GENEVA (11 February 2022) — The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will hold its upcoming session from 14 February to 4 March, during which it will review the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Belarus, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Uzbekistan and the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The six countries are among the 171 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. They are required to undergo regular reviews by the Committee of 18 independent international experts on how they are implementing the Covenant.

The Committee, which has received the respective country reports and submissions from non-governmental organizations, will discuss a range of issues with the six State delegations on the following dates in Geneva time:

DRC: 14-16 February, 3-5pm
Belarus: 15-17 February, 9-11am
Czech Republic: 17 February, 3-5pm, 18 February, 11am-1pm and 3-5pm
Serbia: 21-23 February, 3-5pm
Uzbekistan: 22-24 February, 11am-1pm
Kingdom of Bahrain: 24 February, 3-5pm, 25 February, 11am-1pm and 3-5pm

The review will be conducted in a hybrid format with Committee members participating in person in Geneva, and State delegations joining virtually on Zoom. All the above public dialogues will be livecast on UN Web TV. More information about the session, including reports submitted by the States parties and full schedule of meetings, is available on the session webpage.

ENDS

Background 
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights monitors States parties’ adherence to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights  which to date has 171 States parties and the Optional Protocol which has 26 States parties. The Committee is made up of 18 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties.