37/21 Measures taken to implement Human Rights Council resolution 9/8 and obstacles to its implementation, including recommendations for further improving the effectiveness of, harmonizing and reforming the treaty body system - Report of the Secretary-General

GE.17-23438(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-seventh session

26 February–23 March 2018

Agenda item 2

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Measures taken to implement Human Rights Council resolution 9/8 and obstacles to its implementation, including recommendations for further improving the effectiveness of, harmonizing and reforming the treaty body system

Report of the Secretary-General

1. In its resolution 9/8, the Human Rights Council requested the Secretary-General to

report annually to the Council on measures taken to implement the resolution and on

obstacles to its implementation, including recommendations for further improving the

effectiveness of, harmonizing and reforming the treaty body system. The present report is

submitted pursuant to that request.

2. In its resolution 68/268, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to

submit to the Assembly, on a biennial basis, a comprehensive report on the status of the

human rights treaty body system and the progress achieved by the human rights treaty

bodies in realizing greater efficiency and effectiveness in their work, including the number

of reports submitted and reviewed by the committees, the visits undertaken and the

individual communications received and reviewed, where applicable, the state of the

backlog, capacity-building efforts and results achieved, as well as information on the

situation in terms of ratifications, increased reporting and the allocation of meeting time

and proposals on measures, including on the basis of information and observations from

Member States, to enhance the engagement of all States parties in the dialogue with the

treaty bodies. The first report of the Secretary-General prepared pursuant to resolution

68/268 was submitted to the Assembly at its seventy-first session (A/71/118).1 The second

report of the Secretary-General will be submitted to the Assembly at its seventy-third

session. A note verbale soliciting information and observations from Member States was

therefore dispatched on 4 December 2017 and posted on the website of the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.2

1 The 20 statistical annexes discussed in the report of the Secretary-General are available from

www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRTD/Pages/TBStrengthening.aspx.

2 See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRTD/Pages/TBStrengthening.aspx. Replies to the note verbale

will be made available on the website.

United Nations A/HRC/37/21

3. Comprehensive information on the topics raised in Human Rights Council resolution

9/8 is available on the following websites:

• Ratification status by country or treaty:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx

• Status-of-ratification maps:

http://indicators.ohchr.org

• Country-specific reporting status:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx

• Timely and late reporting and non-reporting by States parties:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/LateReporting.aspx

• Calendar of country reviews by treaty body:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/MasterCalendar.aspx

• Common core documents:

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/CoreDocuments.aspx

• Treaty body database (search engine for treaty body documentation):

http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/TBSearch.aspx

• Universal Human Rights Index (search engine for recommendations made by human

rights mechanisms):

http://uhri.ohchr.org

• Jurisprudence database:

http://juris.ohchr.org

4. The following documents also contain information on the issues raised in Human

Rights Council resolution 9/8:

• Timely and late reporting and non-reporting by States parties to the human rights

treaty bodies (HRI/MC/2017/2)

• Report of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies on their 29th meeting

(A/72/177)

• Report of the Secretary-General on the promotion of equitable geographical

distribution in the membership of the human rights treaty bodies (A/72/284)

• Report of the Secretary-General on measures taken to implement Human Rights

Council resolution 9/8 and obstacles to its implementation, including

recommendations for further improving the effectiveness, harmonization and reform

of the treaty body system (A/HRC/34/19)

• Overview of the human rights treaty body system and working methods related to

the review of States parties (HRI/MC/2013/2 and Corr.1)

• Other activities of the human rights treaty bodies and participation of stakeholders in

the human rights treaty body process (HRI/MC/2013/3 and Corr.1)

5. Reference is also made to relevant information included in the session, annual and

biennial reports of the treaty bodies:

• Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement

No. 18 (A/72/18)

• Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2017, Supplement No. 2

(E/2017/22-E/C.12/2016/3)

• Human Rights Committee

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement

No. 40 (A/72/40)

• Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement

No. 38 (A/72/38)

• Committee against Torture

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement

No. 44 (A/72/44)

• Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment

CAT/C/60/3

• Committee on the Rights of the Child

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 41

(A/71/41)3

• Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of

Their Families

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement

No. 48 (A/72/48)

• Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement

No. 55 (A/72/55)

• Committee on Enforced Disappearance

Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-second Session, Supplement

No. 56 (A/72/56)

3 The report of the Committee is biennial. Its next report is forthcoming.