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Introduction

The human rights treaty bodies are committees consisting of independent experts. Their task is to monitor the implementation of the international human rights treaties. Once a State has become a Sate party to one or several of the treaties, it has the obligation to implement policies that ensure that everyone in the State can enjoy the rights set out in the treaty. At the moment there are nine human rights international treaties and one optional protocol from which ten treaty bodies have been established:

• the Human Rights Committee (CCPR),

• the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR),

• the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD),

• the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),

• the Committee Against Torture (CAT),

• the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC),

• the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW),

• the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD),

• the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), and

• the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT).

The treaty bodies consist of independent experts with recognized competences in human rights. They are being nominated and elected by State parties for fixed renewable terms of four years (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner n.d.).

Source: United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (n.d.) “Human rights treaty bodies”. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/TreatyBodies.aspx Access: 21.12.2019, 07:41 am.

History

In 1946 the United Nations established the Commission on Human Rights, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt. The first task of the Commission was to draft a universal human rights catalogue. After two years the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly with 48 states voting for it, six states abstained and no state voting against it. It includes civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and is operating as a soft law, which means that it is not legally binding. After the adoption the Commission on Human Rights worked further on specifying and transforming the text of the declaration into a binding document. Two different documents were drafted: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Simultaneously the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR was adopted, allowing individuals to claim their rights. All three treaties came into effect in 1976, having received 35 ratifications. This led to the following: in the relevant states the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights transformed into these treaties became legally binding (Lhotský 2017: 6-7).

The treaties created committees to monitor the implementation of the treaties by the State Parties. The first three committees where the Committee of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (adopted in 1965), the Human Rights Committee (adopted in 1966) and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (adopted in 1966). Later more specific human rights treaties were adopted, either aiming at protecting vulnerable groups or aiming at preventing the abuse of human rights (mentioned below). Those treaties also created committees to monitor their implementation. The Committees have two main functions: the first function is to receive and examine state reports. Each State Party is obliged to submit initial and then periodic reports on compliance with the provisions of the respective human rights treaty. The second function is receiving individual complaints. Whenever State parties ratify an optional protocol to a treaty or submit a relevant declaration, it also allows individuals to lodge an individual complaint to the relevant committee. Although the different committees decide on violations of human rights in individual cases, their decisions are not legally binding. However their powers are often described as quasi-judicial (Lhotský 2017: 8-9).

Source: Lhotský, Jan (2017) „Human Rights Treaty Body Review 2020. Towards an Integrated Treaty Body System“. https://repository.gchumanrights.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11825/528/Lhotsky_EMA_aw.th.2016-17.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y Access: 21.12.2019, 09:07 am.

The Role

The United Nations treaty body system plays a crucial role in strengthening the protection of human rights.

The primary mandate, common to all human rights treaty bodies, is to monitor the implementation of the relevant treaty by reviewing the reports submitted periodically by State parties. Each State party to a treaty has an obligation to take steps to ensure that everyone in the State can enjoy the rights set out in the treaty.

There are ten human rights treaty bodies composed of independent experts of recognized competence in human rights, who are nominated and elected for fixed renewable terms of four years by State parties. Most human rights treaty bodies are competent to receive and consider individual complaints, while several may conduct inquiries.

In addition to its obligation to implement the substantive provisions of the treaties to which it is a party, each State party is required to submit regular reports on how it has implemented treaty provisions. The relevant human rights treaty body considers these reports in the presence of a delegation of the State party and in the light of all information, including further written information provided by the State party, as well as information provided orally during the consideration of the report.

The committees also receive information from United Nations agencies, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and civil society actors, in particular non-governmental organisations (NGOs), professional associations and academic institutions.

Based on this process, human rights treaty bodies adopt what are generally known as “concluding observations”, which refer to the positive aspects of a State’s implementation of the treaty and the areas where the treaty body recommends the State to take further action.

