United Nations Commission on Human Rights

There is one main historical UN body formally called the (United Nations) Commission on Human Rights. It was established in 1946 by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as a functional commission and served as the primary intergovernmental forum for promoting and protecting human rights until 2006.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

In 2006, the UN General Assembly replaced it with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC or HRC), a 47-member intergovernmental body that reports to the General Assembly. The Council continues and expands many of the former Commission’s functions (including reviewing country situations, special procedures/experts, the Universal Periodic Review, and authorizing investigations).

Source: ohchr.org

Related points

• The Human Rights Committee is a different entity: a treaty body of independent experts that monitors the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (not a “commission”).
• The Human Rights Council (and previously the Commission) frequently creates temporary commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions, and similar investigative mechanisms on specific country situations or themes. Dozens have been established over the years (dozens since 2006 alone); the exact number active at any time varies.
  Source: ohchr.org
• There is also the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which supports the Council and other mechanisms, but it is not a “commission.”