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‘The UPR Academic Network’s collection explores the UPR’s evolution over
three cycles, its role in strengthening democratic governance, and fostering
States’ accountability. A must-read for human rights advocates seeking to use
this international mechanism to advance the promotion and protection of
human rights for all segments of society domestically’.
Mona M’Bikay, Executive Director, UPR Info

‘This research and academic analysis on the UPR Mechanism’s effectiveness is


most welcome, in order to keep improving this particular UN tool, of universal
reach and general acceptance or legitimacy, which necessarily complements the
national and international efforts by different stakeholders, not only the States,
and the work of regional human rights systems, when available. The national
integral focus of the UPR is a mobilizing force in itself, that of course needs
to be matched with the good faith and political will of States, to be more
effective’.
Ambassador Laura Dupuy Lasserre,
Former President of the UN Human
Rights Council (2011–2012)
Human Rights and the
UN Universal Periodic
Review Mechanism

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-review mechanism, reviewing


all 193 UN Member States’ protection and promotion of human rights. After
ten years of the existence of the UPR mechanism, this collection examines the
effectiveness of the UPR, theoretical and conceptual debates about its modus
operandi, and the lessons that can be drawn across different regions/states to
identify possible improvements.
The book argues that despite its limitations, the UPR mechanism with its
inclusive, cooperative, and collaborative framework, is an important human
rights mechanism with the potential to evolve over time into an effective
cooperative tool for monitoring human rights implementation. Divided into
three parts, the first part focuses on exploring a variety of theoretical approaches
to understanding the UPR mechanism. The second part examines specific
human rights themes and the relationship between the UPR mechanism and
other international mechanisms. Finally, the third part questions implementation
and the ways in which states/regional groupings have engaged with the UPR
mechanism and what lessons can be learned for the future.
The volume will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and policy-
makers working in the area of international human rights law, international
organizations, and international relations. We would like to acknowledge the
UPR Academic Network (UPRAN) for bringing together the experts on this
project and the University of Stirling for providing funds to facilitate open
access dissemination for parts of this output.

Damian Etone is Senior Lecturer in International Human Rights Law at


the University of Stirling. He is Director for the MSc Programme in Human
Rights and Diplomacy run in partnership with the United Nations Institute
for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Amna Nazir is Reader in International Human Rights Law and Associate


Director of the Centre for Human Rights at Birmingham City University. She
also serves as a trustee for the United Nations Association – UK.

Alice Storey is Senior Lecturer in Law and Associate Director of the Centre
for Human Rights at Birmingham City University, where she also leads the
UPR Project at BCU.
Human Rights and the
UN Universal Periodic
Review Mechanism
A Research Companion

Edited by Damian Etone, Amna Nazir


and Alice Storey
First published 2024
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Damian Etone, Alice Storey and
Amna Nazir; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Damian Etone, Amna Nazir and Alice Storey to be
identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for
their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
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explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Etone, Damian, editor. | Nazir, Amna, editor. | Storey, Alice,
editor.
Title: Human rights and the Universal Periodic Review mechanism :
a research companion / edited by Damian Etone, Amna Nazir, and
Alice Storey.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2024. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023042791 | ISBN 9781032524184 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781032542614 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003415992 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Human rights. | International law and human rights. |
Human rights monitoring. | United Nations Human Rights Council. |
United Nations—Commissions. | United Nations. General Assembly.
Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (2017 December 18)
Classification: LCC K3240 .H8548 2024 | DDC 341.4/8—dc23/
eng/20231003
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023042791

ISBN: 978-1-032-52418-4 (hbk)


ISBN: 978-1-032-54261-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-41599-2 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003415992
Typeset in Galliard
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents

List of Acronyms ix
List of Contributors xi
Foreword xvii

Introduction 1
DAMIAN ETONE, AMNA NAZIR, AND ALICE STOREY

PART I
Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches to
Understanding the UPR Mechanism11

1 The Universal Periodic Review as an Evolving Process:


Examining the Path of Development 13
KATHRYN MCNEILLY

2 The Universal Periodic Review as Utopia 35


AMNA NAZIR, ALICE STOREY, AND JON YORKE

3 What Is the UPR? Thinking About the UPR as a Source


of International Law 62
FREDERICK COWELL

4 Putting Down Roots: Analysis of UPR


Recommendations in the First Three Cycles 84
EDWARD R. MCMAHON AND TOMEK BOTWICZ
viii Contents

PART II
The Relationship Between the UPR and Other Human
Rights Mechanisms111

5 Searching for Recommendation Alignment Across UN


Human Rights Bodies 113
ELVIRA DOMÍNGUEZ-REDONDO AND RHONA SMITH

6 The Universal Periodic Review and Transitional Justice 147


DAMIAN ETONE

7 Universal Periodic Review Prospects for Promoting


Support for the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural
Areas (UNDROP) 173
LOUISA ASHLEY

PART III
Assessing State and Regional Engagement With the
UPR Mechanism197

8 Still a ‘Mutual Praise Society’? The African Group at the


Universal Periodic Review 199
EDUARD JORDAAN

9 The Significance of the UPR in the Absence of a Regional


Human Rights System: The Case of the Asia Pacific 215
FIONA MCGAUGHEY, AMY MAGUIRE, NATALIE BAIRD, JAMES
GOMEZ, AND ROMULO NAYACALEVU

10 Unpacking the Enigma of Reporting Under the


Universal Periodic Review: The Case of Three Southeast
Asian Countries 248
KAZUO FUKUDA

11 Navigating Devolution at the UPR: The Case of the


United Kingdom 277
MICHAEL LANE

Index299
Acronyms

CAT Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,


Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
CED/CPED International Convention for the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child
CRC-OPCP Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child
CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
CRPD-OP Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities
CSOs Civil Society Organisations
CtAT Committee against Torture
CtED Committee on Enforced Disappearance
CtEDAW Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
CtERD Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination
CtESCR Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
CtRC Committee on the Rights of the Child
CtRMW Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
CtRPD Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Cycle 1 First Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review
Cycle 2 Second Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review
Cycle 3 Third Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review
Cycle 4 Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review
HRC Human Rights Council
HRCt Human Rights Committee
ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
ICERD International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination
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x Acronyms

ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and


Cultural Rights
ICESCR-OP Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
ICRMW International Covenant on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
NHRI National Human Rights Institutions
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development
OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
OPCAT Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
SDG Sustainable Development Goals
SuR State under Review
UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNDRIP United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples
UNDROP United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
and Other People Working in Rural Areas
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UPR Universal Periodic Review
ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia
ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
IHL International Humanitarian Law
Kalomoh Report Report of the assessment mission on the establishment
of an international judicial commission of inquiry for
Burundi
ACHPR African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement
SPLM Sudan People’s Liberation Movement
ARCSS Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the
Republic of South Sudan
JMEC Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission
SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result-Oriented and
Time-Bound
ICC International Criminal Court
TNCs Transnational Corporations
TWAIL Third World Approaches to International Law
FSPI Federation of Indonesian Peasant Unions
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nation
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
Contributors

