Effective functioning of bodies established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments.

1990/25. Effective functioning of bodies established Pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments

The Commission on Human Rights, Recalling General Assembly resolution 44/135 of 15 December 1989, Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/142 of 24 May 1989 and Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1989/46 and 1989/47 of 6 March 1989, as well as other relevant resolutions, Reaffirming that the effective implementation of United Nations human rights instruments is of major importance to the efforts of the Organization, pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Considering that the effective functioning of treaty bodies established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments is indispensable for the full and effective implementation of such instruments, Expressing concern about the continuing and increasing backlog of reports on implementation by States parties of United Nations instruments on human rights and about delays in consideration of reports by the treaty bodies, Expressing further concern about the non-fulfilment by many States parties of their financial obligations under the relevant United Nations instruments on human rights, Aware that the General Assembly, in its resolution 44/135 of 15 December 1989, reaffirmed its responsibility to ensure the proper functioning of the said treaty bodies and, in this connection, reaffirmed the importance of:

(a) Ensuring the effective functioning of systems of periodic reporting by States parties to these instruments,

(b) Addressing the question of securing sufficient financial resources, which is increasingly hampering the proper functioning of human rights treaty bodies, as noted with concern in reports of five such bodies, and of providing sufficient resources to ensure the effective functioning of the respective treaty bodies,

(c) Addressing problems of both reporting obligations and financial implications when considering the possibility of establishing any additional human rights instruments,

Recalling the conclusions and recommendations of the meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies, held at Geneva from 10 to 14 October 1988, (see E/CN.4/1989/62, annex) and the endorsement of the recommendations aimed at streamlining, rationalizing and otherwise improving reporting procedures by the General Assembly in its resolution 44/135 and the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1989/47, Taking note with appreciation of the study on possible long term approaches to enhancing the effective operation of existing and prospective bodies established under United Nations human rights instruments prepared by the independent expert pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1989/47 (A/44/668, annex),

1. Endorses the continuing efforts aimed at streamlining, rationalizing and otherwise improving reporting procedures by the treaty bodies and the Secretary-General within their respective spheres of competence;

2. Welcomes the conclusions and recommendations with regard to the better functioning of the treaty bodies in the study on possible long term approaches to enhancing the effective operation of existing and prospective bodies established under United Nations human rights instruments;

3. Invites the treaty bodies to review the study on possible long term approaches, to consider which conclusions and recommendations are of relevance to their respective spheres of competence and to send their comments to the Secretary General;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to report on the comments of the treaty bodies to the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-seventh session;

5. Urges States parties to make every effort to meet their reporting obligations and to contribute, individually and through meetings of States parties, to identifying and implementing ways of further streamlining and improving reporting procedures;

6. Also urges all States parties to meet without delay all their financial obligations pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments;

7. Invites meetings of States parties to consider ways and means of strengthening the collection of contributions and of making procedures more effective and, if necessary, to reconsider the position of States parties that are substantially in default on their assessed contributions;

8. Notes that the General Assembly, in so far as any of the treaty bodies may be experiencing financial difficulties, could consider alleviating these difficulties, inter alia, by the temporary allocation of necessary funds by way of advances out of the United Nations regular budget which would be reimbursed from the contributions received within the same budget year, a procedure to be repeated until such time as a permanent solution to such difficulties can be implemented;

9. Emphasizes that any temporary financial assistance from the United Nations regular budget should be provided without prejudice to the duty of States parties to United Nations instruments on human rights to meet all their financial obligations pursuant to such instruments;

10. Recommends that the Secretary-General seek to obtain, at the earliest opportunity, the concurrence of States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to the establishment of a "contingency reserve fund" made up of that portion of State party payments, received prior to 31 December of each year, which are over assessments for the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for the elapsed year normally credited against the contribution of State parties provided that the agreement of a State party must first be obtained before its own over assessment is paid into this fund, with the fund to be used to finance, on a contingency basis, up to two meetings of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in a following year, for which State payments have not been received in that calendar year, with the contingency fund to be reimbursed in full once payments by these States are received;

11. Reiterates its conviction that in standard setting every effort should be made to maximize normative consistency and that any new standards should take full account of the factors enumerated in General Assembly resolution 41/120 of 4 December 1986;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to convene the forthcoming meeting of persons chairing human rights treaty bodies sufficiently in advance of the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly to enable consideration of the conclusions and recommendations of the meeting at that session;

13. Invites the meeting of persons chairing human rights treaty bodies to discuss the range of problems affecting the effective implementation of human rights treaties;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare an inventory of all international human rights standard setting activities in order to facilitate better informed decision making;

15. Further requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the situation and developments regarding the logistical and human resources support for the increasing activities in the field of human rights of the Centre for Human Rights, in particular on the servicing needs of the human rights treaty bodies, the provisions for servicing included in the United Nations budget and the implementation of these provisions, to the Economic and Social Council at its first regular session of 1990;

16. Decides to consider the question on a priority basis at its forty-seventh session under the agenda item "Effective functioning of bodies established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments".

42nd meeting
27 February 1990
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. XVIII.]