Guidelines and tools for treaty body reporting

The UN Human Rights Office has created a set of tools to help States parties and Permanent Missions to prepare documentation (reports) that will be submitted to the Human Rights treaty bodies. These tools aim to help minimize delays in processing submitted reports due to formatting and editing issues.

Training materials on reporting to the UN treaty bodies

Reporting guidelines

Word limits:

Common core documents: 42,400 words

Initial report (including replies to List of Issues Prior to Reporting): 31,800 words

Periodic report (including replies to List of Issues Prior to Reporting): 21,200 words

Replies to List of Issues: advisable not more than 10,700 words

Treaty-specific reporting guidelines

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Guidelines on State reports under the Convention (CERD/C/2007/1) - 2007
Guidelines on follow-up to concluding observations (CERD/C/68/Misc.5/Rev.1) - 2006

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
Guidelines on State reports under the Covenant (E/C.12/2008/2) - 2008

Human Rights Committee (CCPR)
Guidelines on State reports under the Covenant (CCPR/C/2009/1) - 2009

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Guidance note on State reports under the Convention (CEDAW/C/74/3/Rev.1) - 2022

Committee against Torture (CAT)
Guidelines on State initial reports under the Convention (CAT/C/4/Rev.3) - 2005

Guidelines on State periodic reports under the Convention (CAT/C/4/Rev.1) - 1998
Guidelines on follow-up to concluding observations (CAT/C/55/3) - 2015

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Guidelines on State initial reports under the Convention (CRC/C/5) - 1991

Guidelines on State periodic reports under the Convention (CRC/C/58/Rev.3) - 2015

Guidelines on State initial reports under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/2) - 2007

Guidelines on State initial reports under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/2) - 2006

Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)
Guidelines on State initial reports under the Convention (HRI/GEN/2/Rev.2/Add.1) - 2005
Guidelines on State periodic reports under the Convention  (CMW/C/2008/1) - 2008

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Guidelines on State reports under the Convention (CRPD/C/2/3) - 2009
Revised Guidelines on State periodic reports under the Convention (CRPD/C/3) - 2016

Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
Guidelines on State reports under the Convention (CED/C/2) - 2012

Common core documents

The common core document contains information and statistics about the reporting State, together with a framework on its approach to human rights. It forms a key part of each State’s reports to treaty bodies.

• Guidelines on the preparation of common core documents: HRI/GEN/2/Rev.6
• Common core documents submitted by States

Editorial resources

• The United Nations Editorial Manual Online is intended to serve as an authoritative statement of the style to be followed in drafting, editing and reproducing United Nations documents, publications and other written material.
• The United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database (UNTERM) is a multilingual terminology database that provides terminology and nomenclature in subjects relevant to the work of the United Nations.