EL SALVADOR

Special Decisions or Action taken Re: Reporting, Including Urgent Action Procedure

CCPR A/48/40

Annex VIII

Letters from the Chairman of the Committee concerning overdue reports

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B. Letter dated 12 May 1993 from the Chairman of the Committee to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador ... whose second or third periodic reports were overdue

"On behalf of the Human Rights Committee, which was established under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, I have the honour to invite Your Excellency's attention to a matter to which the Committee attaches special importance.

"Under article 40 of the Covenant, each State party undertakes to submit reports on the measures it has adopted to give effect to the rights recognized therein. Paragraph 1 (a) of that article provides for the submission of an initial report within one year of entry into force of the Covenant for the State party concerned, whereas paragraph 1 (b) calls for the submission of subsequent reports 'whenever the Committee so requests'.

"At its thirteenth session held in July 1981, the Human Rights Committee decided that States parties should submit periodic reports concerning the implementation of the provisions of the Covenant every five years. The due date established for the submission of [El Salvador]'s [second] periodic report was [31 December 1988]. Unfortunately, that report has not yet been received.

"The submission of such reports is indispensable for continuing the Committee's constructive dialogue with States parties in the field of human rights. The non-submission of [El Salvador]'s [second] periodic report is therefore a matter of great concern to the Committee. In view of the importance of this matter and the special difficulties being encountered in the implementation of the Covenant in [El Salvador], it is my most earnest hope that its [second] periodic report will be submitted in the near future. (...)

(Signed) Nisuke Ando

Chairman

Human Rights Committee"

CERD, A/60/18 (2005)

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Chapter V. Review of the implementation of the Convention in States parties whose reports are seriously overdue

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C. Action taken by the Committee to ensure submission of reports by States parties

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426. At its sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh sessions, the Committee reviewed the question of delays and non-submission of reports by States parties in accordance with their obligations under article 9 of the Convention.

427. At its forty-second session, the Committee, having emphasized that the delays in reporting by States parties hampered it in monitoring implementation of the Convention, decided that it would continue to proceed with the review of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention by the States parties whose reports were overdue by five years or more. In accordance with a decision taken at its thirty-ninth session, the Committee agreed that this review would be based upon the last reports submitted by the State party concerned and their consideration by the Committee. At its forty-ninth session, the Committee further decided that States parties whose initial reports were overdue by five years or more would also be scheduled for a review of implementation of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee agreed that in the absence of an initial report, the Committee would consider all information submitted by the State party to other organs of the United Nations or, in the absence of such material, reports and information prepared by organs of the United Nations. In practice the Committee also considers relevant information from other sources, including from non-governmental organizations, whether it is an initial or periodic report that is seriously overdue.

428. Following its sixty-fifth session, the Committee decided to schedule at its sixty-sixth session a review of the implementation of the Convention in the following States parties whose periodic reports were seriously overdue: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Papua New Guinea. El Salvador was withdrawn from the list prior to the sixty-sixth session following the submission of a report...

CERD A/64/18 (2009)

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Chapter II: Prevention of racial discrimination, including early warning and urgent procedures

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15. During the reporting period, the Committee again considered a number of situations under its early warning and urgent action procedure, including in particular the following.

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18. By a letter dated 6 March 2009, the Committee requested information from the Government of El Salvador concerning the alleged lack of protection of the indigenous peoples of Cuxcutan and Chaparastique. In this regard, El Salvador was also requested to provide information on the implementation of recommendations contained in the concluding observations of the Committee adopted in 2006. El Salvador responded in a timely manner by a letter dated 21 April 2009.

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