By Marco Kalbusch

1
The Reporting Cycle

• By Marco Kalbusch
• OHCHR, Regional Office for Southern Africa

2
The Reporting Cycle

• States must report periodically to the treaty
  bodies, according to the reporting guidelines
• Treaty Body (TB) conducts a preliminary review in
  pre-sessional working group, usually ask
  supplementary questions (List of Issues)
• State party submits its answers, usually in
  writing
• Government delegation and TB engage in a
  face-to-face  constructive dialogue  over 1 or
  2 days, as TB members seek to understand the
  actual level of enjoyment of the rights
• TB issues concluding observations
• Info on follow-up to the concluding observations
  usually expected in the next report to be
  submitted, (for some TBs also within one or two
  years from the adoption of the COs (see
  follow-up procedures)).

3
Reporting Cycle
3
4
The obligation to report

• Reporting creates an occasion for
• Regular monitoring of the situation of each right
  and all disadvantaged groups
• Establishing a basis for comparison of future
  progress
• Engaging intl experts in an objective review of
  strengths and weaknesses
• Facilitating info exchange among States, intl
  cooperation

5
The obligation to report

• Thus, the reporting process can
• Enable Governments to know their own national
  situations through
• Legislative review
• Meaningful data collection
• Raise awareness among, enlist assistance from
  civil society
• Create an opportunity for national dialogue
• Enable countries to benefit from the experience
  of international experts

6
Periodicity of the reporting procedures
Treaty Initial report within Periodic reports every
ICERD 1 year 2 years
ICESCR 2 years 5 years
ICCPR 1 year 4 years
CEDAW 1 year 4 years
CAT 1 year 4 years
CRC 2 years 5 years
ICRMW 1 year 5 years
CRC-OPSC 2 years 5 years or with next CRC report
CRC-OPAC 2 years 5 years or with next CRC report
CRPD 2 years 4 years
CED 2 years Additional information as requested by CED (art. 29(4))

7
Review of non-reporting States

• Practice of Human Rights Committee, CERD and
  CESCR
• States parties with long overdue reports are
  selected for review, without a report from the
  State party, based on information from other
  sources (United Nations, other international or
  regional organizations, NGOs)

8
List of Issues Prior to Reporting

• Optional reporting procedure
• Consists in the adoption of lists of issues to
  assist States parties to prepare their periodic
  reports
• The State party's response to this list of issues
  constitutes the State party's periodic report
• Practice of CAT, HRC, CMW
• One of the tools to assist non-reporting states
  to fullfil their reporting obligations

9
Submission of reports

• Reports should be submitted to the
  Secretary-General, through OHCHR
• They should be submitted in one of the six
  official languages
• They are processed by the Secretariat, and
  translated into the committees working languages
• They should be submitted well in advance to the
  session in which committees will exam the
  respective State
• Length some committees limit the number of pages

10
List of issues and questions

• Committees draw up a list of issues and questions
• Request additional information statistics to
  assess the implementation
• Frame the constructive dialogue between the
  Committee and the State Party
• Structured following treaty provisions or
  arranged in clusters
• Drafted prior to the session in which the report
  will be considered

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Reply to list of issues

• Some committees require the States to respond to
  lists of issues and questions in writing
• Length average 20 to 30 pages
• Submitted well in advance the session in which
  the examination or the report will take place
  (usually 6 weeks prior to the session)

12
Sources of information

• State report
• Concluding observations of other treaty bodies
• Reports of UN agencies
• Reports of intergovernmental organizations
• Reliable and credible information provided by
  national and international NGOs
• Reports of National Human Rights Institutions
• Most Committees allocate specific time to hearing
  submissions from UN agencies, and NHRI most also
  receive NGOs.

13
Constructive dialogue

• Committees consider reports in public
• States parties are invited to send a delegation
  to attend the session
• High level delegation
• The head of the delegation is invited to
  introduce the report and replies to the list of
  issues are presented
• Members of the committee raise questions on
  specific aspects
• Consideration is non-confrontational

14
Concluding observations

• Following the consideration of reports,
  committees adopt concluding observations
• COs describe positive aspects, identify subjects
  of concern, and formulate recommendations
• Treaty bodies seek to make their recommendations
  as concrete and practicable as possible
• States Parties may submit comments to the
  concluding observations

15
Implementation at the national level

• Committees have set up follow-up mechanisms
• Periodic reports States should provide
  information on implementation of previous
  recommendations
• Duty to disseminate the concluding observations
• Implementation at the national level often
  requires review of law and policies.

16
Follow-up procedures

• Formal procedures to monitor more closely the
  implementation of specific concluding
  observations in between two reporting cycles
• Consists in requesting States to provide a
  written report within one or two years from the
  adoption of the Cos
• Practice of HRC, CAT, CEDAW, CERD

17
Participation of Civil Society

• Participation of civil society and NGOs is
  crucial to the Committees work
• The Committees welcome and encourage NGOs to
  contribute to its activities

18
Forms of NGO participation in the Committees work

• Encourage governments to make a comprehensive and
  accurate report
• Encourage participation of all concerned in
  particular the disadvantaged and marginalized
  groups
• Publish fact that report on human rights is being
  prepared

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Forms of NGO participation in the Committees work

• Information can be submitted in written form
  ( parallel report ) or orally to the
  Secretariat of the Committees
• Written information can be provided at all times
  prior to the examination of the report
• Oral presentations at  lunchtime briefings 
  held during Committee session
• Continued contact with Committee members during
  the session and inter-sessionally

20
NGO monitoring at the international level

• Prepare an alternative report coordinated
  consolidated report
• Focus attention on urgent issues
• Provision of concise and up-to-date country
  information to complement the State report
• Attendance at Committee sessions
• Interaction with Committee members in-session

21
NGO monitoring activities at the national level

• Awareness raising, at national level, of the
  Covenant and of Committee activities (though use
  of the media and human rights education)
• Follow-up to concluding observations of the
  Committee at the national level
• Interaction and cooperation with the Government
  or with national institutions for the promotion
  and protection of human rights

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QAs

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