23 March 1998

Madame Chairperson,
Distinguished Members of the Committee,

I am sending this message from my temporary office next to the room where the Commission on Human Rights is beginning the second week of its annual meeting. In my address and in my meetings with the many Ministers attending the Commission, I have stressed the importance of ratification of the Covenants, the Conventions and the optional protocols and have set the next five years as our target for achieving universal ratification.

In his opening address to the Commission, the Secretary-General Kofi Annan highlighted the gap between what is said about human rights and what is done. He noted that the reasons for this gap were complex but that they should be addressed.

This is the essence of the work done by the Human Rights Committee - assisting states in identifying shortcomings in their implementation of the Covenant. It involves meticulous examination of states reports; close questioning of delegations and then practical recommendations for remedial action. This is, and will remain, an indispensable, core contribution by treaty bodies to the United Nations' human rights programme.

I am encouraged by your decision to streamline your procedures, both in respect of the periodic reporting and the individual complaints procedures. Your decision to consider jointly, whenever possible, admissibility and merits of individual communications is a welcome signal of your commitment to greater efficiency. More importantly, it also provides a more timely response to victims of human rights violations.

Further procedural innovations are under discussion. I would fully support efforts to develop procedures ensuring proper follow up to your concluding observations. There are several ways this might be accomplished, including evaluation missions to the State party concerned, or the provision of technical cooperation where this will be useful for states prepared to implement your recommendations. More focused reporting is another measure which holds promise of enhancing the Treaty Bodies' assistance to states.

However, procedural innovations alone cannot solve the problem of considering both States Parties reports and the ever increasing number of communications within the same allotted meeting time and with inadequate resources. I also recognize that some of the proposals being discussed have what the United Nations calls "financial implications".

I share your concerns on resources issues and last week addressed the issue directly, telling governments at the Commission that staffing and funding for the work of my Office are insufficient.

As part of the restructuring of my Office we have began more systematic fundraising activities. You can be sure of my support in finding resources for enhancing your procedures. As a first step I am pleased that a database with full search capacity for the optional protocol procedure has been designed and - hopefully - should be entering service soon after your summer meeting in Geneva. As well, the team assigned to the Committee will soon be strengthened with a junior professional officer.

I wish you a productive session and look forward to meeting you again in July.