Dr Louisa Ashley’s academic research focuses primarily upon international


human rights. Her PhD evaluates the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in
relation to states in crisis. As well as writing on the UPR, Louisa’s published
research addresses the human rights impact of unilateral economic sanc-
tions and human rights in times of conflict and post-conflict. Louisa has
delivered conference papers in the United Kingdom and overseas. Prior
to joining higher education in 2008, Louisa had trained as a solicitor with
United Kingdom corporate law firm Walker Morris LLP joining the firm’s
employment group upon qualification. As an employment lawyer, Louisa
advised individual and corporate clients on a range of contentious and
non-contentious matters and represented claimant and respondent clients
at tribunal. Before becoming a lawyer, Louisa was one of the founders of
award-winning, Leeds-based Unlimited Theatre and subsequently chaired
its Board of Trustees until 2016.
Natalie Baird is Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury Fac-
ulty of Law and Co-Director of Postgraduate Studies and LLM (Inter-
national Law and Politics). Her research interests include international
human rights, refugee law, Pacific legal studies, and the scholarship of
teaching and learning. In the human rights field, her research focuses on
the relationship between international human rights law and mechanisms
and domestic legal systems in New Zealand and the wider Pacific region.
Natalie is a former member of the Amnesty International Aotearoa New
Zealand Governance Team and a current member of the New Zealand
Human Rights Review Tribunal.
Tomek Botwicz is an undergraduate student studying mathematics and
philosophy at the University of Vermont, with a particular focus on
harnessing information technologies to further human rights and civili-
zational development. He is also a part of the Lawrence Debate Union,
the University of Vermont’s nationally-recognised debate team, on
which he primarily competes in social justice and British parliamen-
tary formats. Through the Honors College and Catamount Innovation
Fund, Tomek has researched emerging technologies and ideologies,
xii Contributors

focusing on the climate crisis, the future of democracies, and new polit-
ical economies. Through his work with the UPR, he has been able to
learn and contribute to a sui generis mechanism for holding human
rights violators accountable.
Dr Frederick Cowell is Senior Lecturer in Law at Birkbeck. His research
focus on the interpretation and enforcement of international human rights
law and treaty withdrawal. Previously he was an advisor for an NGO help-
ing civil society groups with UPR submissions.
Elvira Domínguez-Redondo is Professor in Law at Kingston University,
United Kingdom. She has been a visiting scholar at Columbia Univer-
sity (USA) and University Alcalá de Henares (Spain). Prof. Domínguez-
Redondo has held different academic positions at Middlesex University
(UK), Transnational Justice Institute (UK), the Irish Centre for Human
Rights (Ireland), and University Carlos II (Spain). She has worked as a con-
sultant for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Switzer-
land). She is an advisory group member of the Geneva (Switzerland)-based
think-tank Universal Rights Group. Dr. Domínguez-Redondo is the author
three monographs, In Defense of Politicization of Human Rights (2020),
Minority Rights in Asia (with Prof. J Castellino, 2006), and Public Special
Procedures of the UN Commission on Human Rights (2005). She has edited
three books and authored a wide range of publications on international law
and human rights.
Dr Damian Etone is Senior Lecturer in International Human Rights Law
at the University of Stirling. He is Director for the MSc Programme in
Human Rights and Diplomacy run in partnership with the United Nations
Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Damian’s current research
expertise includes international law, human rights implementation, UN
human rights bodies, African human rights system, and transitional jus-
tice. Damian is the author of the book The Human Rights Council: The
Impact of the Universal Periodic Review in Africa (Routledge 2020) that
examined the engagement of African states with the Universal Periodic
Review (UPR) mechanism. This book offered the first detailed analysis of
the effectiveness of African states’ engagement with the UPR mechanism
from 2008–2019.
Kazuo (Kaz) Fukuda is Associate Professor at Kansai Gaidai University in
Osaka, Japan. Prior to pursuing an academic career, Kaz worked for the
United Nations Development Programme in Lao PDR in charge of the rule
of law portfolio and was involved extensively in the UPR process for nearly
five years. He is the author of Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic
Review as a Forum of Fighting for Borderline Recommendations? Lessons
Learned from the Ground (NJHR, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2022). He received his
PhD in law and democracy from the Maurer School of Law, Indiana Uni-
versity in the United States.
Contributors xiii

James Gomez is Regional Director at Asia Centre, where he provides strategic


oversight for its development and regionalization. He currently oversees
the Centre’s operations in both Thailand and Malaysia and is leading the
partnerships for the Centre’s many activities in other parts of the region.
He represents the Centre in media and public speaking engagements and
builds relationships with key stakeholders around the world. James is a sen-
ior academic and university administrator at public and private universities,
research institutes, and think tanks. James has worked at inter-governmen-
tal organisations, including the International Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance, and international NGOs such as Friedrich Naumann
Foundation and Amnesty International, where he managed global and
regional teams on projects related to democracy and human rights. He has
written extensively on topics such as democracy, civil society, human rights
issues, and the role of technology in politics in Singapore and the broader
Southeast Asian region.

Eduard Jordaan is Associate Professor in the Department of Political and


International Studies at Rhodes University where he mostly teaches on
human rights and international relations. His articles have appeared in
journals such as African Affairs, Global Governance, Human Rights Quar-
terly, International Studies Review, Journal of Human Rights Practice,
and Review of International Studies. He is the author of South Africa and
the UN Human Rights Council: The Fate of the Liberal Order (Routledge,
2020).

Michael Lane is Lecturer in Law at the University of Worcester. Michael


teaches on various undergraduate and postgraduate law modules and
supervises on the law PhD programme. Michael’s PhD, funded by UK
Research and Innovation, explored the United Kingdom’s engagement
with the UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Michael’s research has
informed civil society organisations’ engagement with the UPR, reports to
the United Nations, a series of capacity building events with the Equality
and Human Rights Commission, and advice to Parliament’s Joint Commit-
tee on Human Rights on its plans to scrutinise the UK’s UPR. His work
has featured in the Nordic Journal of Human Rights, Human Rights Law
Review, and the Journal of Human Rights Practice.
Amy Maguire is Associate Professor in International Law and Human Rights
and Deputy Head of School (Research Training) at the University of New-
castle Law School. She is the founding and co-director of the Centre for
Law and Social Justice, and the top-ranked author in international law and
human rights for The Conversation. Her research concerns public interna-
tional law, with particular focus on human rights institutions, self-deter-
mination, Indigenous rights, climate change, refugees and asylum seekers,
and the death penalty. Until 2018, she served as co-chair of the Indig-
enous Rights Sub-Committee of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights,
xiv Contributors

where she worked with lawyers and students to promote the recognition
and achievement of substantively equal rights for Indigenous peoples in
Australia.
Fiona McGaughey is Associate Professor at the University of Western Aus-
tralia Law School with a background in not-for-profit research and policy
roles. She teaches international human rights law and co-ordinates the mas-
ter of international law. Her primary research areas are international human
rights law, United Nations bodies and the role of non-governmental organ-
isations, human rights pedagogy, and higher education. Fiona has received
grant funding for research on modern slavery and co-founded the UWA
Modern Slavery Research Cluster in 2017. Fiona has published widely in
leading Australian and international journals and her monograph Non-Gov-
ernmental Organisations and the United Nations Human Rights System was
published by Routledge in 2021.
Edward R. McMahon EdD is Visiting Associate Professor in the Mid-
dlebury College Political Science Department. He also holds a joint
appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor in Community Develop-
ment and Applied Economics, and Political Science, at the University of
Vermont. He previously served as Dean’s Professor of Applied Politics
and Director of the Center on Democratic Performance at Bingham-
ton University. From 1989–1998, he directed African programs at the
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. He previously
spent ten years as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of
State. Dr. McMahon is a board member of UPR-Info, a human rights
organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. He has consulted for numer-
ous organizations in the international development field, including the
Carter Center, USAID, the UN Development Program, the World Bank,
and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Dr. McMahon
has co-authored or co-edited three books and has contributed many
journal articles and book chapters on a range of international govern-
ance and development issues.
Kathryn McNeilly is Professor of Law at Queen’s University Belfast School
of Law. She is an expert in the areas of international human rights law and
international legal theory. Professor McNeilly’s recent work has explored
topics of international human rights monitoring, international legal his-
tory, international legal institutions, and the connection between interna-
tional human rights law and time. Funding for her research includes award
of a Leverhulme Research Fellowship (2019–2020) to undertake research
on human rights monitoring, with a focus on the United Nations Univer-
sal Periodic Review. She is a member of the UKRI Talent and AHRC Peer
Review Colleges, the Royal Irish Academy’s Ethical, Political, Legal and
Philosophical Studies Committee, and an editorial board member of lead-
ing journals, including Human Rights Law Review.
Contributors xv

