Human Rights Committee concludes one hundredth and seventh session

ROUNDUP

28 March 2013

Adopts Concluding Observations on Reports of Paraguay, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Angola, Macao Special Administrative Region of China and Peru

The Human Rights Committee today concluded its one hundredth and seventh session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Paraguay, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Angola, Macao Special Administrative Region of China and Peru on how they are implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee also considered the situation of civil and political rights in Belize in the absence of a report and issued concluding observations on it.

The concluding observations and recommendations of the countries reviewed this session will be available on the website by the end of the day today.

During the session, the Committee discussed a draft General Comment on Article 9 of the Covenant on the right of everyone to liberty and security of person. It also discussed its methods of work and heard progress reports from its Special Rapporteurs on follow-up to concluding observations and follow-up to views. It considered a number of individual communications in closed meetings.

The countries reviewed are among the 167 States parties to the Covenant, which was adopted in 1966 by the General Assembly. The Committee, as a monitoring body, periodically examines reports submitted by States parties on the promotion and protection of civil and political rights. Representatives of these Governments introduce the reports and respond to oral and written questions from Committee members.

Under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, 114 States parties recognize the competence of the Committee to consider confidential communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any rights proclaimed under the treaty. At present, 380 communications are pending before the Committee. Seventy-five States parties have ratified or acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, which aims to abolish the death penalty.

The one hundredth and eighth session of the Human Rights Committee will be held from 8 to 26 July in Geneva and is scheduled to review the reports of Albania, Czech Republic, Finland, Indonesia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.

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For use of the information media; not an official record