COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS ADOPTS ITS ANNUAL REPORT

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning adopted its annual report which will be submitted to the General Assembly. The report covers the Committee’s activities during its thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth sessions.

During its current thirty-fifth session, the Committee considered the reports of Slovenia, Austria, Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Libya while it examined the reports of Zambia, China, Serbia and Montenegro and Norway in its meeting which took place from 25 April to 13 May 2005.

The Committee’s report aims at providing a concise and up-to-date overview and explanation of the ways in which the Committee carries out its various functions. It is designed to make the Committee’s current practices more transparent and readily accessible so as to assist States parties and other interested entities in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Committee and the sessional working group of governmental experts, which existed prior to the creation of the Committee, have so far examined 153 initial reports, 71 second periodic reports concerning rights covered by articles 6 to 9, 10 to 12 and 13 to 15 of the Covenant, and 134 comprehensive reports. The Committee has also adopted 17 General Comments on different articles of the treaty. With the view to assisting States parties to the Covenant, the Committee also adopts statements to clarify and confirm its position with respect to major international developments and issues that bear upon the implementation of the Covenant. So far, the Committee had adopted 15 statements.

On substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant, the report points out its cooperation with specialized agencies, particularly the series of meetings of the Joint Expert Group of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Committee on the monitoring of the right to education.

One hundred and fifty-one States have so far ratified the International Covenant, which was adopted by General Assembly in 1966 and entered into force on 3 January 1976. The Committee is composed of 18 independent experts elected on the basis of equitable geographical distribution.

According to the provisional agenda for 2006 which is part of the report, the Committee's thirty-sixth session will be held from 1 to 19 May, during which it will examine the reports of Monaco, Liechtenstein, Morocco, Canada and Mexico.
At the thirty-seventh session, which will be held from 13 November to 1 December 2006, the Committee is scheduled to examine the reports of El Salvador, Albania, Tajikistan, Macedonia and Finland.

The Committee will continue its discussion of a draft General Comment on article 6 of the Covenant on the right to work later during the session.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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