Romulo Nayacalevu is a PhD scholar at the Australian National University


and director for the R2P Pacific Project launched by the Asia-Pacific Cen-
tre for the Responsibility to Protect. Romulo is an experienced human
rights practitioner, trainer, lawyer, and advisor to Pacific Island govern-
ments and NGOs, active in advocating for human rights promotion and
protection, including the ratification of the Rome Statute among Pacific
states, monitoring human rights, and strengthening legislation to protect
civil freedoms. He was the program manager for the Governance and Legal
Affairs program with the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat
in Vanuatu. Before then, he was also a senior human rights adviser with
the Pacific Community, supporting 14 Pacific governments on a range of
human rights issues. He spent over five years with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Pacific Regional Office
and about three years in private practice in Suva.
Dr Amna Nazir is Reader in International Human Rights Law and Asso-
ciate Director of the Centre for Human Rights at Birmingham City
University. She also serves as a trustee for the United Nations Associa-
tion – UK. Her research focuses on the UPR mechanism and Islamic law,
both as separate and interlinked areas, exploring pertinent human rights
issues such as capital punishment and freedom of religion. Amna actively
participates in the UPR through submission of stakeholder reports
to selected states’ review and engages in UPR Pre-sessions to directly
advocate to governments on their countries’ human rights landscapes.
She has undertaken extensive consulting and policy work with the UN,
governments, civil society, and academic institutions. Most recently, she
has been ranked in the top two candidates for appointment by the UN
Human Rights Council for the role of special rapporteur on freedom of
religion or belief.
Dr Rhona Smith is Professor of International Human Rights at Newcas-
tle University in the UK. She has worked on international human rights
through diverse capacity building projects within academic and justice sec-
tors, as well as by researching various aspects of human rights including the
UN institutional framework.
Dr Alice Storey is Senior Lecturer in Law and Associate Director of the
Centre for Human Rights at Birmingham City University, where she also
leads the UPR Project at BCU. Her research focuses on the UPR mecha-
nism and international human rights, predominantly from the perspective
of women’s rights and the abolition of capital punishment. Through the
UPR Project, Alice has engaged in practice with the UPR mechanism
through submitting stakeholder reports to selected countries’ UPRs and
taking part in UPR Pre-sessions, which involves direct engagement with
UN government delegations from across the globe and other civil society
organisations.
xvi Contributors

Jon Yorke is Professor of Human Rights in the School of Law and the Direc-
tor of the Centre for Human Rights (CHR). He has advised the United
Nations and the European Union, and numerous governments including,
Gambia, Myanmar, Spain, and the United Kingdom. He has worked on
human rights cases in the United States, Sudan, and the African Commis-
sion on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and has submitted amicus curiae briefs
in death penalty cases. He has been awarded multiple Foreign, Common-
wealth, and Development Office (FCDO) grants for projects to protect
human rights in Sudan, and has worked on EU funded projects for the
representation of capital defendants in foreign jurisdictions. He has recently
worked on The UPR Project at BCU funded project ‘Universal Periodic
Review 2022 – Civil Society Engagement’ which focuses upon the United
Kingdom’s Fourth Cycle review in the UPR. This project has engaged UK
parliamentarians, the legal profession, and CSOs.
Foreword

I welcome the publication of Human Rights and the UN Universal Periodic


Review Mechanism: A Research Companion and strongly encourage the further
development of the UPR Academic Network, leading to much greater atten-
tion to this mechanism also as part of the legal education in law schools. While
a peer review – States to States – with a participation rate of 100 per cent –
the UPR currently generates some 250 recommendations on average for each
State reviewed. Many such recommendations reflect the content of concluding
observations of Human Rights Treaty Bodies and recommendations made by
Special Procedures Mandate Holders. The difference of UPR recommenda-
tions with those of other mechanisms, is that they are vetted by the government
and, once accepted, following a process of consultations and sovereign deci-
sions, offer entry points for action by the State – with the support of the UN
and the international community. I have no doubt that the UPR is the best way
to domesticate international human rights norms and to translate them into
consistent laws and practices in a process involving different branches of the
government, increasingly Parliament, and multiple other national stakeholders,
including local and regional governments, NHRIs and CSOs.
At a High-Level panel on the UPR,1 during the last session of the Human
Rights Council, on 1 March 2023, the UN Deputy Secretary-General clearly
underlined that:

The Universal Periodic Review is a powerful and unique mechanism. . . .


With the 4th cycle just initiated, the UPR is among our most impact-
ful instruments to promote human rights as part of development efforts.
. . . The United Nations Development System and Resident Coordinators
stand ready to cooperate with all States in implementing UPR recommen-
dations and together advance the SDGs with human rights at their core.

1 See Human Rights Council, ‘High-level Panel Discussion on UPR Voluntary Funds: Achieve-
ments, Good Practices and Lessons Learned Over the Past 15 Years and Optimized Support
to States in the Implementation of Recommendations Emanating from the Fourth Cycle’
(1 March 2023) available at www.ohchr.org/en/news/2023/03/human-rights-council-
holds-high-level-panel-discussion-voluntary-funds-universal accessed 15 July 2023.
xviii Foreword

With the continuing support of States – especially following the adoption,


by consensus, of resolution HRC 51/30, last October, and the strong part-
nership with UNDP and the rest of the UN system, the UPR will be better
placed to meet the technical cooperation gap and to ensure its consistent use
as a problem-solving tool. Indeed, the UPR is the most effective instrument to
promote human rights as part of development efforts.
The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Chair, during the
same High-Level panel, flagged that DAC members – when making recom-
mendations to States that are of priority for their official development assis-
tance – could facilitate follow up action to their accepted recommendations.
Doing so systematically, and other forms of South-South cooperation, could
indeed ensure the focus on enhanced implementation of the UPR 4th cycle
would result into greater human rights action, everywhere. As UPR recom-
mendations are increasingly becoming part of the United Nations Sustain-
able Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCFs), and UN Entities
are taking responsibility of recommendations falling within their mandate,
significant progress is being made on abolishing capital punishment; decrim-
inalizing defamation; passing legislation to protect Human Rights Defend-
ers (HRDs); ending all forms of discrimination; eliminating violence against
women, including domestic violence; setting up a National Protection Mecha-
nism (NPM) following OPCAT ratification. These are a few examples of the
power of the UPR and I am convinced that more follow up action will emerge
by better understanding and better using the UPR mechanism to strengthen
protection, advance prevention and ensure the success of the SDGs.
1 May 2023
Gianni Magazzeni,Former UPR Chief, OHCHR,
(1 May 2017 to 30 April 2023). Member of the
Technical Advisory Group of WHO Universal Health
and Preparedness Review (UHPR).
Photo of the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, formerly Room XX at
the UN Building in Geneva
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Introduction
Damian Etone, Amna Nazir, and Alice Storey

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is an innovative addition to the interna-


tional human rights monitoring system. It is a state-led, peer-review mechanism
employed by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) with
the ‘improvement of the human rights situation on the ground’1 as a major
objective. The UPR is designed to be a cooperative and non-­confrontational
mechanism that will ‘ensure universal coverage and equal treatment of all
States’.2 The UPR is the only global human rights mechanism scrutinising
the human rights records of all UN member states. From the inception of
the UPR, this seemed utopian. Scholars and practitioners have sought to
understand the mechanics of the UPR process and its potential to promote
and protect human rights. After three cycles of the Universal Periodic Review
(2008–2022) and the fourth cycle ongoing (2022–2027), there are important
questions about how the UPR can mature and evolve into a robust interna-
tional human rights monitoring mechanism. Some of the questions scholars
have grappled with include how to conceptualise the UPR, the relationship
between the UPR and other human rights mechanisms, state and regional
engagement with the UPR, the quality and relevance of UPR recommenda-
tions, and opportunities for more effective NGO engagement. This edited
collection attempts to engage with some of these issues through sustained
analyses of all three cycles of the UPR mechanism.
This publication’s origins stem from the first workshop of the UPR Aca-
demic Network (UPRAN) held on 15 June 2022. UPRAN was founded by
academics at Birmingham City University’s Centre for Human Rights (Eng-
land) and the University of Stirling (Scotland) in June 2022. UPRAN brings
together a global network of researchers and academics working on the HRC’s
UPR mechanism to exchange research ideas, consider new perspectives, and
explore under-researched aspects of the UPR process. This is the first academic

