Thirty-third meeting of Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies

7–11 June 2021

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

4.Reporting compliance by States parties.

5.Implementation by the treaty bodies of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (San José Guidelines), with a particular focus on cases of and trends in reprisals.

6.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).

7.Progress made on the alignment of working methods and practices of the treaty bodies, including with regard to the simplified reporting procedure.

8.Working methods and tools in relation to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the substantive input of treaty bodies in relation to COVID-19.

9.Modalities and organization of future meetings of Chairs and other intersessional activities.

10.Any other business.

11.Adoption of the report on the thirty-third meeting.

Annotations

1.Election of officers

The meeting is scheduled to be held online, owing to the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected that a senior United Nations official will make opening remarks. The Chair and Vice-Chair will be elected at the opening of the meeting on 7 June 2021, on the basis of the principle of rotation agreed by the 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.General Assembly review of the treaty body system in 2020

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/268, the Chairs decided to give priority to consideration of the review of the treaty body system. At their thirty-second meeting, the Chairs agreed to convey to the co-facilitators of the 2020 review appointed by the President of the Assembly their priorities, concerns and proposals on how to strengthen the treaty body system effectively. The Chairs set up a drafting group composed of Jens Modvig, Hilary Gbedemah and Nora Sveaass to consider parameters for a schedule of predictable review cycles, and discussed the draft paper on the views of the drafting group at their meeting on 14 December 2020. The Chairs will further discuss the recommendations contained in the report of the co-facilitators, and the progress of the 2020 review.

In 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.

4.Reporting compliance by States parties

The Chairs will discuss reporting compliance by States parties, on the basis of information provided in an online format only, as requested at their thirty-first meeting. They will review figures and trends, and discuss possible action.

5.Implementation by the treaty bodies of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (San José Guidelines), with a particular focus on cases of and trends in reprisals

The Chairs will discuss a summary of cases and trends in reprisals that have been brought to the attention of the treaty bodies and issues that need further action by the Chairs, prepared by the Secretariat pursuant to the request made by the Chairs at their thirty-first meeting.

6.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 the independence and impartiality of members of the human rights treaty bodies (the Addis Ababa guidelines), 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.

The Chairs will discuss key challenges and further steps to operationalize the guidelines across treaty bodies.

7.Progress made on the alignment of working methods and practices of the treaty bodies, including with regard to the simplified reporting procedure

With a view to further aligning their working methods and practices and in view of the General Assembly review of the treaty body system in 2020, the Chairs will discuss the efforts that each treaty body has made in this regard pursuant to Assembly resolution 68/268.

8.Working methods and tools in relation to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the substantive input of treaty bodies in relation to COVID-19

At their thirty-second meeting, the Chairs agreed to extend the mandate of the informal working group on COVID-19, which is tasked with exchanging views and presenting findings and suggestions to the formal meeting of the Chairs:

(a)On the impact that COVID-19 has had on the modalities of the work of treaty bodies in the light of the sessions held online;

(b)On the substantive contributions of treaty bodies related to the human rights implications of COVID-19.

The Chairs will hold an exchange of views with the facilitator and the rapporteur of the informal working group and consider its recommendations.

9.Modalities and organization of future meetings of Chairs and other intersessional activities

With the aim of further enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of their annual meeting, the Chairs will discuss the working modalities and organization of the meetings of Chairs and their intersessional activities.

10.Any other business

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

11.Adoption of the report on the thirty-third meeting

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