COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONSIDERS FOLLOW-UP TO MEETING OF CHAIRPERSONS AND INTER-COMMITTEE MEETING

The Committee against Torture this afternoon considered the issue of follow-up to the Fifth Inter-Committee Meeting, held from 19 to 21 June 2006, and the Eighteenth Meeting of Chairpersons of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies, held on 22 and 23 June 2006.

The annual Meeting of Chairpersons of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies provides a forum for members of the seven human rights treaty bodies to discuss their work and consider ways to enhance the effectiveness of the treaty body system as a whole. Issues addressed at these meetings have included the streamlining and overall improvement of human rights reporting procedures and the harmonization of the Committees’ methods of work. Since 2002, an Inter-Committee Meeting, consisting of the Chairpersons plus two members of each of the Committees, has also been convened to discuss these issues.

Introducing the discussions held at the Fifth Inter-Committee Meeting, Nora Sveaass, Committee Member, said that the High Commissioner’s reform proposals, in particular her concept paper on a unified standing treaty body, had been one of the main focuses of the discussions. It had been agreed that harmonization of reporting was key, and the recommendations for harmonizing core reports had been adopted. However, with regard to the establishment of a single, unified treaty body, it had been felt that some vulnerable groups could become more marginalized – in particular women and children. Representatives from the UN Refugee Agency and non-governmental organizations had also expressed their concerns about a single treaty body to replace the seven core bodies, in particular, that contact between treaty bodies and civil society could be at risk if the treaty bodies were to lose their specificity.

Another topic discussed had been the national human rights institutions and the Paris Principles, and what the different practices were among the various Committees when considering periodic reports from States members. It became clear that there was a consensus that such representatives should not be used to present State party policy and should make separate presentations, Ms. Sveaass said.

Introducing the Chairpersons’ meeting, the Committee Chairperson, Andreas Mavrommatis, said that the purpose of that meeting was largely to review and endorse decisions taken at the Inter-Committee Meeting. He drew attention to a letter dated 18 September 2006 from Christine Chanet, the Chairperson of the Eighteenth Meeting of Chairpersons of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies, containing the recommendations adopted during that meeting which required specific action by each Committee, which had been distributed to Committee Members.

One recommendation was the establishment of a working group, composed of seven members, one designated by each Committee, and it was recalled that the working group on reform proposals was scheduled to meet on 27 and 28 November 2006. Committee Expert Felice Gaer was then endorsed as the Committee’s representative to that meeting.

Another recommendation was that all treaty bodies establish a mechanism of “rapporteurs” or “focal points” to enhance cooperation and facilitate more effective interaction on country-specific, as well as thematic issues and follow up with the UN specialized agencies, as well as the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Human Rights Committee. Committee Expert Fernando Mariño Menendez was then appointed as focal point for the UN Refugee Agency.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 7 November, it is scheduled to begin consideration of the initial report of Tajikistan (CAT/C/TJK/1).

For use of the information media; not an official record

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