1 UNHRC, ‘Institution Building of the United Nations Human Rights Council’ HRC Res
5/1, UN HRC OR, 5th sess, Annex [IB] (18 June 2007) UN Doc A/HRC/RES/5/1,
annex para 16.
2 ibid para 3.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003415992-1
2 Damian Etone, Amna Nazir, and Alice Storey

network set up to examine the effectiveness of the UPR mechanism, engage


with theoretical and conceptual debates about its modus operandi, identify
the lessons that can be drawn across different regions/states, and work to
strengthen the research capacity of NGOs and other stakeholder engaging
with the UPR mechanism. The work of UPRAN will provide a point of refer-
ence from which trends on the operation of the UPR mechanism can be iden-
tified and recommendations for improvements can be made.
This research companion is by no means exhaustive in examining the poten-
tial value of the UPR mechanism and there are several ‘dystopian’ aspects of the
review process. In particular, the question of implementation/compliance with
UPR recommendations is not significantly addressed in this edited collection
and deserves more scholarly engagement. However, this research companion
charts new conceptual and theoretical framework for the UPR mechanism (as
an evolving process on the path to development; as utopia; as a source of inter-
national law). We also examine in this research companion the potential for the
UPR to more effectively interact and enhance other human rights mechanisms
through (i) a pilot case study of the extent of alignment between UPR recom-
mendations and the recommendations by treaty bodies and special procedures;
(ii) how the UPR can support transitional justice processes in post conflict
states; and (iii) the prospects for the UPR to promote support for the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in
Rural Areas (UNDROP). These are previously unexamined aspects of the UPR
mechanism which our research companion brings visibility to. Equally signifi-
cant in this research companion is the examination of specific states and regional
engagement with the UPR, underscoring the significant value it provides to the
Asian Pacific region where there’s a lack of a regional human rights system, to
devolved governments within states, and unpacking the importance of the sub-
stance of the three documents used as the basis for the review. The limitations
and challenges the UPR faces are not lost to the authors of this research com-
panion. Several ‘dystopian’ practices in the UPR mechanism are highlighted
throughout the collection and the persistent tendency for the review process to
devolve into a ‘mutual praise society’ is also noted.
This research companion draws on the expertise of an interdisciplinary
group of scholars bringing in distinct contributions from multiple disciplinary
backgrounds including international law and international politics.3

The Establishment of the UPR


The UPR was established in 2006 together with the HRC.4 The establishment
and design of the UPR as a mechanism of the HRC can be better understood

3 We would like to thank Rebecca Erekaha for the editorial assistance provided and for helping
to maintain UPRAN website at https://upracademicnetwork.org/
4 UNGA Res 60/251, UN GAOR, 60th sess, 72nd plen mtg, Agenda Items 46 and 120 (3rd
April 2006) UN Doc A/Res/60/251 (‘Resolution 60/251’) para 5(e).
Introduction 3

in the context of the failures of the Commission for Human Rights (CHR).
The CHR was the predecessor of the HRC established under Article 68 of
the UN Charter, entrusted with the international promotion and protection
of human rights.5 Whilst the CHR recorded significant achievements in its
60 years of existence, including drafting the UDHR and several international
human rights treaties,6 its work subsequently came under severe criticism for
lack of credibility and professionalism. These criticisms included selectivity in
human rights scrutiny (unequal treatment of states) and acting as a shield
masking the human rights abuses of certain member states.7 In 2004, a report
by the UN High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change addressed
the problems with the CHR and underscored the need for reform.8 It was
deemed necessary for the UN to chart a new direction in international human
rights monitoring. The UPR represented this new approach.
The HRC and UPR were both created under the UN General Assembly
Resolution 60/251. The HRC was established as an inter-governmental body
within the UN comprising of 47 states and responsible for the promotion and
protection of human rights across the globe. It has a mandate to undertake a
‘universal periodic review’ of the human rights performance of all states.9 The
UPR was designed to be a cooperative peer-review mechanism that ensures
universality and equal treatment in the assessment of the human rights per-
formance of every state, whilst also complementing but not duplicating other
human rights mechanisms.10 The foundational principles of the UPR therefore
included ‘cooperation’, ‘equal treatment’, and ‘complementarity’.11

The Guiding Principles for the UPR


According to Resolution 5/1 of HRC, the UPR process is guided by 13 core
principles which are reaffirmed in HRC Resolution 16/21. These are:

(a) Promote the universality, interdependence, indivisibility, and interrelated-


ness of all human rights;
(b) Be a cooperative mechanism based on objective and reliable information
and on interactive dialogue;

5 United Nations, ‘Charter of the United Nations’ (24 October 1945), 1 UNTS XVI, Article 68.
6 For some detailed analysis of the work of the CHR and the transition to the HRC see Philip
Alston, ‘Reconceiving the UN Human Rights Regime: Challenges Confronting the New
UN Human Rights Council’ (2006) 7(1) Melbourne Journal of International Law 185;
UN General Assembly, ‘Report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change,
Entitled “A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility”’ (2 December 2004) UN Doc
A/59/565, 282–91.
7 ibid.
8 UNGA (n 5), 282–91.
9 UNHRC (n 1).
10 ibid para 3(f).
11 ibid.
4 Damian Etone, Amna Nazir, and Alice Storey

(c) Ensure universal coverage and equal treatment of all States;


(d) Be an intergovernmental process, United Nations Member-driven, and
action-oriented;
(e) Fully involve the country under review;
(f) Complement and not duplicate other human rights mechanisms, thus
representing an added value;
(g) Be conducted in an objective, transparent, non-selective, constructive,
non-confrontational, and non-politicised manner;
(h) Not be overly burdensome to the concerned State or to the agenda of the
Council;
(i) Not be overly long; it should be realistic and not absorb a disproportion-
ate amount of time, human, and financial resources;
(j) Not diminish the Council’s capacity to respond to urgent human rights
situations;
(k) Fully integrate a gender perspective;
(l) Without prejudice to the obligations contained in the elements provided
for in the basis of review, take into account the level of development and
specificities of countries;
(m) Ensure the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including non-gov-
ernmental organisations and national human rights institutions.

The ultimate goal for the UPR is the improvement of the human rights situa-
tion at the domestic level.

Modalities and Operations of the UPR Process


Resolution 5/1 of the HRC, often referred to as the institution-building pack-
age, sets out the modalities for the UPR process.12 This was revised in 2011 by
HRC Resolution 16/21 which, amongst other things, extended the periodic-
ity of the review from four years to four and a half years.13 The workings of
the UPR can be understood in terms of process, documentation, and actors.

Process

All UN member states are reviewed every four and a half years. Forty-two
states undergo the review each year. Reviews takes place within a working
group, where 14 states are reviewed per session and there are three, two-week
sessions per year. These sessions include the 47 HRC members, although any
member or observer state of the United Nations may also take part in the

12 ibid paras 18–25.


13 UNHRC, ‘Review of the Work and Functioning of the Human Rights Council’ HRC Resolu-
tion 16/21, HRC 16th sess, Agenda Item 1 (12 April 2011) UN Doc A/HRC/RES/16/21
(‘Resolution 16/21’) para 3.
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a vascular zone at the junction of cornea and sclera. In certain cases
the whole transparent cornea stood out in the form of a vesicle, so
prominently as to interfere with closure of the eyelids. The affection
might attack both eyes or only one.
An important feature is that cattle coming from the cars in this
condition and left at rest for five days on hay without cotton seed
recovered rumination and appetite, and the weakness and nervous
excitement or depression disappeared. There remained only the
lesions of the eye which progress tardily according to their extent or
severity.
The southern origin of the cattle, together with the congested liver
and spleen and the high colored urine would have suggested the
southern cattle fever, but from the promptitude of the recovery
under a change of regimen and the prominence of the lesions of the
eye.
The important point in connection with this subject is the
prophylaxis by avoidance of the too liberal diet of cotton seed. When
the disease has actually set in, the true course is to suspend this
aliment, clear the bowels of any that may remain therein, and treat
the lesions of the eyes according to their respective conditions.
CHRONIC KERATITIS.

