HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE OPENS NINETY-SEVENTH SESSION

The Human Rights Committee this morning opened its ninety-seventh session, adopting its agenda and programme of work and hearing an opening address by Kyung-wha Kang, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ms. Kang said that she wished to bring to the Committee’s attention a number of developments that had taken place since the last session in July. As for the strategic priorities of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for 2010 and 2011, the Office had been engaged over the last couple of months in elaborating its strategic priorities for the next biennium on the basis of broad regional consultations held with its field presences. The thematic priorities had been formulated on the basis of a review of past experience and taking into account the comparative advantages of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The six priorities were: ensuring the realization of human rights in the context of migration; eliminating discrimination; protecting human rights in situations of armed conflict, violence and insecurity; combating impunity and strengthening accountability, rule of law, and democratic societies; protecting economic, social and cultural rights, particularly in the context of the economic, food and climate crises; and strengthening international human rights mechanisms and the progressive development of international human rights law.

Regarding the Human Rights Council and treaty bodies, in her opening speech to the twelfth Human Rights Council, held from 14 September to 2 October, the High Commissioner for Human Rights had underscored the importance of treaty bodies, both through their reporting and individual complaints mechanisms, as well as through the Universal Periodic Review process. The High Commissioner highlighted the overall progress made in the human rights protection system, marked by the increase in the number of human rights instruments and corresponding monitoring bodies, together with greater compliance by States parties with reporting obligations. She also stressed the greater demands posed on the treaty bodies and on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In her statement to the Council, the High Commissioner had also stressed that developments over the past year had put in sharp focus the need to promote and protect human rights more effectively. She had referred particularly to the effects of the economic crisis, the persistence of armed conflicts as well as continuing discrimination and violence against women, minorities, migrants and other vulnerable groups, issues which were of great relevance to the Committee’s work. Among the numerous resolutions adopted by the Council during its twelfth session, the resolution on freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/RES/12/16), in which the Council reaffirmed the rights contained in the Covenant, may be of particular interest to the Committee in light of its plans to adopt a new general comment on article 19.

Coming back to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Ms. Kang said that she was pleased to inform the Committee that on 25 September, the Laos People’s Democratic Republic had ratified the Covenant, thus bringing the number of States parties to 165. Brazil had also ratified both protocols, also on 25 September 2009, thus bringing the number of States parties respectively to 113 and 72 States for the two Protocols. Furthermore, since the Committee’s last session, Bulgaria had submitted its third and Kuwait its second periodic reports. Ms. Kang concluded by wishing the Committee a very fruitful and successful session.

The Committee members then expressed several concerns. The Chair said that he was concerned about the difficulty regarding the translation of documents into different languages, which was particularly difficulty this session. As the Chair, he intended to write a letter to the United Nations Office at Geneva to protest against this, and he would welcome Ms. Kang’s support in this regard.

Ms. Kang said in response that this issue was the reflection of an enormous challenge for the United Nations Office at Geneva and was now being dealt with, at a fundamental level, by the Office. She hoped that the Office would be given sufficient resources to fully service the Committee, and that limited resources would no longer impact the work of the Committee. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had done its best to provide informal translation whilst awaiting the formal translation.

Another Committee member said that he wished to express concern regarding the identification of strategic priorities, and that too much work had been done in the area of the Universal Periodic Review. There were also situations in some countries where serious human rights violations had been occurring and regarding which the Human Rights Council had not been firm enough to find solutions. Therefore, did the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have plans in this regard? It would be appropriate to figure out how to address these priorities.

Ms. Kang said the work of the Universal Periodic Review had not necessarily been a huge hole absorbing resources of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. As for strategic priorities, this was a challenge. The mandate of the Office was very broad and the resources of the Office were very small. The Office was moving towards results-based management.

The Chair said that one Committee member had resigned and that the Committee was therefore now composed of only 17 members, until a new Expert was elected.

During the meeting, the Committee adopted its agenda and programme of work.

The Chairperson of the Working Group on Communications said that the Working Group met last week and had inter alia adopted 24 draft decisions.

When the Committee resumes its work in public at 3 p.m. this afternoon it will begin consideration of the third periodic report of Switzerland (CCPR/C/CHE/3).


For use of information media; not an official record

CT09013E