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14 August 2000
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CESCR
23rd session
14 August 2000
Morning
Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Highlights Activities of Office
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning opened its twenty-third session at the Palais Wilson by hearing from Bertrand Ramcharan, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, who updated the Committee experts on events and activities within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights since the conclusion of the last session.
Mr. Ramcharan reviewed the success of the Beijing Plus 5 Conference and the Special Session of the General Assembly which had been devoted to the review of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development. There was no question, he said, that there was a central role for human rights and the international instruments in which they were embedded, as the cornerstone of international human rights law, standards and norms, in which accountability, equality, empowerment and participation were key elements.
Also addressing the Committee was Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, the Minister-Councillor of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations and other international organizations at Geneva, concerning the overdue report of his country to the Committee. He promised the report would be submitted by the end of the year.
The Committee adopted its agenda for the session, and Chairperson Virginia Bonoan-Dandan described the organization of the Committee's work for the next three weeks. She announced that Mongolia, which had been scheduled to present a report to the Committee later this week, had requested a postponement. During this session, the Committee will review reports from Jordan, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan and Australia.
States parties that have ratified or acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are required to submit periodic reports to the Committee illustrating how they are complying with the tenets of the document.
When the Committee reconvenes this afternoon, United Nations specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will be invited to discuss substantive issues arising in the implementation of the Covenant.
Discussion
BERTRAND RAMCHARAN, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said despite the fact that only a few months had lapsed since the last session, there were several events and activities in which the Office of the High Commissioner had engaged which were relevant to the work of the Committee. In these events and activities, the main theme of the position taken by the Office had been to emphasize the importance of a rights-based approach. First, there were two particular events that came to pass -- the Beijing Plus 5 Review Conference, and the Special Session of the General Assembly, devoted to the review of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development. There was no question that there was a central role for human rights and the international instruments in which they were embedded, as the cornerstone of international human rights law, standards and norms, in which accountability, equality, empowerment and participation were key elements.
The most recent General Comment adopted by the Committee -- No. 14 on the right to health, was drafted in close cooperation with the relevant specialized agency -- the World Health Organization -- and took into consideration a wide range of comments from experts, scholars and NGOs working in the field of human rights and health. The result of this joint effort demonstrated the need for the Office to continue the promotion of a rights-based approach throughout the United Nations system. The Office was fully aware and appreciative of the General Comment, and all was being done to ensure its widest dissemination, along with other General Comments.
Mr. Ramcharan also mentioned the twelfth meeting of Chairpersons of Human Rights Treaty Bodies which took place in Geneva in early June. That meeting had discussed issues of mutual interest and concern, such as contributions of the treaty bodies to the World Conference against Racism; the urgent problem of periodicity in the reporting procedures and the backlog of reports facing treaty bodies; and the need for adequate administrative and substantive support from the Office for both the treaty bodies and the special procedures. It was hoped that the Committee would address the issue of reporting periodicity in the near future, since this would be a first step towards solving the fundamental problem that was presently facing the reporting system.
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23rd session
14 August 2000
Morning
Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Highlights Activities of Office
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning opened its twenty-third session at the Palais Wilson by hearing from Bertrand Ramcharan, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, who updated the Committee experts on events and activities within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights since the conclusion of the last session.
Mr. Ramcharan reviewed the success of the Beijing Plus 5 Conference and the Special Session of the General Assembly which had been devoted to the review of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development. There was no question, he said, that there was a central role for human rights and the international instruments in which they were embedded, as the cornerstone of international human rights law, standards and norms, in which accountability, equality, empowerment and participation were key elements.
Also addressing the Committee was Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, the Minister-Councillor of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations and other international organizations at Geneva, concerning the overdue report of his country to the Committee. He promised the report would be submitted by the end of the year.
The Committee adopted its agenda for the session, and Chairperson Virginia Bonoan-Dandan described the organization of the Committee's work for the next three weeks. She announced that Mongolia, which had been scheduled to present a report to the Committee later this week, had requested a postponement. During this session, the Committee will review reports from Jordan, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan and Australia.
States parties that have ratified or acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are required to submit periodic reports to the Committee illustrating how they are complying with the tenets of the document.
When the Committee reconvenes this afternoon, United Nations specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will be invited to discuss substantive issues arising in the implementation of the Covenant.
Discussion
BERTRAND RAMCHARAN, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said despite the fact that only a few months had lapsed since the last session, there were several events and activities in which the Office of the High Commissioner had engaged which were relevant to the work of the Committee. In these events and activities, the main theme of the position taken by the Office had been to emphasize the importance of a rights-based approach. First, there were two particular events that came to pass -- the Beijing Plus 5 Review Conference, and the Special Session of the General Assembly, devoted to the review of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development. There was no question that there was a central role for human rights and the international instruments in which they were embedded, as the cornerstone of international human rights law, standards and norms, in which accountability, equality, empowerment and participation were key elements.
The most recent General Comment adopted by the Committee -- No. 14 on the right to health, was drafted in close cooperation with the relevant specialized agency -- the World Health Organization -- and took into consideration a wide range of comments from experts, scholars and NGOs working in the field of human rights and health. The result of this joint effort demonstrated the need for the Office to continue the promotion of a rights-based approach throughout the United Nations system. The Office was fully aware and appreciative of the General Comment, and all was being done to ensure its widest dissemination, along with other General Comments.
Mr. Ramcharan also mentioned the twelfth meeting of Chairpersons of Human Rights Treaty Bodies which took place in Geneva in early June. That meeting had discussed issues of mutual interest and concern, such as contributions of the treaty bodies to the World Conference against Racism; the urgent problem of periodicity in the reporting procedures and the backlog of reports facing treaty bodies; and the need for adequate administrative and substantive support from the Office for both the treaty bodies and the special procedures. It was hoped that the Committee would address the issue of reporting periodicity in the near future, since this would be a first step towards solving the fundamental problem that was presently facing the reporting system.
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