HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
Seventy-eighth session
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE SECOND PART (PUBLIC)* OF THE 2136th MEETING
Held at the Palais Wilson, Geneva,
on Friday, 7 August 2003, at 11.10 a.m.
Chairperson: Mr. AMOR
CONTENTS
ORGANIZATIONAL AND OTHER MATTERS (continued)
CLOSURE OF THE SESSION
The public part of the meeting was called to order at 11.10 a.m.
ORGANIZATIONAL AND OTHER MATTERS (agenda item 3) (continued)
The CHAIRPERSON recalled that an amended version of paragraph 3 of rule 69A of the Committee’s rules of procedure had been circulated to members. The proposed text read:
“3.Taking into account any comments that may have been provided by the State party in response to the Committee’s provisional concluding observations, the Committee may proceed to the adoption of final concluding observations, which shall be communicated to the State party, in accordance with rule 70, paragraph 3, and made public.”
If he heard no objection, he would take it that the Committee wished to adopt the amended text.
It was so decided.
The CHAIRPERSON announced that work on the Festschrift to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Human Rights Committee was proceeding smoothly.
He confirmed that the seventy-ninth session of the Committee would be held in New York. A communication had been sent to the United Nations Legal Counsel regarding the question of honorariums for the members of the Committee.
It had been decided that the Committee should consider the periodic reports of the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Latvia and discuss the situation in Equatorial Guinea at the seventy-ninth session. The Bureau felt that the Committee should consider developing a more coherent and objective policy for the setting of dates for the submission of reports by States parties. With regard to the reports considered at the current session, it had been decided to request El Salvador, Israel and Slovakia to submit their next periodic reports on 1 August 2007 and Portugal on 1 August 2008.
Referring to the Committee’s productive discussion with the International Law Commission and his own encouraging dialogue with the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, he urged members to give some thought to the development of an appropriate framework for joint discussions on various issues with other treaty bodies and interested parties. The Committee should also consider whether the time had come to ask certain States parties to submit a special report.
Mr. SCHMIDT (Secretary of the Committee) said that at the current session the Committee had adopted 17 Views under the Optional Protocol and 12 inadmissibility decisions, the Working Group had declared 2 cases admissible and the Committee had decided to discontinue consideration of 15 communications.
CLOSURE OF THE SESSION
After the customary exchange of courtesies, the CHAIRPERSON declared the seventy‑eighth session closed.
The meeting rose at 11.20 a.m.