Sequel of trichiasis, entropion, eczema, etc. Age. Symptoms: moderate, lids


partly closed, cilia matted together, crusted, cornea clouded, dull, with ramifying
vessels. Resolution. Fibroid degeneration, permanent opacity. Treatment: tonic
regimen, outdoor exercise, iron, bitters, calcium sulphide, astringent antiseptic
collyria, atropia, mercury oxide.

This is especially common in dogs in warm latitudes. Trichiasis


and entropion are perhaps the most common of the direct causes.
Eczema and other skin eruptions affecting the lids are additional
causes, while old and debilitated dogs are especially subject to the
affection. It is less frequent in horses.
The symptoms are much less severe than in the acute form. The
lids are usually partially but rarely completely closed, lachrymation
may be absent and is never excessive, the secretion usually sticks
together the cilia and lids, and always forms crusts on them, the
palpebræ are less sensitive than in acute keratitis, the cornea is
habitually clouded of a bluish-white color, yet in the main partially
transparent and without the disc opacities of the acute type of
disease, and the pupil, which is usually visible in a good light or
under oblique illumination, may be slightly but is not excessively
contracted. The surface of the cornea seems to have lost some of its
polish, and in its substance blood vessels can usually be made out.
Under favorable conditions these cases may end in resolution and
especially under a change of food and environment. In less fortunate
cases they result in a fibroid degeneration of the cornea and deep
permanent opacity.
Treatment. It is usually desirable to change the regimen so as to
improve the general health, and to allow a fair amount of outdoor
exercise. In the very old and debilitated the case is rather hopeless. A
course of iron or bitters will sometimes have a good effect. In other
cases sulphide of calcium ⅒ grain thrice a day will prove useful.
Eczema must be treated secundum artem.
Locally astringent and antiseptic collyria may be used as in the
acute form. Atropia, 5 grs. to the oz., is a valuable adjuvant, to be
instilled in drops. Ointment of yellow oxide of mercury, a piece like a
pin head rubbed inside the lids once or twice a day often acts well.
Finally Trasbot strongly commends liquor of Van Swieten.
OPACITY OF THE CORNEA. NEBULA. MACULA.
LEUCOMA.

Nebula, macula, leucoma, pigment spots, infiltration, cicatrix, vascular or not,


result of lead, silver or cocaine. Treatment: silver nitrate solution in young and
vigorous; calomel: iodoform: avoid mercury and iodine at the same time. Tatooing.

As a sequel of inflammation of the cornea, persistent opacities are


very common occurrences. These may last only a short time after the
subsidence of the inflammation, or they may be persistent and
chronic. They are of all degrees of severity from a mere bluish haze to
a dense white cloud, or a dark pigment spot.
The term nebula is given to the slightest form which appears as a
grayish blue but still transparent blue and may be so slight as to pass
without recognition except under focal or oblique illumination. It
shades off gradually into the adjacent healthy cornea, and is often
seen as a marginal zone when the centre of the cornea is clear.
Macula is more marked, requiring no special illumination to
detect it, especially when the dark pupil forms a background for the
affected area. It is not, however, of a clear white, but of a grayish blue
tint.
Leucoma is a dense white spot or patch which reflects all the light
falling upon it, and has usually a sharply circumscribed margin.
Pigment spots are usually on the membrane of Descemet and
are the result of a previous adhesion of the iris and detachment of a
portion of its pigment.
The white opacity may be merely a remnant of inflammatory
infiltration or it may be a fibrous cicatrix with or without a remaining
minute ulcer. It may be the result of an insoluble deposit of lead or
silver in the tissues. Sometimes it will form as the result of the
application of cocaine.
Treatment. A case of slight inflammatory infiltration can usually
be cleared up by touching it daily with a solution of 2 grs. silver
nitrate in an ounce of distilled water. This is especially satisfactory in
the young and healthy, in which the power of repair is greatest.
Finely powdered calomel or iodoform applied to the cornea will often
prove effective. In case potassium iodide has been given by the
mouth, calomel or corrosive sublimate is liable to form mercurous or
mercuric iodide and cause ophthalmia. The same is true of iodoform
if mercury has been given internally. As a last resort tatooing the spot
has been resorted to, to hide the opacity.
ULCER OF THE CORNEA.

Infection of abrasions may cause ulcer. Age. House dogs. Puppies on vegetable
food. Exhaustion. Starvation. Improper, insufficient diet. Specific microbes and
toxins. Symptoms: Ulcer with peripheral zone of opacity. Photophobia. In
marasmus little other local trouble. Diagnosis by oblique focal illumination or
fluorescin. Granulation of Descemete’s membrane. Escape of aqueous. Keratitis.
Panophthalmia. Staphyloma. Prognosis in debilitated, vigorous. Treatment: tonics,
fresh air, good food, sunshine, exercise, silver nitrate, mercuric chloride, iodoform,
alcohol, chlorine water, boric acid, cocaine, eserine, atropine, warm antiseptic
compress, juice of fresh cassava.

Causes. Wounds of the cornea making an infection entrance for


pus microbes, are liable to lead to ulceration, and a corresponding
destruction of the epithelium and superficial layers by inflammation,
may start a similar ulcerative process. Apart from these conditions,
ulceration is especially liable to occur in very old dogs, in closely
confined house dogs, in puppies raised on an exclusive diet of
vegetable food, and in animals worn out by disease, exhaustion,
starvation, or improper and insufficient diet. Majendie’s dogs fed on
sugar, starch and other imperfect diet, suffered in this way. Finally,
the local action of certain specific disease poisons, enzootic purulent
ophthalmia, canine distemper, dogpox (Trasbot), equine influenza
(Schindelka), sheep pox, and blennorrhœa (Möller), leads to
ulceration.
Symptoms. In keratitis there is usually a marked local opacity in
the centre of which the breach of the surface may be found. The
attendant photophobia with closure of the lids and pupil is strongly
suggestive of ulcer. In the specific diseases, the local inflammation,
the rapid progress of the lesion and the coexistence of the particular
infective disease are characteristic. In cases due to debility and
marasmus the disease may appear with little indication of attendant
irritation, lachrymation, tenderness, photophobia, or even opacity.
At one circumscribed point only is there a grayish cloud, perhaps no
more than a thirtieth of an inch in diameter, and slightly projecting.
This becomes soft and gelatinous and finally drops off, leaving a
shallow excavation or abrasion, surrounded by a narrow grayish
zone. This necrobiosis may extend inward and even penetrate the
membrane, before the lesion has enlarged to more than a hemp seed
in diameter. In other cases lateral extension occurs.
It is always important to recognize the ulcer at an early stage, and
this may be done by oblique focal illumination and the use of a
magnifying lens. In case of doubt a drop of solution of fluorescin
placed on the cornea and at once washed out, will promptly reveal
the lesion by the high color given to the tissues which have been
denuded.
When perforation has taken place the membrane of Descemet may
bulge out of the orifice and undergo granulation, or it may open and
allow the escape of the aqueous humor. Active keratitis and even
panophthalmia are liable to follow perforation. Again, the escape of
aqueous humor tends to the approximation or contact of the iris with
the cornea, where it may become adherent and staphyloma may
ensue.
Prognosis is unfavorable in debilitated subjects, and when the
lesion is extensive and in the line of vision. In slight recent cases in
good constitutions it is favorable.
Treatment. Debility must be met by tonics and rich diet, fresh air,
sunshine and exercise. Specific diseases must be met according to
their nature.
Locally the daily application of silver nitrate lotion (1 ∶ 200) is
often very effective, proving an excellent antiseptic, checking the
microbian proliferation, and coagulating the albumen in the wound
so as to form an antiseptic barrier to further invasion. A mercuric
chloride solution (1 ∶ 5000) is an excellent substitute. Iodoform
powder though less antiseptic, is especially valuable in favoring the
healing process. It is dusted over the cornea, and the upper lid
immediately drawn down and held over the cornea for several
minutes. If this is neglected the dry powder is removed by the flow of
tears, and the movement of the lids and membrana nictitans. Trasbot
recommends dilute alcohol (5 ∶ 100). Möller advises chlorine water
reduced to one-third the standard strength, or boric acid solution (2 ∶
100). Bouley found good results from a cocaine solution. Cadiot and
Almy get the best results from creolin (.5 to 1 ∶ 1000) 5 or 6 times a
day, with eserine.
In all cases great relief can be obtained from a strong atropia lotion
(1 ∶ 100). Indolent cases may often be helped by warm antiseptic
compresses, which seem to stimulate the circulation and nutrition of
the part. The juice exuding from the scraped fresh cassava and
concentrated to a syrupy consistency, is strongly antiseptic, and used
with atropia or pilocarpin is the best agent known for senile ulcer
(Risley).
In perforation use eserine, and antiseptic bandages and in case of
prolapsus iris, excise as already advised.
CORNEAL STAPHYLOMA.

