COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS DISCUSSES A STUDY TO IMPROVE WORK OF UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY BODIES

AFTERNOON
HR/ESC/99/7
28 April 1999



The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon discussed a study aimed at improving the work of the six United Nations human rights treaty bodies to better promote and protect human rights.

At the beginning of the meeting, Anne Bayefsky of York University in Canada, one of the two experts who undertook the study, presented a mission statement in which she underlined that an effective implementation of the human rights legal regime was a requirement of all concerned partners.

Ms. Bayefsky recalled that in December 1998, an academic study of the human rights treaty system was launched with the collaboration of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The study was to be conducted by herself and Christof Heyns of the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The study would prepare a report for the High Commissioner within the coming months.

Furthermore, the purpose of the study was to provide the High Commissioner with a thorough analysis of the operation of the human rights treaty bodies system, both at the United Nations and in the field. The study would involve an assessment of the capacities, accomplishments and needs of all treaty bodies. In addition, it would involve a series of concrete case studies which would examine and identify the impact of the human rights treaties and the recommendations of the implementing bodies within States in terms of ratification, administration and enforcement. According to Ms. Bayefsky, the study would also formulate concrete recommendations for improving implementation strategies for the human rights treaties.


During the meeting, Committee members exchanged views supporting the preparation of the report which was aimed at improving the work of their Committee, among others. Several experts recalled that in the past, they had been dicussing issues which they believed might have improved their work. The lack of adequate resources was considered by some experts as being one of the impediments affecting the work of the Committee. An expert was of the view that publicity and media coverage of the Committee's concluding observations and recommendations were lacking in most cases.

Also this afternoon, members of the Committee discussed a proposal to request the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to approve a third annual three-week session for the Committee to be held in New York. A third session, similar to that of the Human Rights Committee, would enable the Committee to better discharge its obligations by dealing with more of the country reports still pending.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 29 April, it will first meet in private to consider draft concluding observations on the report of Iceland before hearing reports from its experts on various issues.