The Locations of the Meetings

CEDAW-The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United Nations Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined by the Committee.

CPED-The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under the present article. It shall inform the author of a communication of the responses provided by the State Party concerned. When the Committee decides to finalize the procedure, it shall communicate its views to the State Party and to the author of the communication.

ICMW-The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United Nations Headquarters.

CAT-The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under this article.

CRPD-UN Headquarters in New York is having the meetings.

ICERD-The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United Nations Headquarters.

ICCPR-The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall convene the initial meeting of the Committee at the Headquarters of the United Nations. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at the Headquarters of the United Nations or at the United Nations Office at Geneva. However, they may be held at such other convenient places as the Commission may determine in consultation with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the States Parties concerned.

ICESCR-The States Parties to the present Covenant agree that international action for the achievement of the rights recognized in the present Covenant includes such methods as the conclusion of conventions, the adoption of recommendations, the furnishing of technical assistance and the holding of regional meetings and technical meetings for the purpose of consultation and study organized in conjunction with the Governments concerned. The meetings are held in New York.

CRC-meetings are held in New York City.

Source: The Core International Human Rights Instruments and their monitoring bodies

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CoreInstruments.aspx

The Composition of Treaty Body Mechanism

The treaty bodies are created in accordance with the provisions of the treaty that they monitor. OHCHR supports the work of treaty bodies and assists them in harmonizing their working methods and reporting requirements through their secretariats.

The United Nations human rights treaty bodies have, from modest beginnings, developed monitoring practices, particularly consideration of States Parties’ reports, individual complaints procedures, and inquiries, which cover a broad range of rights and issues. This development, in particular increasingly participatory procedures, has been lauded as an example of “human rights experimentalism.” The treaty bodies have thereby contributed to the interpretation of international human rights law, though not without some weaknesses, and to the protection of human rights, at least to some extent. While treaty bodies have undoubtedly become an integral part of the UN’s human rights system, they face considerable challenges in terms of their efficiency, effectiveness, and legitimacy. Their proliferation, and the consequent increase in the number of States Parties’ reports and cases, has prompted an ongoing review process. It calls into question the future of the system in its present form and entails that treaty bodies and their record will remain under close scrutiny. Treaty bodies will have to continue navigating conflicting demands and expectations from States Parties, within the United Nations, and civil society organizations. In a world where inequality, conflict, and instability are rife and the very notion of human rights is frequently sidelined if not criticized, treaty bodies face a considerable challenge to ensure effective monitoring and ultimately the protection of human rights. Combining a clear conceptual focus and attention to context with closer institutional alignment and holistic and effective forms of engagement will be critical in meeting this challenge.

Source: Oette L. (2018) The UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: Impact and Future. In: Oberleitner G. (eds) International Human Rights Institutions, Tribunals, and Courts. International Human Rights. Springer, Singapore

Elections of Treaty Body Members

Each Treaty body is composed of independent experts of recognized compe­tence in human rights, who are nominated and elected for fixed, renewable terms of four years by State parties. The elections of half of the committees’ members are staggered every 2 years to ensure a balance between continuity and change in committee composition. All elected members serve in their personal capacity.

The committees with no limit on terms of membership are CERD, CMW, CAT, CESCR, HRCttee, CEDAW and CRC.

CED, CRPD and SPT are the committees in which members can only be re-elected once.

In accordance with General Assembly resolution 68/268, States are encouraged to give due consideration to equitable geographical distribution, the representation of different forms of civilization and the principal legal systems, balanced gender representation and the participation of experts with disabilities, when nominating independent experts for committee elections [paragraph 13]. The resolution also reaffirms the importance of the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies [paragraph 35]. Moreover, the resolution reiterates the importance of an equitable gender representation within the treaty body membership as stipulated in the human rights instruments [paragraphs 12, 13 and 35].

Source: OHCHR- Human Rights Treaty Body members

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/ElectionsofTreatyBodiesMembers.aspx