The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is widely acknowledged as one of the major innovations of the United Nations Human Rights Council. At the outset of its third cycle, it is worth assessing whether the UPR has been delivering on its promise to advance human rights on the ground. Beyond the formalities of the mechanism, the UPR can offer multiple opportunities for protecting and promotion human rights. The objective of the study “Beyond the procedure: The Universal Periodic Review as a catalyst for public debate on human rights” is to assess whether and how the UPR can serve as a catalyst for generating public debates on the situation of human rights in national contexts. The study presents a sample of the type of actions, strategies and methodologies of information, awareness-raising and social mobilization that has been undertaken by stakeholders using the UPR. This selection of practices illustrates the potential of the mechanism to promote public debate, understanding and protection of human rights at the national level. The study is the result of a yearlong project between the Geneva Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the International Training Center for Human Rights and Peace Education (CIFEDHOP) on the UPR as a human rights awareness raising process.