Thirtieth meeting of Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies

New York, 29 May-1 June 2018

Item 2 of the provisional agenda

Adoption of the agenda and organization of work

Provisional agenda and annotations

Provisional agenda

1.Election of officers.

2.Adoption of the agenda and organization of work.

3.Follow-up to General Assembly resolution 68/268 on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system.

4.General Assembly review of the treaty body system in 2020.

5.Follow-up to concluding observations, decisions and Views.

6.Reporting compliance by States parties.

7.Implementation by the treaty bodies of the guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (the Addis Ababa Guidelines).

8.Implementation by the treaty bodies of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (the San José Guidelines).

9.Treaty bodies and the Sustainable Development Goals.

10.Inquiries.

11.Additional issues arising in the work of the treaty bodies.

12.Any other business.

13.Adoption of the report on the thirtieth meeting.

Annotations

1.Election of officers

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the meeting will be elected at the opening of the meeting, on Tuesday, 29 May 2018, on the basis of the principle of rotation of Chairs.

2.Adoption of the agenda and organization of work

The meeting will be held pursuant to General Assembly resolution 49/178 on the effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, including reporting obligations under international instruments on human rights.

The Chairs will adopt the agenda based on the provisional agenda contained in the present document. They will also adopt the draft programme of work and consider any organizational matters.

3.Follow-up to General Assembly resolution 68/268 on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system

At their twenty-ninth meeting, the Chairs requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a document for discussion identifying the progress achieved in aligning the working methods and practices of the treaty bodies in the various areas addressed by General Assembly resolution 68/268. They will consider that document (HRI/MC/2018/3) under the present agenda item.

In paragraph 39 of its resolution 68/268, the General Assembly encouraged the human rights treaty bodies to strengthen the possibilities for interaction during the annual meetings of the Chairs of the treaty bodies with States parties to all human rights treaties, with a view to ensuring a forum for an open and formal interactive dialogue. Under the present agenda item, the Chairs will hold consultations with States parties. The Chairs will also meet and hold consultations with United Nations representatives, United Nations agencies, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations.

4.General Assembly review of the treaty body system in 2020

The Chairs will consider and discuss the latest developments and initiatives relating to the treaty body review, including the current linear growth of the treaty body system, States’ observations and expert, academic and civil society processes under way.

5.Follow-up to concluding observations, decisions and Views

The Chairs will have before them a note by the Secretariat containing proposals for their consideration regarding procedures for follow-up to concluding observations, decisions and Views (HRI/MC/2018/4).

The Chairs will also have before them a conference room paper on the expert meeting on follow-up to the treaty body recommendations held in Geneva on 26 and 27 October 2017; the paper will also be available from the web page dedicated to the annual meeting of the Chairs. The meeting was co-organized by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the NGO Network on UN Treaty Bodies (TB-Net), the Open Society Justice Initiative and Judgment Watch.

6.Reporting compliance by States parties

The Chairs will review the status of reporting compliance by States parties and discuss trends, figures and possible action. They will have before them a note by the Secretariat on compliance by States parties with international human rights treaty body reporting obligations (HRI/MC/2018/2).

7.Implementation by the treaty bodies of the guidelines on the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (the Addis Ababa Guidelines)

At their twenty-fourth meeting, held in June 2012, the Chairs endorsed the guidelines on independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (the Addis Ababa Guidelines) (see A/67/222 and Corr.1, annex I) and strongly recommended that they be promptly adopted by the respective treaty bodies.

In paragraphs 36 and 37 of its resolution 68/268, the General Assembly encouraged the treaty bodies to implement the Addis Ababa Guidelines in accordance with their mandates, and invited the Chairs to keep States parties updated on their implementation.

Under the present agenda item, and in connection with the discussion under item 3 of the present provisional agenda, the Chairs will take stock of the implementation by treaty bodies of the Addis Ababa Guidelines and discuss issues related to accountability in the discharge of their functions.

8.Implementation by the treaty bodies of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (the San José Guidelines)

At their twenty-seventh meeting, the Chairs reaffirmed their decision, first made at their twenty-sixth meeting, to include reprisals as a standing item on the agenda of the annual meeting of Chairs.

Welcoming the strong condemnation made by the General Assembly in paragraph 8 of resolution 68/268 of all acts of intimidation and reprisals towards individuals and groups for their contribution to the work of the treaty bodies, the Chairs, at their twenty-seventh meeting, endorsed the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (the San José Guidelines) (HRI/MC/2015/6) and recommended that the treaty bodies adopt them.

Under the present agenda item, and in connection with the discussion under item 3 of the present provisional agenda, the Chairs will take stock of the implementation by the treaty bodies of the San José Guidelines, including through assessments of the adoption of the San José Guidelines, the nomination and effectiveness of focal points in each Committee, and the coordination and cooperation among Committees themselves and between the Committees and other parts of the United Nations system.

9.Treaty bodies and the Sustainable Development Goals

The Chairs will be updated by a representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the latest developments regarding the Sustainable Development Goals and the human rights mechanisms.

10.Inquiries

Under the present agenda item, and in connection with the discussion under item 3 of the present provisional agenda, the Chairs will continue the dialogue on promoting increased alignment of the working methods of those treaty bodies having a mandate to conduct inquiries.

The Chairs will have before them a conference room paper on the expert meeting on the inquiries procedure held on 4 and 5 October 2016 in Geneva; the paper will also be available from the web page dedicated to the annual meeting of the Chairs. The meeting was co-organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

11.Additional issues arising in the work of the treaty bodies

Among other issues, the Chairs will be updated by a representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on strategies for increasing the visibility of the treaty body system, including the webcasting of public meetings of treaty bodies and outreach material, such as videos and video stills, developed in 2017 and 2018. The presentation will be followed by a discussion.

12.Any other business

The Chairs will discuss any other matter relating to the human rights treaty bodies, as necessary.

13.Adoption of the report on the thirtieth meeting

The Chairs will adopt the draft report on the thirtieth meeting, ad referendum, which will include the draft agenda items for the thirty-first meeting and, as necessary, recommendations to be submitted to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session.