falsifying or intentionally withholding information will be grounds for not being selected or appointed or the withdrawal of any proposed appointment or, if an appointment has been made and accepted, for its immediate cancellation or termination.
Kindly note that whilst no changes can be made after this application form has been submitted and the deadline for applications has expired, any relevant change of current occupation, employment, or position, or any other relevant fact or circumstance should be brought to the attention of the secretariat by
email (hrcspecialprocedures@ohchr.org).

Please review your application before you insert your name and date to indicate your agreement.

Name: Miloon Kothari

Date: 17 October, 2019

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The short online survey is used to collect information for statistical purposes such as personal data (i.e. name, gender, nationality), contact details, mandate applying for and, if appropriate, nominating entity. The same name, gender and nationality should be used both in the online survey and in the Word application form.

The application form in Word format includes a motivation letter of maximum 600 words (section III of the form). The application form should be completed in English only. It will be used as received to prepare the public list of candidates who applied for the vacancy. The candidate’s application form will also be posted as received on the OHCHR public web page for the selection process.