Human Rights Committee

101^st Session

2799^th Meeting (AM)

Human Rights Committee Briefed on Results of Inter-Committee Working Group

 

on Follow-Up, Held in Geneva, 12-14 January

The 18-member Human Rights Committee was briefed today by Yuji Iwasawa, expert from Japan, on the results of the Inter-Committee Meeting Working Group on Follow-up, held in Geneva from 12 to 14 January 2011.

During that semi-annual meeting — held under a new “thematic” working group format — the nine committees charged with monitoring implementation of the nine core human rights treaties and their optional protocols shared experiences on follow-up and considered ways of enhancing the effectiveness of the treaty body system.

During his presentation, Mr. Iwasawa said two sub-groups on, respectively, follow-up to concluding observations and follow-up in respect to individual complaints, had produced various “points of agreement”, which must be endorsed by the Chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies at their next meeting in Geneva on 30 June and 1 July.

In that context, he drew attention to point “D”, outlining that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination asked State Parties to translate their decisions into the six official United Nations languages and distribute them widely.  He suggested endorsing that point today, without waiting for the Chairpersons’ meeting, as the Committee’s own practice was to request a State Party to simply “publish” its views, rather than translate and distribute them.

In the ensuing brief discussion, one expert said the Committee had discussed the possibility of creating a joint follow-up body and wondered what had become of that idea.  He could not come to any conclusions on the basis of what had been presented.  Another expert said the issue of submissions from non-governmental organizations must be addressed, as there had been a suggestion to extend the functions of country rapporteurs to deal with follow-up to concluding observations.  That idea was worth exploring.

Fabián Omar Salvioli, expert from Argentina, who chaired today’s meeting, also asked experts to send comments to the secretariat regarding treaty body reform, which will be the theme for the meeting of State Parties in Sion, Switzerland in May.

The Human Rights Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. Friday, 1 April to conclude its 101^st session.

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For information media • not an official record