Distr.

GENERAL

HRI/MC/1998/1
19 January 1998

Original: ENGLISH

Provisional agenda and annotations of the ninth (extraordinary) meeting of chairpersons : . 19/01/98.
HRI/MC/1998/1. (Chairpersons Meeting)

Convention Abbreviation:
Ninth (extraordinary) meeting of persons
chairing human rights treaty bodies
Geneva, 25-27 February 1998


PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND ANNOTATIONS


Note by the Secretary-General


1. The ninth (extraordinary) meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies will be held from 25 to 27 February 1998, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 52/118. In that resolution, the General Assembly welcomed the request of the chairpersons contained in the report of their eight meeting (A/52/507, annex) to hold an extraordinary three-day meeting early in 1998 to pursue the reform process aimed at improving the effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, and requested the Secretary-General to take the appropriate steps to finance the meeting from the available resources of the regular budget of the United Nations.

2. The meeting will be convened at the United Nations Office at Geneva on Wednesday, 25 February 1998, at 10 a.m.

3. This document contains the provisional agenda for the ninth meeting of chairpersons, prepared by the Secretary-General, together with annotations relating thereto.


PROVISIONAL AGENDA


1. Opening of the meeting.

2. Adoption of the agenda.

3. Organizational and other matters.

4. Improving the operation of the human rights treaty bodies.

5. Secretariat servicing of the treaty bodies.

6. Reservations to the human rights treaties.

7. Adoption of conclusions and recommendations.

8. Consultations with Governments.

ANNOTATIONS TO THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA


1. Opening of the meeting.

2. Adoption of the agenda.

3. Organizational and other matter.

Under this agenda item, the meeting will consider its programme of work.

4. Improving the operation of the human rights treaty bodies. Under this item are included questions relating to universal ratification, denunciation of treaties, reform of the reporting process, the role of the treaty bodies in relation to the overall United Nations human rights programme and other relevant matters.

Since the eighth meeting of chairpersons in September 1997, the General Assembly considered the report of that meeting and adopted its resolution 52/118 on effective implementation of international instruments of human rights, including reporting obligations under international instruments on human rights. That resolution is available to the chairpersons. The chairpersons will also review an advance copy of the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.4/1998/85) containing the comments received on the report of the independent expert on enhancing the long-term effectiveness of the United Nations human rights treaty system (E/CN.4/1997/74). The chairpersons will also have before them a report of the Secretary-General on the status of the international human rights instruments and the general situation of overdue reports (HRI/MC/1998/2).

5. Secretariat servicing of the treaty bodies.

The chairpersons will be informed of the outcome of the restructuring and placement exercise of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

6. Reservations to the human rights treaties.

The chairpersons may wish to discuss the preliminary conclusions of the forty-seventh session of the International Law Commission relating to reservations to normative multilateral treaties, including human rights treaties. The views of the chairpersons have been solicited by the Chairperson of the forty-ninth session of the International Law Commission and its Special Rapporteur on reservations to treaties and by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The chairpersons will have before them those preliminary conclusions, as well as resolution 1997/41 of the Sub-Commission on which their views are sought.

7. Adoption of conclusions and recommendations.

8. Consultations with Governments.

On the afternoon of Friday 27 February 1998, the chairpersons will have an opportunity to meet with representatives of Governments to discuss the work of the treaty bodies and reform thereof.


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