The Human Rights Council (HRC) is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States, responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe.The Council inter alia appoints the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 whose task is to assess the situation, report publicly about it, and work with governments, civil society and others.   The human rights situation in Palestine is also considered in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).  The Council has dispatched fact-finding missions to investigate violations of human rights, such as the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict in 2009, the UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza flotilla in 2010, and the UN fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements in 2012.

A permanent feature of the Council’s agenda is Item 7 on “Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories”.   In March 2016, the Council voted to produce a database of all business enterprises conducting activities in or related to Israel’s settlements.