Human Right Committee Opens One Hundred and Forty-Fifth Session

The Human Right Committee this morning opened its one hundred and forty-fifth session, during which it will examine the reports of Andorra, Canada, Chad, the Republic of Moldova and Slovakia on their implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Antti Korkeakivi, Chief, Human Rights Treaties Branch, Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and representative of the Secretary-General, said it was a special honour to open the session on the sixtieth anniversary of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — a landmark treaty that had shaped the global understanding and enjoyment of freedom, dignity, and justice.  By monitoring States parties’ compliance with their treaty obligations, the Committee ensured that the promises of the Covenant were made real for people everywhere.

Mr. Korkeakivi expressed concern that human rights violations were intensifying — civilians were openly targeted in conflict, entire communities were forcibly displaced, migrants were deported with little or no due process, journalists and human rights defenders faced growing repression, surveillance was expanding through new technologies, and discrimination in all forms was again becoming normalised.  At the same time, multilateralism was under attack.  The fragmented geopolitical landscape, chronic underfunding, and selective respect for international obligations were eroding the very system meant to uphold universal human rights.

In this context, he said, the work of this Committee was indispensable.  Through its constructive engagement with States parties, authoritative jurisprudence, and its interaction with national human rights institutions and civil society, the Committee provided a vital anchor for the rule of law.  Its General Comments clarified the scope of rights for a changing world, and its Views offered redress to individuals whose rights have been violated.  In a period of mounting violations, including of the right to life, scrutiny, accountability and the pursuit of justice remained crucial to safeguarding human dignity.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was committed to building global partnerships to advance human rights, Mr. Korkeakivi said.  He announced that the High Commissioner had launched the Global Alliance for Human Rights, a wide-ranging, long-term initiative aimed at putting human rights at the heart of political leadership, public debate and daily life.  The Global Alliance would bring together governments, civil society, youth, artists, scientists, businesses, philanthropies, and the entire United Nations system to defend human rights, inspire collective action, and strengthen the global human rights ecosystem.

Mr. Korkeakivi said the Committee’s work had never been more essential, yet the treaty bodies continued to face unprecedented constraints.  In 2025, more than 30 per cent of meeting time was lost due to the liquidity crisis, which, together with reduction in staff support, caused a serious drop in the work that could be undertaken.  There was also a continuing decrease in the submission of State party reports, which had resulted in reductions to the budgeted resources for the treaty bodies under the resource formula established under General Assembly resolution 68/268.

Mr. Korkeakivi noted that, this year, the resource situation was expected to remain extremely challenging, with further cuts to both post and non-post resources.  He expressed regret that, as of today, the Committee’s second session this year had not been confirmed, and some treaty bodies had yet to receive confirmation for their first sessions.

The High Commissioner had warned that if the trend of dwindling resources continued, the treaty body system risked reaching a breaking point, Mr. Korkeakivi said.  In addition to highlighting the need to close the serious resource gaps, he had called on Members States, treaty bodies, civil society organizations and others concerned to pursue innovative solutions to strengthen the treaty body system, including through the UN80 process, to make it more sustainable and impactful.

Mr. Korkeakivi concluded by expressing deep appreciation to the Committee for its dedication.  Despite the constraints, the Committee had been able to convene and would hold constructive dialogues with five States Parties and consider 46 individual communications, reports on follow up to concluding recommendations and Views, and the first reading of a draft General Comment on freedom of association.  Its commitment remained indispensable, especially in times of uncertainty, he said.

Changrok Soh, Committee Chair, then called on the Committee to observe a minute of silence in honour of the Committee’s former colleague, Marcia Kran, who passed away last month.

Committee Expert Tania María Abdo Rocholl, making a tribute on behalf of the Committee, said that Ms. Kran had served the Committee for eight years, manifesting the best of its work through respectful dialogue, careful listening and a firm conviction in human dignity.  Often away from the public lens, she built bridges between the Committee, civil society, academia and States.  She worked tirelessly, collaborated generously and left an indelible mark on the institution.  In her memory, the Committee would continue to build bridges of dialogue, respect, and cooperation that kept hope alive and strengthened the defence of human rights.

Wafaa Ashraf Moharram Bassim, Committee Vice Chair and chair of the working group on communications, then presented the report on its activities for the one hundred and forty-fifth session.  She said the Committee could not hold its 2025 fall session and the current session was being held under stringent financial constraints.  To ensure the consideration of individual communications prior to the session, the Committee had decided to allocate part of its plenary time to the pre-session working group, which could meet for four days instead of the usual five, from 24 to 27 February in Palais Wilson.

Ms. Bassim said the working group was able to adopt 22 drafts of Views covering 42 communications, and would use some of the remaining plenary time to finalise the consideration and adoption of four pending drafts.  The cases examined were submitted between 2017 and 2025 and covered 19 States parties from different regions, as well as different themes ranging from non-refoulement, discrimination, right to privacy, eviction, arbitrary detention, fair trial, and right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.  The drafts included nine inadmissibility proposals and 13 proposals of violation.

The Committee then adopted the working group’s report.  During the meeting, it also adopted its agenda and programme of work for the session.

The Human Rights Committee’s one hundred and forty-fifth session is being held from 2 to 19 March 2026.  All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  Meeting summary releases can be found here.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. this afternoon, Monday, 2 March, to begin its consideration of the initial report of Andorra (CCPR/C/AND/1).

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not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

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