Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Forty- sixth sessionGeneva, 2-20 May 2011
Provisional agenda and annotations
Note by the Secretary‑General*
The forty-sixth session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, established in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1985/17, will be held at the United Nations Office at Geneva (Palais Wilson) from 2 to 20 May 2011. The first meeting will be convened on Monday, 2 May 2011 at 10 a.m.
The attached provisional agenda and annotations for the forty-sixth session of the Committee have been prepared by the Secretary-General in accordance with rule 4 of the rules of procedure of the Committee.
The attention of States parties is drawn, in particular, to the annotations to item 7 containing the list of reports that will be before the Committee at its forty-sixth and future sessions.
Provisional agenda
Election of Chairperson and other officers of the Committee.
Adoption of the agenda.
Organization of work.
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Follow-up to the consideration of reports under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant.
Relations with United Nations organs and other treaty bodies.
Consideration of reports:
(a)Reports submitted by States parties in accordance with articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant;
(b)Reports submitted by specialized agencies in accordance with article 18 of the Covenant.
Submission of reports by States parties in accordance with articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant.
Formulation of suggestions and recommendations of a general nature based on the consideration of reports submitted by States parties to the Covenant and by the specialized agencies.
Miscellaneous matters.
Annotations
1.Election of Chairperson and other officers of the Committee
In accordance with rule 14 of its rules of procedure, the Committee shall elect from among its members a Chairperson, three Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur. The officers of the Committee shall be elected for a term of two years (rule 15). Under rule 53 of the rules of procedure, elections shall be held by secret ballot, unless the Committee decides otherwise in the case of an election to fill a place for which there is only one candidate.
2.Adoption of the agenda
Under rule 5 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the first item on the agenda of any session shall be the adoption of the agenda, except for the election of the officers when required under rule 14. In accordance with rule 6, the Committee may revise the agenda during a session and may, as appropriate, add, delete or defer items.
3.Organization of work
In accordance with rule 8 of its rules of procedure, at the beginning of each session, the Committee shall consider appropriate organizational matters, including the schedule of its meetings. In this connection, attention is drawn to the tentative programme of work for the session set out in the present document, which was prepared by the Secretary-General in consultation with the Chairperson of the Committee in accordance with established practice.
4.Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
In accordance with rule 65 of its rules of procedure, the Committee may prepare general comments based on the various articles and provisions of the Covenant with a view to assisting States parties in fulfilling their reporting obligations. The Committee decided at its fourteenth session (28 April-17 May 1996) that as from its fifteenth session its discussions relating to the implementation of the Covenant (days of general discussion, consideration and adoption of general comments, methods of work, NGO submissions, etc.) would be conducted under this agenda item. At the present session, the Committee will consider a statement on the corporate sector and human rights.
During the session, the Committee will also discuss the draft rules of procedure regarding the Optional Protocol to the Covenant and other methods of work.
5.Follow-up to the consideration of reports under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant
The Committee has been discussing follow-up consistently at its sessions. At the current session, the Committee will consider the points of agreement on follow-up to concluding observations, inquiries and visits decided at the first session of the inter-committee meeting’s Working Group on Follow-up of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies, held from 12 to 14 January 2011. The points of agreement, which will be submitted to the inter-committee meeting in June 2011 for endorsement, contain numerous proposals for a more structured and harmonized approach to follow-up across the treaty bodies.
6.Relations with United Nations organs and other treaty bodies
Under this agenda item, the Committee will consider matters emanating from the first session of the Working Group on Follow-up of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies, and discuss issues to be raised at the next inter-committee meeting, to be held from 27 to 29 June 2011, and the meeting of chairpersons of human rights treaty bodies, to be held from 30 June to 1 July 2011. The reports of the previous meeting of chairpersons and the previous inter-committee meeting, as well as any intersessional meetings, will be made available to Committee members.
The eleventh meeting of the Joint Expert Group UNESCO (Committee on Conventions and Recommendations)/Economic and Social Council (Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) on the Monitoring of the Right to Education, established by decision 2003/310 of 25 July 2003 of the Economic and Social Council and 162/EX/Decision 5.4 of the Executive Board of UNESCO (2-31 October 2001), will be convened on 29 April 2011, immediately prior to the forty-sixth session. The Joint Expert Group is composed of four members: two members from the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and two members from the UNESCO Committee on Conventions and Recommendations.
7.Consideration of reports
(a)Reports submitted by States parties in accordance with articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant
In accordance with rule 61, paragraph 2, of its rules of procedure, the Committee shall normally consider the reports submitted by States parties under article 16 of the Covenant in the order in which they have been received by the Secretary-General. Representatives of the reporting States are entitled to be present at the meetings of the Committee when their reports are examined; such representatives should be able to make statements on the reports submitted by their Governments and reply to questions which may be put to them by the members of the Committee.
In accordance with rule 62, paragraph 2, of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the Secretary-General, in notes verbales dated 6 December 2010 informed the States parties concerned of the opening date and duration of the forty-sixth session of the Committee, and invited them to send representatives to attend the meetings of the Committee at which their reports would be considered. Following consultations with the Permanent Missions of the States parties concerned about the dates at which their respective reports would be examined, a tentative timetable for consideration of those reports was prepared by the Secretary‑General in consultation with the Chairperson of the Committee.
As at 7 February 2011, 44 reports as listed below had been received by the Secretary‑General and were pending consideration by the Committee. The reports of the States parties which are scheduled for consideration at the forty-sixth (May 2011) and forty-seventh (November 2011) sessions of the Committee are identified in the last columns of the tables that follow. The reports indicated to be scheduled for consideration at sessions of the Committee further in the future are the next five to seven reports received by the Committee, according to chronological order of receipt. Their scheduling for consideration by the Committee at its forty-seventh and future sessions is subject to approval by the Committee.
The following tables do not include States parties that were requested to submit reports by a specific deadline, failing which the Committee would proceed to examine the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in their territories in the absence of a report.
|
Initial reports |
Symbol |
Date received |
Date due |
Scheduled for consideration at |
|
1. Djibouti (initial and second reports) |
E/C.12/DJI/1-2 |
21 July 2010 |
30 June 2009 |
|
|
2. Ethiopia (initial to third periodic reports) |
E/C.12/ETH/1-3 |
28 July 2009 |
30 June 1995 30 June 2000 30 June 2005 30 June 2010 |
|
|
3. Mauritania |
E/C.12/MRT/1 |
20 Aug. 2009 |
30 June 2007 |
|
|
4. Togo |
E/C.12/TGO/1 |
26 Jan. 2010 |
30 June 1990 30 June 1995 30 June 2000 30 June 2005 |
|
|
5. Turkey |
E/C.12/TUR/1 |
25 June 2008 |
30 June 200530 June 2010 |
Forty-sixth session, May 2011 |
|
6. Turkmenistan |
E/C.12/TKM/1 |
3 Mar. 2009 |
30 June 200530 June 2010 |
Forty-seventh session, November 2011 |
|
7. United Republic of Tanzania (initial to third report) |
E/C.12/TZA/1-3 |
25 Aug. 2009 |
30 June 1990 30 June 1995 30 June 2000 30 June 2005 |
|
Second periodic reports |
Symbol |
Date received |
Date due |
Scheduled for consideration at |
|
8. Albania (second and third periodic reports) |
E/C.12/ALB/2-3 |
9 Apr. 2010 |
30 June 2009 30 June 2014 |
|
|
9. Bosnia and Herzegovina |
E/C.12/BIH/2 |
9 Aug. 2010 |
30 June 2010 |
|
|
10. Cameroon (second and third periodic reports) |
E/C.12/CMR/2-3 |
26 Nov. 2008 |
30 June 2001 30 June 2006 30 June 2011 |
Forty-seventh session, November 2011 |
|
11. China (second report) Hong Kong (third report) Macau (second report) |
E/C.12/CHN/2 E/C.12/CHN-HKG/3 E/C.12/CHN-MAC/2 |
30 June 2010 30 June 2010 30 June 2010 |
30 June 2010 30 June 2015 |
|
|
12. Czech Republic |
E/C.12/CZE/2 |
30 Nov. 2010 |
30 June 2007 |
|
|
13. Egypt (second to fourth periodic reports) |
E/C.12/EGY/2-4 |
11 May 2010 |
30 June 1995 30 June 2000 30 June 2005 |
|
|
14. Estonia |
E/C.12/EST/2 and Corr.1 |
31 Oct. 2008 |
30 June 2007 |
Forty-seventh session, November 2011 |
|
15. Iran (Islamic Republic of) |
E/C.12/IRN/2 |
3 Nov. 2009 |
30 June 199530 June 2000 30 June 2005 |
|
|
16. Kuwait |
E/C.12/KWT/2 |
31 Mar. 2010 |
30 June 2009 |
|
|
17. Lithuania |
E/C.12/LTU/2 |
1 Feb. 2010 |
30 June 2009 |
|
|
18. Peru (second to fourth periodic reports) |
E/C.12/PER/2-4 |
26 May 2009 |
30 June 1995 30 June 2000 30 June 2005 |
|
|
19. Republic of Moldova |
E/C.12/MDA/2 |
5 Sept. 2008 |
30 June 200830 June 2013 |
Forty-sixth session, May 2011 |
|
20. Rwanda (second to fourth periodic reports) |
E/C.12/RWA/2-4 |
20 Jan. 2010 |
30 June 199030 June 1995 30 June 200030 June 2005 |
|
|
21. Slovakia |
E/C.12/SVK/2 |
25 June 2009 |
30 June 2007 |
|
|
22. Uzbekistan |
E/C.12/UZB/2 |
2 July 2010 |
30 June 2010 30 June 2015 |
|
|
23. Yemen |
E/C.12/YEM/2 |
3 July 2008 |
30 June 200830 June 2013 |
Forty-sixth session, May 2011 |
|
Third periodic reports |
Symbol |
Date received |
Date due |
Scheduled for consideration at |
|
24. Argentina |
E/C.12/ARG/3 |
6 May 2009 |
30 June 200130 June 2006 |
Forty-seventh session, November 2011 |
|
25. Azerbaijan |
E/C.12/AZE/3 |
29 Sept. 2009 |
30 June 2009 |
|
|
26. Ecuador |
E/C.12/ECU/3 |
8 Sept. 2009 |
30 June 2009 |
|
|
27. El Salvador (third to fifth periodic reports) |
E/C.12/SLV/3-5 |
5 Jan. 2011 |
30 June 2010 |
|
|
28. Israel |
E/C.12/ISR/3 |
20 Jan. 2009 |
30 June 2008 |
Forty-seventh session, November 2011 |
|
29. Japan |
E/C.12/JPN/3 |
22 Dec. 2009 |
30 June 2006 |
|
|
30. Jamaica (third and fourth periodic reports) |
E/C.12/JAM/3-4 |
6 Jan. 2010 |
30 June 200330 June 2008 |
|
|
31. New Zealand |
E/C.12/NZL/3 |
15 May 2009 |
30 June 2008 |
|
Fourth periodic reports |
Symbol |
Date received |
Date due |
Scheduled for consideration at |
|
32. Austria |
E/C.12/AUT/4 |
28 July 2010 |
30 June 2010 |
|
|
33. Belarus (fourth to sixth periodic reports) |
E/C.12/BLR/4-6 |
19 Nov. 2010 |
30 June 2009 |
|
|
34. Belgium |
E/C.12/BEL/4 |
9 July 2010 |
30 June 2010 30 June 2015 |
|
|
35. Bulgaria (fourth and fifth periodic reports) |
E/C.12/BGR/4-5 |
31 July 2009 |
30 June 1999 30 June 2004 30 June 2013 |
|
|
36. Iceland |
E/C.12/ISL/4 |
19 Jan. 2010 |
30 June 2008 |
|
|
37. Portugal |
E/C.12/PRT/4 |
31 Jan. 2011 |
30 June 2005 |
|
Fifth periodic reports |
Symbol |
Date received |
Date due |
Scheduled for consideration at |
|
38. Denmark |
E/C.12/DNK/5 |
25 Jan. 2010 |
30 June 2009 |
|
|
39. Germany |
E/C.12/DEU/5 |
16 Sept. 2008 |
30 June 2006 |
Forty-sixth session, May 2011 |
|
40. Norway |
E/C.12/NOR/5 |
28 June 2010 |
30 June 2010 30 June 2015 |
|
|
41. Russian Federation |
E/C.12/RUS/5 |
3 June 2008 |
30 June 200830 June 2013 |
Forty-sixth session, May 2011 |
|
42. Spain |
E/C.12/ESP/5 |
30 June 2010 |
30 June 2009 |
(b)Reports submitted by specialized agencies in accordance with article 18 of the Covenant
In accordance with rule 67 of its rules of procedure, the Committee is entrusted with the task of considering the reports submitted by specialized agencies pursuant to article 18 of the Covenant.
In accordance with rule 68 of the rules of procedure, the representatives of the specialized agencies concerned may make statements on matters falling within the scope of the activities of their respective organization. The Secretary-General has invited the following specialized agencies, United Nations organs and financial institutions to send representatives to attend the meetings of the Committee: International Labour Organization (ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Health Organization (WHO), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organization (WTO).
Any report which may be received from the specialized agencies under article 18 of the Covenant will be made available to the Committee in due course.
8.Submission of reports by States parties in accordance with articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant
In accordance with rule 59, paragraph 1, of its rules of procedure, the Committee shall at each session consider the status of submission of reports under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant and may make appropriate recommendations to the Council, including recommendations to the effect that the Secretary-General should send reminders to States parties from which reports have not been received. The Committee will have before it under this item the following document:
Note by the Secretary-General on the States parties to the Covenant and the status of submission of reports (E/C.12/46/2).
9.Formulation of suggestions and recommendations of a general nature based on the consideration of reports submitted by States parties to the Covenant and by the specialized agencies
Pursuant to rule 64 of its rules of procedure, the Committee may wish to make suggestions and recommendations of a general nature on the basis of its consideration of reports submitted by States parties and the reports submitted by specialized agencies, in order to assist the Council to fulfil, in particular, its responsibilities under articles 21 and 22 of the Covenant. The Committee may also wish to make suggestions for consideration by the Council with reference to articles 19, 22 and 23 of the Covenant.
10.Miscellaneous matters
At its twenty-first session (1999), the Committee decided to include in its agenda a standing item, “miscellaneous matters”, under which it may consider any issue falling outside the scope of other standing agenda items.
Tentative programme of the forty- sixth session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ( 2 - 20 May 2011 )
First week: 2 - 6 May 2011
|
Monday, 2 May |
Solemn oath by new members |
|||
|
1st meeting |
(public) |
Item 1 |
Election of the Chairperson and other officers of the Committee |
|
|
Item 2 |
Adoption of the agenda |
|||
|
Item 3 Item 8 |
Organization of work Submission of reports by States parties in accordance with articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant |
|||
|
(private) |
Item 10 |
Miscellaneous matters |
||
|
2nd meeting |
(private) |
Item 6 |
Relations with United Nations organs and other treaty bodies |
|
|
(public) |
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: NGO submissions |
||
|
Tuesday, 3 May |
||||
|
3rd meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Turkey |
|
|
4th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Turkey (continued) |
|
|
Wednesday, 4 May |
||||
|
5th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Turkey (continued) |
|
|
6th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Republic of Moldova |
|
|
Thursday, 5 May |
||||
|
7th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Republic of Moldova (continued) |
|
|
8th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Republic of Moldova (continued) |
|
|
Friday, 6 May |
||||
|
9th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Germany |
|
|
10th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Germany (continued) |
|
|
Second week: 9 - 13 May 2011 |
||||
|
Monday, 9 May |
||||
|
11th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Germany (continued) |
|
|
12th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Yemen |
|
|
Tuesday, 10 May |
||||
|
13th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Yemen (continued) |
|
|
14th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Yemen (continued) |
|
|
Wednesday, 11 May |
||||
|
15th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Russian Federation |
|
|
16th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Russian Federation ( continued) |
|
|
Thursday, 12 May |
||||
|
17th meeting |
(public) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Russian Federation ( continued) |
|
|
18th meeting |
(private) |
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
|
|
Friday, 13 May |
||||
|
19th meeting |
(private) |
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
|
|
20th meeting |
(private) |
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
Third week: 16 - 20 May 2011
|
Monday, 1 6 May |
|||
|
21st meeting |
(private) |
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
|
22nd meeting |
(private) |
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
|
Tuesday, 1 7 May |
|||
|
23rd meeting |
(private) |
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
|
(private) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Adoption of concluding observations |
|
|
24th meeting |
(private) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Adoption of concluding observations |
|
Wednesday, 1 8 May 25th meeting |
(private) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Adoption of concluding observations |
|
26th meeting |
(private) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Adoption of concluding observations |
|
Thursday, 1 9 May |
|||
|
27th meeting |
(private) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Adoption of concluding observations |
|
28th meeting |
(private) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Adoption of concluding observations |
|
Friday, 20 May |
|||
|
29th meeting |
(private) |
Item 7 |
Consideration of reports: Adoption of concluding observations |
|
Item 4 |
Substantive issues arising in the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
||
|
Item 5 |
Follow-up to the consideration of reports under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant |
||
|
Item 9 |
Formulation of suggestions and general recommendations |
||
|
Item 10 |
Miscellaneous matters |
||
|
30th meeting |
(private) |
Item 10 |
Miscellaneous matters |
|
(public) |
Close of session |