HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ADDRESSES COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights this afternoon addressed the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Committee, mainly discussing the UN Secretary-General’s reform agenda.

High Commissioner Louise Arbour said was committed to develop proposals for a unified standing treaty body and would invite the States parties to the seven human rights treaties to an intergovernmental meeting in 2006 to consider the options. Work on developing the proposals was currently underway. The objective of enhancing the protection of rights holders remained at the core of the proposals put forward.

Ms. Arbour said a substantive concept paper would be prepared and a process of consultations and informal brainstorming sessions with all stakeholders would lead up to the intergovernmental meeting which would be organized in May 2006. The outcome of this meeting would be considered by the fifth inter-committee meeting and eighteenth meeting of chairpersons of human rights treaty bodies in June 2006.

The High Commissioner asked the Committee's Experts to reflect on ways of mainstreaming the achievements of the current system, as well as the benefits which could be drawn from establishing a unified monitoring mechanism, both with regard to reporting and individual petitions, for the seven treaties currently in force and any future human rights instruments.

She said the Experts could submit their reflections on the proposal through the on-line dialogue, which her Office had initiated.

Reacting to the statement, Committee Chairperson Virginia Bonoan-Dandan said the Committee faced problems with the late submission of reports by States parties. The Committee was behind the draft Optional Protocol to the International Convent, which it proposed in 1997. It had also been working in close collaboration with other United Nations bodies on this issue and others.

Other Committee Experts expressed their opinions on the proposal of the unified treaty body. Some Experts supported the idea of a unified treaty body, saying that since human rights were universal and indivisible they should not be divided into seven bodies. They, however, suggested that the seven treaties were treaties "already acquired" and should continue as they were. Other Experts argued that having only one committee to deal with all the treaties would be a burden and it could not substitute the seven specialized committees.

There was also another suggestion, which was to merge only the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, replacing them by a professional standing body with between 24 to 30 members. An Expert also suggested amalgamating the seven committees and creating chambers to deal with the tasks of the present committees.

When the Committee reconvenes in public at 10 a.m. on Monday, 21 November, it will discuss its draft General Comment on article 15.1 c of the International Covenant on the right to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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