Bulging corneal scar with adherent iris: from perforation, escape of aqueous,
intraocular pressure, vascularization of cornea. Diagnosis by central cicatrix,
vascularisation, pigmentation. Oblique illumination. Treatment: iridectomy,
eserine. Suture. Enucleation.

This is a bulging forward of a corneal scar with the iris adherent to


its internal surface. It may originate in perforation of the cornea and
escape of the aqueous humor, or in intraocular pressure that
advances the iris until it comes in contact with the cornea, which
becoming adherent and receiving an abnormally large supply of
blood or plasma, softens and bulges outward. It may grow out to a
great length in some cases, Eck has seen it two inches in the horse,
and somewhat smaller in an ox. May records a case affecting both
eyes in the dog.
Diagnosis is not usually difficult. The scar in the midst of a
granulating projection of the cornea is nearly conclusive, but the
recognition of pigmentation of the growth and the adherent iris often
revealed by oblique illumination will nearly always show the true
nature of the case.
Treatment is by iridectomy and eserin if the disease can be
recognized in its earliest stages, but it is rarely satisfactory. Later the
choice may be between excision of the staphyloma and coaptation of
the edges of the wound by suture, and the enucleation and removal
of the eyeball. The last resort is preferable to the continued irritation
of the staphyloma by the lids and cilia under the ocular movements.
ECTASIA CORNEÆ. KERATOCONUS. CONICAL
CORNEA.

This consists in a thinning and protrusion of the cornea in the


form of a blunt cone, without loss of transparency. It has accordingly
been called staphyloma pellucida. There is a gradual attenuation and
distension of the corneal tissue from some unknown cause. It has
been seen mainly in the young and is manifestly due to a trophic
defect. Stockfleth records a case in a foal and Bayer in a cow. No
satisfactory treatment has been proposed, but as the trouble usually
comes to a standstill without perforation, it can be left to take its
course. With rapid increase and manifest tension antiseptic puncture
of the cornea or even iridectomy might be tried.
KERATOGLOBUS.

This is a variety of ectasia in which the clear, pellucid, protruding


cornea is more globular and less conical in outline. It is seen
especially with enlargement of the entire eyeball (buphthalmus).
TUMORS OF THE CORNEA.

Various tumors may grow from the cornea. Dermoid cysts may
implicate the cornea and demand excision. Malignant growths
demand extirpation of the eyeball.
WOUNDS OF THE SCLERA.

Covered as it is by the bones of the orbit, and by the palpebræ the


sclera is little liable to traumatic lesions. Wounds with swords,
needles, nails, splinters of wood, and other sharp pointed bodies are
not unknown, however, and penetration by shot is especially
common in setters. Rupture from blows of clubs, beams, poles,
stumps, etc., are also met with.
The symptoms are profuse lachrymation with more or less of
blood, and when the eyelids are separated the wound may be
discovered and its gravity estimated by protrusion of the vitreous.
Slight injuries which are not infected heal readily under the
treatment recommended for keratitis. Infecting and penetrating
wounds are liable to cause panophthalmitis and destruction of the
eye. Foreign bodies, if present, should be removed when possible.
Pyoktannin is especially recommended by Stilling.
EPISCLERITIS. INFLAMMATION OF THE SCLERA.

Scleritis in man is described as a manifestation of rheumatism,


gout, or tuberculosis. It occurs in animals in connection with
traumatic lesions, with iritis, cyclitis and choroiditis and is
manifested by more or less congestion, swelling and tenderness of
the sclerotic, but is always subordinate in importance and the
treatment demanded is for the more serious disease.
ECTASIA (BULGING) OF THE SCLERA.

Cases of this kind are adduced by Schleich and Mayer, in dogs, in


which there was a corresponding bulging or even an absence
(coloboma) of the choroid and retina. With a large protrusion of the
sclera behind, there was a shrinkage of the front of the globe
(microphthalmos), so that an atrophy might be suspected. The
condition is irremediable.
PROLAPSE OF THE IRIS.

This has been already referred to as a complication of perforating


ulcer or wound of the cornea. If it cannot be returned and
maintained by a compression bandage and eserin, the only resort is
to draw out the prolapsing portion and cut it off with scissors, the eye
and instruments having been rendered thoroughly aseptic.
INTERNAL OPHTHALMIA.

Diagnosis of internal ophthalmias difficult. Causes: as in conjunctivitis,


extension of conjunctivitis or keratitis to iris, choroid, ciliary circle, retina;
Lymphatic constitution, damp soil, air and stable, pit life, dentition, grain feeding,
training. Symptoms: ophthalmic symptoms generally, enlarged ciliary vessels in
sclera not movable; white zone around corneal margin; iris dull, brownish,
sluggish; intraocular tension increased: flocculi in aqueous humor: photophobia:
oblique focal illumination: sudden change from darkness to light: synechia:
ophthalmoscope. Cyclitis. Diagnosis: from keratitis, recurrent ophthalmia.
Lesions: according to chief seat of the disease: inflammation of Descemet’s
membrane, iris, choroid, ciliary circle, lens, vitreous and retina in variable degree.
Opacity of aqueous, lens, capsules, or vitreous. Prognosis: always grave, often
vision impaired or lost. Treatment: rest, pure air, apart from strong sunshine,
removal of causes, local bleeding or cupping, derivation, purgative, cooling
diuretics: locally astringent antiseptic lotions, cocaine, homatropine, blister, undue
tension antiseptic puncture, mercury oxide ointment; in rheumatic cases salicin or
sodium salicylate.

