A high-level meeting of UN human rights experts should focus on strengthening the functioning and accessibility of the human rights treaty bodies and protecting human rights defenders who submit information and complaints, ISHR said today.

(Geneva) – A high-level meeting of UN human rights experts should focus on strengthening the functioning and accessibility of the human rights treaty bodies and protecting human rights defenders who submit information and complaints, the International Service for Human Rights said today.

The annual meeting of Chairpersons of the treaty bodies, which will convene in Geneva from 23 to 27 June, is the first since the UN General Assembly adopted a significant resolution on treaty body strengthening in April.

‘This meeting presents a crucial opportunity for the treaty body chairs to discuss the effective implementation of this resolution, together with a range of other steps and measures that the treaty bodies should take to ensure that they become more accessible to human rights defenders and more effective in influencing human rights change on the ground,’ said ISHR Director Phil Lynch.

In advance of the meeting, ISHR has joined 17 other NGOs in making a submission and recommendations to the Chairpersons as how the accessibility and effectiveness of the treaty bodies can be improved, including in relation to the review of ‘non-reporting’ States, accessibility to NGOs, and the protection of human rights defenders.

‘States have been far less timely in their reporting to treaty bodies as compared to the Universal Periodic Review’, said Mr Lynch. ‘Although the General Assembly resolution allocates resources for capacity building for States that do not submit reports to the treaty bodies, we are concerned that lack of political will is a significant factor in non-reporting. States should not be able to avoid treaty body scrutiny merely by failing to submit a report. Treaty bodies should make every effort to ensure that States report in a comprehensive and timely way but should also be prepared to review and make recommendations on recalcitrant States in the absence of a government report.’

The submission says that treaty bodies could also improve how they work with NGOs, including by ensuring that all treaty bodies provide NGOs with the opportunity to formally brief committee members in private.

‘Private briefings are imperative to ensure that NGOs have the space to represent their views frankly without fear of intimidation by the State,’ Mr Lynch said.

In a separate detailed submission on reprisals, ISHR sets out the legal obligation of the treaty bodies to ensure that they are accessible and that all persons who seek to engage with them are effectively protected from intimidation and attacks.

‘In recent months ISHR has received reports of reprisals against human rights defenders from China and Russia for submitting or seeking to submit information to the treaty bodies. It is imperative that all treaty bodies develop comprehensive and effective policies, and establish a focal point or rapporteur, to investigate and address such cases,’ Mr Lynch said.

‘The meeting of Chairpersons represents a key venue for bringing together the critical experience and perspectives of the entire treaty body system. The Chairpersons should seize this crucial opportunity to further strengthen the treaty bodies’ vital work.’

The treaty body Chairpersons will meet in Geneva from 23-27 June. The Chairpersons will hold an informal consultation with NGOs on 26 June from 11:30 to 13:00 in Palais Wilson.

Contact: Phil Lynch, Director, International Service for Human Rights, on [email protected] or + 41 76 708 4738

Photo: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras