Reporting obligations of States parties to international instruments on human rights and effective functioning of bodies established pursuant to such instruments : ways and means of improving the reporting system under the United Nations human rights instruments.
- Author: UN Commission on Human Rights (45th sess. : 1989 : Geneva)
- Document source:
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Date:
6 March 1989
1989/46. Reporting obligations of States parties to international instruments on human rights and effective functioning of bodies established pursuant to such instruments; ways and means of improving the reporting system under the United Nations human rights instruments
The Commission on Human Rights, Recalling the many resolutions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights affirming the importance of the effective implementation of United Nations instruments on human rights in promoting universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms, Deeply concerned over the delays in the submission of national reports and in their consideration by treaty bodies, Recognizing that, as more ratifications are received in the future and as new instruments enter into force, the increase in the number of reports and the growth in the volume of other relevant documentation are likely to compound the problems currently being encountered by the treaty bodies, Considering that the effective functioning of treaty bodies established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments is essential for monitoring the implementation of such instruments, including the consideration of periodic reports of States parties, Recalling the repeatedly affirmed responsibility of the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies for ensuring the functioning of the reporting procedures and the burden that coexisting reporting systems place upon States that are parties to various instruments, Noting that the meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies held at Geneva from 10 to 14 October 1988 considered it essential, in addressing such problems, to make use of the opportunities provided by computerization and recommended the appointment of a task force on computerization, Noting further that the General Assembly, in its resolution 43/115 of 8 December 1988, requested the Commission on Human Rights, in view of its overall responsibilities in the field of human rights, to consider at its forty-fifth session, as a matter of priority, the conclusions and recommendations of the meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies, in particular those identified as matters requiring urgent action, and to report to the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session, through the Economic and Social Council, Considering the importance of urgently needed measures to assist States parties to human rights instruments in the preparation of their reports, Considering further the need to rationalize the entire reporting and monitoring systems, Taking note of General Assembly resolution 43/115 , in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to entrust an independent expert with the task of preparing a study on possible long-term approaches to the supervision of new instruments on human rights, Being aware of the increased work-load of the Centre for Human Rights and also of the need for the Centre to assist both the States and the treaty bodies as much as possible,1. Requests the Secretary-General to consider appointing, within existing resources, a task force composed of a limited number of experts, including one or more experts in informatics;
2. Recommends that the task force should prepare a study on computerizing, as far as possible, the work of the treaty monitoring bodies in relation to reporting, with a view to increasing efficiency and facilitating compliance by States parties with their reporting obligations and the examination of the reports by the treaty bodies;
3. Recommends that the task force should prepare its study in close co-operation with the Centre for Human Rights and the persons chairing the monitoring bodies;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to extend all possible assistance to the task force to enable it to fulfil its mandate as soon as possible, and to report to the Commission on Human Rights, at its forty-sixth session, on the results of its work.
51st meeting6 March 1989
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. XVIII.]
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