The United Nations approach to temporary special measures

This paper examines the role of the United Nations (UN) and its bodies addressing special measures aimed at redressing structural inequalities suffered by designated groups by increasing the proportion of members of these groups in relevant labour, academic, governmental or non-governmental positions where they are underrepresented. The following pages outline the jurisprudence of the main UN human rights bodies and analyses its content. The research underpinning this paper seeks to explore the most proliferous and coherent actions adopted by some of the UN organs within a poorly delimited conceptual framework.