In the domestic animals it is not always possible to distinguish


between inflammations affecting different portions of the inner and
middle coats of the eye (iritis, cyclitis, choroiditis, retinitis), so that it
is convenient to give in general terms the phenomena and treatment
of the class known as ophthalmia internus. This is all the more
appropriate that inflammation of one of these divisions so frequently
extends to the others producing panophthalmitis, that the disease in
one usually implies an early implication of all.
Causes. Many of the causes of conjunctivitis, when acting with
special intensity, or for too long a time, may cause internal
ophthalmia. Severe blows, bruises, punctures, lacerations, sand,
cinders, dust, lime, foreign bodies inducing traumas, sudden
transitions from darkness to bright sunshine, habitual exposure to
sunshine or to the reflection from snow, ice or water, through a
window in front of the stall, the abuse of the overdraw check rein, the
glare of electric light or of lightning flashes, draughts of cold damp
air between windows or doors, the beating of cold storms on the eyes
and skin, a sudden chill from plunging in water or standing in a cold
draught when perspiring, blows with branches, pine cones or needles
in the eye, the constant irritation from entropion, trichiases,
burdocks or thistles in the forelock, irritant gases, etc., are among the
factors which coöperate in setting up the disease. Again diseases of
the digestive organs, rheumatism, influenza, canine distemper,
brust-seuche, petechial fever, variola, eczema, and aphthous fever
may be direct causes. Conjunctivitis and keratitis are liable to merge
into irido-choroiditis by extension, and above all when owing to
perforation of the cornea a direct channel is opened for the easy
entrance of infective, pathogenic microbes. A lymphatic constitution,
connected with low breeding, or living in a low, damp, cloudy region,
or in dark, damp, impure stables, has a strongly predisposing
influence. The period of dentition, connected as it usually is with
domestication, stabling, grain feeding, and training is often a potent
accessory cause.
Symptoms. With the general phenomena of superficial or external
ophthalmia there are some indications which may be called
pathognomonic. These may be summarized as follows: in eyes devoid
of pigment the enlarged ciliary vessels run deeply and are not
tortuous, nor mobile when rubbed; the scleral redness increases
toward the margin of the cornea, but leaves a white zone in front of
the penetration of the ciliary vessels; the iris has lost its clear
reflection, appearing dull or brownish; the pupil is contracted and
sluggish in response to light and darkness, it may be fixed or may
show marked unevenness in its margin: the tension of the eye ball is
often increased, flocculi of lymph may be seen in the aqueous humor
settling into the lower part of the anterior chamber. This deposit
may be white or yellowish or it may even be reddened by
extravasated blood especially in traumatic injuries. In traumas, too,
the cornea and even the aqueous or vitreous humor may be opaque.
In cases resulting from exposure to cold or from internal causes, the
media of the eye are at first clear and transparent. The condition of
the interior of the eye is usually to be learned by examining the
patient as he stands facing the light from a dark back ground. A
stable door or window will afford the requisite amount of rays falling
from above and from each side upon the interior of the eye. The
observer looks indirectly or obliquely and under favorable conditions
can see the iris and through the pupil. If the pupil is unduly closed it
may often be dilated by instilling a few drops of a 5 per cent. solution
of atropia and waiting for fifteen or twenty minutes.
The examination is made more satisfactorily with a candle or other
single source of light in a dark chamber. If this light is surrounded by
a chimney opaque except at one side which is directed toward the
eye, the results are much more satisfactory. Focal illumination with a
biconvex lens, or oblique illumination will show a swollen condition
of the iris with uneven bulging swellings at different points, and
generally a lack of the clear dark surface which marks the healthy
iris. It may be yellowish or brownish, rather than dark, or blue, or
yellow, but is always duller than normal. The pupil may be
contracted or dilated, but is always uneven at the margin according
to the degree of congestion of the different portions. It may be quite
immovable under the stimulus of light and darkness, and is always
sluggish as compared with the healthy condition. To test this reflex
action, the one eye may be bandaged, and the other eye covered with
the palm of the hand for one or two minutes. When exposed the
pupil will be found to be widely dilated, and in the healthy eye it will
rapidly contract and dilate alternately until it has reached a condition
of adaptation to the intensity of the light when it will remain
immovable. With the inflamed iris these contractions and dilatations
will be lacking altogether, or they will be sluggish and imperfect in
various degrees according to the intensity of the inflammation, the
degree of congestion or the tension of the liquid media of the eye.
Restricted movement may also be due to adhesion to the cornea,
(synechia anterior) or to the capsule of the lens (synechia
posterior).
When viewed with the ophthalmoscope properly focused the
choroid may show a lack of its normal lustre and an unevenness due
to the formation of small rounded elevations in connection with
congestion, or exudation, and patches of yellowish red or whitish
discoloration together with lines of the same color following the
course of the blood-vessels. It may also reveal dark spots of opacity
in the lens (cataract) or clouds in the anterior region of the vitreous,
the result of exudations. The blood-vessels may appear enlarged and
tortuous.
In some cases the exudate may form a false membrane which
completely closes the pupil.
A special tenderness around the margin of the cornea is suggestive
of cyclitis. Internal ophthalmia is usually accompanied by a variable
amount of fever.
Diagnosis. From simple keratitis, it is distinguished by the
thickening, discoloration and sluggishness of the iris, by the absence,
in many cases, of corneal opacity, and of free lachrymation, and in
some instances by increased tension of the eyeball.
Recurring ophthalmia, which is usually also an internal
inflammation, appears more abruptly and often at first with greater
severity, and accompanied by more hyperthermia. There is almost
always a bluish white opacity around the margin of the cornea, the
eye is retracted in its sheath so as to appear smaller, and the upper
lid usually shows a marked angle between its inner and middle thirds
in place of the evenly curved arch of the healthy palpebra. It usually
appears for the first time in the young and in those that have
inherited the susceptibility and have been kept on damp soils, in
cloudy districts, or dark buildings.
Lesions. These are necessarily varied according as the
inflammation is concentrated on particular parts of the interior of
the eye. The secreting membrane of the aqueous humor is nearly
always inflamed giving rise to an exudate and a milky opacity of the
aqueous humor. The iris is the seat of congestion exudation,
thickening, cell proliferation and investment by false membranes.
The capsule of the lens is early clouded, may be covered by exudate
and is rendered vascular in some cases. The choroid is also the seat
of congestion, exudation and discoloration with the covering up at
points of its pigmentary layer. The vitreous and lens finally become
the seat of exudation and opacity which is liable to prove permanent.
Prognosis. The internal ophthalmias are always to be dreaded. In
other organs exudates may take place and become organized as
permanent structures without abolishing the function or rendering
the organ physiologically useless, but in the delicate and transparent
tissues of the eye, any such permanent product almost infallibly
causes opacity and loss, or serious impairment of vision. In the retina
the displacement, derangement, or covering up of the cones and rods
necessarily interferes with or abolishes sight, the opacity of the
cornea, lens, capsule, or vitreous interrupts the rays of light, and the
destruction, or coating over of the pigment of the choroid leads to
undue reflection and destroys vision. Beside this the destruction or
impairment of one part of the eye, changes the refraction and blurs
the vision, or interferes with accommodation and destroys the utility
of the organ. Unless therefore the disease can be cut short in its early
stages and a complete resolution effected it is likely to leave the
patient very much deteriorated in value. Fortunately it is only in the
most violent cases or in very susceptible animals that the disease in
the one eye is transmitted to the other by sympathy and leads to
destruction of that eye as well.
In the treatment of internal ophthalmia, rest in pure air and
moderate warmth, away from a fierce glare of light is imperative. The
causes should as far as possible be removed. Next, it is desirable to
establish derivation. Leblanc and Trasbot attach great importance to
phlebotomy from the jugular on the same side. A more direct local
action with less loss of blood may be obtained from opening the
angular vein of the eye or applying a leech beneath the lower lid. In
most cases a sufficient derivative action can be secured by an active
purgative which may be followed by daily doses of cooling diuretics.
Locally astringent lotions (lead acetate or zinc sulphate 1 dr. to 1 qt.
water; mercuric chloride, 1 ∶ 5000; boric acid, 2 ∶ 100; pyoktannin, 1
∶ 1000) in combination with cocaine hydrochlorate, homatropin,
atropia sulphate, duboisia or hyoscyamin (1 ∶ 1000) would be
appropriate. These may be applied over the eye on a soft cloth, and in
cases of infective inflammation the more antiseptic agents may be
injected under the lids. When the inflammation is very severe the
atropia or other sedative agent may be made of the strength of 1 ∶
100 and a drop or two placed inside the lids with a dropper every two
or three hours.
A blister of biniodide of mercury may be applied to a space the size
of a dollar above the anterior end of the zygomatic ridge, or in dogs
back of the ear on the side of the neck: or a seton may be passed
through the skin in the same situation.
When the eyeball is unduly tense, puncture through the margin of
the cornea with a fine aseptic lancet will relieve the tension and in
some cases induce a more healthy action. Assiduous antisepsis is
needful until the wound has healed.
In other cases benefit can be obtained from the use of an ointment
of yellow oxide of mercury 1 part, in vaseline 10 parts, or of iodoform
of the same strength. A small portion the size of a grain of wheat is
put under the lid, and the latter manipulated with the finger to bring
it in contact with all parts of the surface. In case of a rheumatic
origin salicin and salicylate of soda are demanded.
SIMPLE IRITIS.

