HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE ADOPTS REPORTS ON FOLLOW-UP TO CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS AND TO VIEWS

The Human Rights Committee this morning discussed and adopted the progress reports of the Special Rapporteur for Follow-up to Concluding Observations, and of the Special Rapporteur for Follow-up to Views.

The report of the Special Rapporteur for Follow-up to Concluding Observations (CCPR/C/91/R.1) sets out the information received by the Special Rapporteur and steps taken by the Special Rapporteur pursuant to the Committee’s amended rules of procedure. This covers the States parties considered at the seventy-first session of March 2001, the seventy-second session of July 2001, the seventy-third session of October 2001, and the seventy-fourth session of March 2002.

Sir Nigel Rodley, Committee Expert and Special Rapporteur for Follow-up to Concluding Observations, introducing his report, said he wished to draw the Committee’s attention to various developments that had taken place. The report was a progress report, country by country. With regards to Moldova, no information had been received from the State party, and consultation should be scheduled for the ninety-second session. The same recommendation applied to Gambia, Mali, Sri Lanka, Equatorial Guinea, Suriname, Namibia, Yemen, Brazil, Paraguay, Democratic Republic of Congo, Hong Kong (China) and Central African Republic, from which countries, among other situations, no information, partial responses, or a promise of a report had been received. On Togo, no further action was to be taken. The United States should be sent further reminders. The Committee should review the situation with regards to Uzbekistan at the ninety-third session. The situation with regards to Kosovo (Serbia) required discussion, due to the lack of an UNMIK office outside Kosovo itself. On the other States parties mentioned in the report, the reports were not yet due, and therefore no follow-up was required.

In the following discussion, Experts said, among other things, that a lot of information had not been received from States parties, and this was disappointing, and could be construed as a failure of the follow-up procedure. Concluding observations should include that a State was not in conformity with its obligations in this regard. With regards to the situation in which State party did not respond to requests for information, the Committee could, an Expert suggested, approach the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urge her to include in the document she was preparing with regards to the Universal Periodic Review the lack of information with regards to follow-up and cooperation, as well as non-cooperation. Another Expert suggested that the Committee could consider ways and means to provide assistance to those countries who found themselves in difficulties with regards to producing their reports.

The Committee adopted the report of the Special Rapporteur for Follow-up to Concluding Observations.

Ivan Shearer, the Special Rapporteur for Follow-up to Views related to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant (CCPR/C/91/R.3), presenting his report, which compiled information received from the 90th session of the Human Rights Committee, said there had been a certain amount of follow-up since the last session. Progress had been made with regards to the situation with regards to Australia, and the Committee should decide how to address the State party’s latest submissions. On Austria, the dialogue was ongoing, as it was for Colombia, New Zealand, Peru and Sweden. On Canada, the Committee regretted the State party’s refusal to accept the Views, and considered the dialogue ongoing.

In the following discussion, Experts said, among other things, that the Committee should not, when a State party said that further dialogue would not be fruitful, agree with this, and should stay with the dialogue until an appropriate remedy had been identified.

Subsequently, the Committee adopted the report, as orally amended.

The next public meeting of the Committee will be on Friday, 2 November, when it will conclude the current session and issue its concluding observations and recommendations on country reports which have been considered.




For use of the information media; not an official record

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