United Nations Human Rights Committee - State Reporting Under The ICCPR

State Reporting Under The ICCPR

In common with all of the major UN human rights treaties, the ICCPR requires states that have ratified the Covenant to submit an initial report for consideration by a supervisory committee, in this case the Human Rights Committee, and thereafter to submit periodical reports at intervals of (in the case of the ICCPR) five years. The reports are expected to detail progress in implementing the treaty in domestic law and practice. The state's delegation appears before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva or New York to discuss the report, in a public process usually referred to as an 'examination' but officially termed a 'dialogue with the State Party'. At the end of a session (in which several states are considered) the committee issues 'concluding observations' on each state, using the report, the dialogue, and any other relevant information submitted by, for example, national human rights institutions or non-governmental organisations. These observations are used to commend the state for any progress in the implementation of ICCPR principles and to identify areas where improvement is expected.