COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE DISCUSSES OUTCOME OF MEETING ON TREATY BODY REFORM

The Committee against Torture this morning, during a brief public session, considered the results of the International Meeting of Experts on Treaty Body Reform (Malbun II), which took place on 14 and 15 July 2006.

Presenting the outcome of the meeting, Claudio Grossman, Committee Member, noted that the proposal of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on a permanent unified conventional body which would replace all the existing treaty bodies did not meet with approval from the regional groups present at the meeting. The suggestion to create a single unified body to study communications also met with a certain amount of resistance. The most positive outcome of the meeting lay in the proposals made on reinforcing harmonisation of the methods of work of the different treaties.

Several members of the Committee also expressed themselves on the results of the meeting. The Committee is scheduled to resume its discussion on this topic at a later date.

The next meeting of the Committee will be at 3 p.m., when it will hear the answers of the Hungarian delegation to the questions raised yesterday during the first part of the consideration of the fourth periodic report of that country.


Discussion

CLAUDIO GROSSMAN, Committee Expert, presenting the results of the International Meeting of Experts on Treaty Body Reform (Malbun II), which took place in Malbun, Liechtenstein, on 14-15 July 2006, as summarized in a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations from the Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein (A/61/351), said that Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights had made a proposal on a permanent unified body which would replace all the existing treaty bodies. This proposal did not meet with approval from the regional groups present at the meeting, and the concern was expressed that such a unified mechanism could decrease the protection given to certain particularly vulnerable groups such as women and children.

Further, some feared that a permanent mechanism could lead to a sort of “Human Rights Super-Court”.

The suggestion to create a single unified body to study communications for all the treaty bodies also met with resistance, Mr Grossman said. The most positive outcome of the meeting lay in the proposals made on reinforcing harmonisation of the methods of work of the different treaty bodies. A proposal was also made to institutionalise the meetings of the Chairpersons of the treaty bodies.

Although the proposal of the High Commissioner on a permanent unified conventional body had not met with consensus, some Experts underlined that this should not stop the High Commissioner from continuing consideration of the matter.

Among the measures that could be taken with regards to follow-up on these issues, a representative of the High Commissioner said, was the possibility of organising, in 2007, a meeting on communications. A new document which would include the proposals made by the treaty bodies themselves could also be prepared.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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