Causes. Symptoms: redness of sclera, in dogs, cats, birds, pigs, with a narrow
zone of white next the cornea, red scleral vessels immovable, iris dull gray or
brown, uneven, sluggish in response to light, synechia anterior or posterior, lens
and capsule clouded or clear, pupillary margin uneven, myosis or midriasis, black
cataract. Treatment: rest, dark stall or covering, head elevated, midriatics, cocaine,
antiseptic puncture, purgation, leeches, seton, cooling astringent lotions, diuretics,
for tension in convalescence iridectomy. In traumatic cases careful antisepsis.

This may come from any one or more of the causes of internal
ophthalmia above named. The inflammation, however, concentrates
itself on the iris so as to overshadow the disease in the adjacent
organs.
The more distinctive symptoms are the redness of the sclerotic in
unpigmented organs (swine, birds, dogs, cats), the redness
increasing as it approaches the margin of the cornea but leaving a
narrow white zone surrounding the edge. The red vessels on the
sclerotic are not moved with the conjunctiva when the lid is moved
over the front of the eye. The front of the iris is dull, grayish or
brownish, it is thickened unevenly and very sluggish in response to
light and darkness. Not infrequently it is adherent to the back of the
cornea (synechia anterior) or to the front of the lenticular capsule
(synechia posterior). The lens and its capsule may or may not be
clouded, but if the interior of the vitreous can be seen it is found to
be clear. The pupil is more or less uneven in outline and sometimes it
is torn at its inner edge so as to form shreds and projecting tongues.
Myosis (contraction of the pupil) or midriasis (dilatation) may be
present. If the latter has been preceded by adhesion a portion of the
uvea may remain attached to the lenticular capsule constituting
black cataract. The lens or its capsule may become opaque, and a
fibrinous membrane may form over the pupil.
Treatment. Rest for body and eye are essential. A dark stall, or a
thick covering for the eye is desirable. The head should be kept
moderately elevated to facilitate the return of blood. The pupil
should be kept widely dilated to prevent adhesions to the lens.
Sulphate of atropia 5 grs. to the oz. of water should be applied a few
drops at a time, thrice a day, or as often as may be necessary to
secure dilatation. In case the atropia fails to secure dilatation a 5 per
cent. solution of cocaine should be dropped into the eye every three
or four minutes for four or five times and then another application of
atropia may be tried warm. Should it still fail and should there be
indications of extra congestion and swelling of the iris or of excessive
tension of the eyeball, relief may be obtained by puncturing the
cornea. With the reduction of the tension the iris will often respond
to the midriatic. Benefit may also be obtained from an active
purgative, or the application of leeches in the vicinity of the eye.
Cooling astringent applications may be kept up over the eye, or
warm antiseptic applications will often give great relief.
In obstinate cases the yellow oxide of mercury ointment may be
applied as advised for internal ophthalmia.
Cooling diuretics may also be of essential advantage.
If, after a fair recovery the bulb remains unduly tense, iridectomy
may be resorted to as a prophylactic measure for the future. An
incision is made with a lancet close in front of the margin of the
cornea, and the iris seized and withdrawn with a pair of fine forceps,
and a portion snipped off with fine scissors. The eye and instruments
must be rendered absolutely aseptic by carbolic acid and boiling
water, and the antisepsis of the eye must be carefully maintained
until the wound is healed. This tends to relieve congestion in the iris
and to moderate the secretion in the anterior chamber, so that the
former extreme tension does not recur. In making choice of the seat
of the iridectomy a selection may be made which will do away with
adhesions, or one that will expose a portion of the lens which is still
transparent, and which may restore vision when obscured by a
cataract.
In traumatic cases there should be extra care in maintaining a
thorough antisepsis of the eye as the great danger is that of infective
panophthalmitis. The injection of antiseptic liquids under the
eyelids, and the covering of the eye with antiseptic cotton wool or
with a soft rag wet with an antiseptic lotion are important factors in
treatment.
SYMPTOMATIC OR METASTATIC IRITIS.

Complications of infectious diseases, influenza, contagious pneumonia,


strangles, tuberculosis, omphalitis. Symptoms: exudation of fibrine and blood,
with those of simple iritis. Treatment: as in iritis, plus measures for the specific
primary disease. When second eye is threatened enucleation.

Under this head Möller describes those forms of iritis which occur
as complications of various infectious diseases. It has long been
observed that iritis and other ophthalmias, occurred as
complications of the acute infectious diseases of the respiratory
organs of the horse formerly known under the general name of
“influenza.” More recently many veterinarians and others have
classed these influenza iritis separately under the name of “pinkeye.”
The same can be said of “contagious pneumonia” (brustsenche) of
horses which is distinctly caused by the diplococcus (streptococcus)
pneumoniæ equina. Attention was called to the iritic complication of
this disease in 1881 by Siedamgrotzky and it has been often noticed
since. Conjunctivitis is however a more frequent complication of this
disease than iritis. In both influenza and contagious pneumonia the
iritis often supervenes when convalescence has apparently set in.
Strangles is another affection in which the iris occasionally suffers.
Mathieu has described tuberculosis of the iris in cattle, and Möller
mentions with some hesitancy cases of iritis which complicated the
infection of the navel in new born animals.
The symptoms of symptomatic iritis vary according to the
particular infection. In addition to the fibrinous exudate the
infections of the respiratory organs are liable to be complicated by
blood extravasations. In influenza this may show as deep blotches on
the bulbar conjunctiva and in chemosis. In contagious pneumonia
Schütz met with iritis of a distinctly hæmorrhagic character.
In Matthieu’s cases of tubercle of the iris there was first a slight
lachrymation, and soon the iris assumed a grayish tint, and became
uneven and unduly approximated to the cornea though it failed to
become adherent to it. The swellings of the iris increased and became
of a grayish yellow color, and the pupil was usually contracted and
varied little in size. Post mortem examination showed the presence
of tubercles. The same condition has become familiar in connection
with experimental inoculation in the eye. As in ordinary iritis
adhesion to the capsule of the lens and cataract are common results.
Apart from the treatment of the specific primary disease this type
of iritis demands the same treatment as other forms. Strong atropia
lotions to prevent or break up adhesions and antiseptic astringents
are especially indicated. When implication of the second eye is
threatened it may be desirable to remove the first by enucleation.
(See Panophthalmitis).
FOREIGN BODIES IN THE IRIS.

These are sometimes fine shot particularly in dogs, and splinters of


iron and steel in other animals. Their presence can sometimes be
made out by careful focal illumination. If septic they cause violent
iritis and panophthalmia. If aseptic they may sometimes cause little
trouble. If they can be exactly located, they should be removed at
once before the aqueous humor and cornea become clouded. If the
offending body is a piece of iron or steel and can be reached by a
magnet introduced through the original wound or through one made
with a lancet in the edge of the cornea it may be extracted by this
means. If it is shot or other body that is not attracted by a magnet the
portion of the iris in which it is entangled may be drawn out with
forceps and snipped off with fine scissors. Due antiseptic precaution
must be exercised.
COLOBOMA IRIDIS. CONGENITAL APERTURE IN
IRIS.

This is a congenital defect in which there is an aperture in the iris.


Hering figures the two eyes of a horse in which these appeared in the
direction of the outer canthus. Renner records a case in a foal in
connection with intra-bulbar enchondroma. Dochtermann and
Berlin record that among 64 pigs the result of breeding a boar on his
daughters and grand-daughters no less than 36 showed coloboma.
Möller figures a dog with the same affection.
The condition is not known to prove hurtful to the affected animal
so that it may be wisely let alone.
DOUBLE PUPIL.

Mayer notes a case of congenital double pupil in the horse, a


bridge extending across the space from the upper to the lower border
and cutting off the outer third of the opening. The present writer has
seen a similar condition as the result of union of the corpus nigrum
in severe iritis. Section of the bridge is possible, though rarely
desirable, seeing that it opens a door to possible infection.

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