Distr.

GENERAL

HRI/MC/2002/1
15 May 2002

Original: ENGLISH

Provisional agenda and annotations : . 15/05/2002.
HRI/MC/2002/1. (Chairpersons Meeting)

Convention Abbreviation:
PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND ANNOTATIONS

Note by the Secretary-General

1. The fourteenth meeting of chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies will be held from 24 to 26 June 2002, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 49/178 of 23 December 1994, in which the Secretary-General was requested to finance, as of 1995, annual meetings of the chairpersons. Prior to their meeting in 1995, the chairpersons had met for the first time in 1984 and biannually from 1988 until 1994.

2. The present document, which was prepared in consultation with the chairpersons, contains the provisional agenda for their fourteenth meeting and annotations relating thereto.


PROVISIONAL AGENDA

1. Opening of the meeting and election of officers.

2. Adoption of the agenda.

3. Organizational and other matters.

4. Follow-up to the recommendations of the thirteenth meeting of chairpersons.

5. Review of recent developments relating to the work of the treaty bodies.

6. Status of the 2002 Annual Appeal of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the 2002-2004 Programme to Support Human Rights Organs and Treaty Bodies.

7. National-level implementation of treaty body recommendations.

8. Strengthening support to and enhancing the effectiveness of the treaty bodies.

9. Informal consultations with States.

10. Joint meeting with the ninth meeting of special rapporteurs/representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups of the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights.

11. Adoption of the report and setting of dates for the fifteenth meeting of chairpersons.


ANNOTATIONS TO THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA

Item 1. Opening of the meeting and election of officers

The meeting will convene at the United Nations Office at Geneva (Palais Wilson) on Monday, 24 June 2002, at 10 a.m. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the meeting will be elected.

Item 2. Adoption of the agenda

The meeting will adopt its agenda on the basis of the provisional agenda contained in the present document.

Item 3. Organizational and other matters

Under this agenda item, the meeting will consider and adopt a programme of work.

Item 4. Follow-up to the recommendations of the thirteenth meeting of chairpersons

The chairpersons will be able to review the follow-up to the recommendations they made at their thirteenth meeting in June 2001. A document containing information on the follow-up will be made available to the chairpersons.

Item 5. Review of recent developments relating to the work of the treaty bodies

Under this agenda item, the chairpersons will have an opportunity to brief participants about the undertakings of the respective treaty bodies on which they serve, as well as to discuss general developments relating to their work. The chairpersons will also be informed by the secretariat about the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the final document of the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and they may wish to exchange information about how the treaty bodies can contribute to the process of follow-up to that document. Furthermore, the chairpersons will be briefed by the secretariat on the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education 1995-2004 and may wish to consider how the Decade can be incorporated into the present work of the treaty bodies. Other recent developments of interest to the treaty bodies may also be discussed under this item.

Item 6. Status of the 2002 Annual Appeal of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the
2002-2004 Programme to Support Human Rights Organs and Treaty Bodies

The chairpersons will have an opportunity to review the status of the above three plans of action, which were launched to secure additional funding to support the treaty bodies. In this context, a presentation will be given on the status of contributions to the 2002 Annual Appeal through which fund-raising for the plans of action takes place. The chairpersons will also have the opportunity to review the specific activities that have been undertaken under these plans since their last meeting in June 2001 and to consider what activities should be undertaken in the year ahead. The 2002-2004 Programme to Support Human Rights Organs and Treaty Bodies will be made available to the chairpersons.

Item 7. National-level implementation of treaty body recommendations

Under this item, United Nations departments, specialized agencies, funds and programmes and mechanisms, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations that work with the treaty bodies are requested to provide information on how treaty body recommendations are being followed up at the national level. Concrete examples would be useful for this discussion.

Item 8. Strengthening support to and enhancing the effectiveness of the treaty bodies

Under this agenda item, the chairpersons will be able to engage in a discussion with the members of the Bureau of the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on Human Rights and members of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on issues of common concern and interest, in accordance with the practice established at previous meetings. The matters to be discussed may include the deliberations of the Commission and any decisions taken on the subject of the treaty bodies. In addition, recent initiatives undertaken for the improvement of the treaty system may also be discussed.

Item 9. Informal consultation with States

Under this agenda item, the chairpersons will have the opportunity to engage with representatives of States on the functioning of the treaty bodies. It is proposed that the topic of discussion during this informal consultation be the treaty bodies' methods of work relating to the State reporting process, as the outcome of this consultation may contribute to the first inter-Committee meeting, which will held from 26 to 28 June 2002 following the fourteenth meeting of chairpersons and which will have the same main topic. The agenda for the inter-Committee meeting is contained in document HRI/ICM/2002/1. The basis of discussion of the inter-Committee meeting is a background document prepared by the secretariat (HRI/ICM/2002/2).

Item 10. Fourth joint meeting with the ninth meeting of special rapporteurs/ representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups of the
The chairpersons will meet with the special rapporteurs/representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups of the Commission on Human Rights and of the advisory services programme, who are convened for their ninth meeting, to enable the two groups of experts to coordinate their activities and discuss matters of mutual concern. The chairpersons and the special mechanisms will be able to review the status of the recommendations they adopted at their third joint meeting on 21 June 2001, which are contained in a background note prepared by the secretariat.

The present joint meeting will also focus on the subject of follow-up, in particular with regard to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. It will allow for an exchange of views on how both sets of mechanisms can contribute to a better and more effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

Item 11. Adoption of the report and setting of dates for the fifteenth meeting of
chairpersons

The chairpersons will adopt a report on their meeting, including conclusions and recommendations, and will set the dates for the fifteenth meeting, to be held in 2003.


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Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland




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