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HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE OPENS SIXTY-FOURTH SESSION
19 October 1998
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MORNING
HR/CT/98/27
19 October 1998
Committee Hears Statement by Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Committee on Human Rights opened this morning its sixty-fourth session by adopting its agenda and programme of work. Committee members also heard a report on the activities of its pre-sessional working group and discussed the list of issues to be raised during its current session in relation to consideration of reports.
In an opening address, Enrique ter Horst, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by China two weeks ago added momentum to a growing process of dialogue and cooperation on human rights between China and the United Nations. He was confident that ratification would follow in the very near future.
During the three-week session, the Committee, as a monitoring body, will consider reports submitted by Iceland, Belgium, Armenia, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Japan and Austria on their efforts to implement the provisions of the Covenant.
The six countries are among the 140 States parties to the Covenant which was adopted in 1966 by the General Assembly. Representatives of those Governments will introduce their respective country reports and respond to oral and written questions by the Committee's 18 members who serve in their personal capacity.
Roman Wieruszewski (Poland) joined the Committee as a new expert, replacing Danilo Türk (Slovenia) who resigned last July.
The Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. to hear the report on the 10th meeting of Chairpersons of Treaty Bodies presented by one of its experts who took part on behalf of the Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee, Christine Chanet. The meeting of Chairpersons took place from 15 to 19 September 1998. (For further information, please refer to the background release HR/CT/98/26 of 13 October 1998.)
Statement By Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
ENRIQUE TER HORST, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the signature of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by China two weeks ago added momentum to a growing process of dialogue and cooperation on human rights between China and the United Nations. He was confident that ratification would follow in the very near future.
Mr. ter Horst said that in a few weeks, the General Assembly would embark on the mid-term assessment of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, in the context of which the functions of the treaty bodies, and in particular of the Human Rights Committee, would be discussed. He also highlighted the role that treaty bodies could play in the World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related matters, which would be held in the year 2001. He believed that the 21 years of experience of the Human Rights Committee would be very useful in the preparation of that World Conference.
Mr. ter Horst stated that he was conscious of the concerns of the Chairpersons of the Treaty Bodies about the backlog in the processing of communications and in the examination of State party reports. The Office was already addressing the problems posed by the excessive number of pending communications and of unanswered correspondence, which seriously put into question the effectiveness of the Optional Protocol procedure, he added.
HR/CT/98/27
19 October 1998
Committee Hears Statement by Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Committee on Human Rights opened this morning its sixty-fourth session by adopting its agenda and programme of work. Committee members also heard a report on the activities of its pre-sessional working group and discussed the list of issues to be raised during its current session in relation to consideration of reports.
In an opening address, Enrique ter Horst, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by China two weeks ago added momentum to a growing process of dialogue and cooperation on human rights between China and the United Nations. He was confident that ratification would follow in the very near future.
During the three-week session, the Committee, as a monitoring body, will consider reports submitted by Iceland, Belgium, Armenia, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Japan and Austria on their efforts to implement the provisions of the Covenant.
The six countries are among the 140 States parties to the Covenant which was adopted in 1966 by the General Assembly. Representatives of those Governments will introduce their respective country reports and respond to oral and written questions by the Committee's 18 members who serve in their personal capacity.
Roman Wieruszewski (Poland) joined the Committee as a new expert, replacing Danilo Türk (Slovenia) who resigned last July.
The Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. to hear the report on the 10th meeting of Chairpersons of Treaty Bodies presented by one of its experts who took part on behalf of the Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee, Christine Chanet. The meeting of Chairpersons took place from 15 to 19 September 1998. (For further information, please refer to the background release HR/CT/98/26 of 13 October 1998.)
Statement By Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
ENRIQUE TER HORST, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the signature of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by China two weeks ago added momentum to a growing process of dialogue and cooperation on human rights between China and the United Nations. He was confident that ratification would follow in the very near future.
Mr. ter Horst said that in a few weeks, the General Assembly would embark on the mid-term assessment of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, in the context of which the functions of the treaty bodies, and in particular of the Human Rights Committee, would be discussed. He also highlighted the role that treaty bodies could play in the World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related matters, which would be held in the year 2001. He believed that the 21 years of experience of the Human Rights Committee would be very useful in the preparation of that World Conference.
Mr. ter Horst stated that he was conscious of the concerns of the Chairpersons of the Treaty Bodies about the backlog in the processing of communications and in the examination of State party reports. The Office was already addressing the problems posed by the excessive number of pending communications and of unanswered correspondence, which seriously put into question the effectiveness of the Optional Protocol procedure, he added.