COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE REVIEWS TREATY BODY REFORM PROPOSALS

CAT
30th session
8 May 2003
Morning




The Committee against Torture met briefly in public session late this morning to hear Committee Expert Felice Gaer report on a meeting held in Liechtenstein from 4 to 7 May to discuss reforms proposed by the Secretary-General, especially the possibility of a single "country report" that would serve for all human rights treaty bodies, including the Committee against Torture. Participants in the meeting included representatives of States parties to human rights treaties, representatives of all the treaty bodies, and representatives of several non-governmental organizations.
Called a "brainstorming session", the gathering focused on informal debate, Ms. Gaer said. The group as a whole rejected the concept of a single report, she said, agreeing that such an approach would not be feasible or desirable – that such a report would be long and unwieldy; that it would marginalize specific issues that held high prominence with some treaty bodies, such as child rights; that it would be complex to create and complex to update, as would be required frequently; that it would be confusing for the treaty bodies; that it would lack specific details; and that it would result in a situation where authors of the document had to work outside their areas of expertise.
The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. in open session to discuss working methods. A Government delegation from Moldova, delayed in transit and unable to present the country's initial report as scheduled this morning, is expected to appear at 4 p.m., when consideration of the report will begin.



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