The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning delayed consideration of the third periodic report of Portugal until this afternoon because the country's delegation was not able to attend the meeting.
Committee Chairperson Virginia Bonoan-Dandan announced that the Committee had received a letter from the Portuguese Mission this morning asking for a delay in consideration of the report due to other obligations. Committee experts debated whether to reschedule the report, or to review it without the delegation present. It was decided that Mrs. Bonoan-Dandan would meet with the Portuguese Ambassador, Alvaro de Mendonça e Moura, and request that he address this Committee this afternoon to ask for a postponement.
Following the discussion, the Committee went into closed session to discuss its concluding observations and recommendations on the report of Italy, which was taken up by the Committee experts last week.
Portugal, as one of the 143 States parties to the International Covenant, must submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it was implementing the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee reconvene at 3 p.m., it will decide on how to proceed with the report of Portugal.
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