Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes, to all states parties annually.

Human Rights Committee

yes, with respect to states which committee believes warrant additional reminder.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

not yet determined

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no, (a committee document is prepared for each session which lists those states with reports overdue more than five years)

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes, (the practice has varied with the Chair of the committee; generally states with reports overdue by five years have been placed on a list and a document prepared indicating these states parties, and those states have been considered; however, some Chairs have listed fewer state parties, and states on the list are not automatically considered and have avoided review by promising the submission of a report.) (Afghanistan (twice), Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas (twice), Barbados, Botswana (twice), Burkina Faso (twice), Cameroon, Cape Verde (twice), Central African Republic (twice), Chad, Cote d'Ivoire (twice), Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji (twice), Gabon, Gambia (twice), Guinea (twice), Guyana, Haiti, Jordan, Lao PDR (twice), Lebanon, Lesotho (twice), Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique (twice), Nepal, Papua New Guinea (twice), Rwanda, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (twice), Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone (twice), Solomon Islands (twice), Somalia (twice), Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo (twice), Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Zaire (Congo) (twice))

Human Rights Committee

no, (will begin practice in the year 2001)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes (Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Solomon Islands)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

occasionally, usually not.

Human Rights Committee

n/a

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes, about half the time.

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes, accepts combined reports.

Human Rights Committee

in practice yes; (the committee will set the date for the next report at the time a submitted report is considered. The number of years set as the due date for the next report will vary (but will be in the range of 4-5 years). As of November 2000, the Committee will uniformly ask each state party upon consideration of a report to produce another focussed, follow-up report in a shorter time frame (perhaps 18 months) and if it is submitted and satisfactory, a date will be given for the next report which is many years hence (perhaps 8-10 years). If the focussed, follow-up report is not submitted, then the time set for the next report when the submitted report was considered will govern.)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

in practice yes; (the committee will not insist on all outstanding reports being submitted; the committee will set the date for submission of the next report upon consideration of an incoming report; that date will be shorter if the incoming report was long overdue)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes, accepts combined reports.

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

in practice yes; (if a report comes in they set a new date for the submission of the next report following the submitted reports' consideration.)

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

in practice yes. (When a first report is submitted (even if it post-dates the due date for the second or subsequent reports) it is labelled the initial report, and subsequent reports submitted can be combined (that is they will be labelled the second periodic report plus however many reports are overdue upon submission).)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no

Human Rights Committee

no, (the committee will now uniformly request the early production of a focussed, follow-up report after the consideration of a report (and if submitted and satisfactory will allow the lapse of a long period before requiring the next report).)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

no, (The date for submission of the next report is set at the time of consideration of the incoming report. That date will be between 3 and 5 years from the time of consideration, taking into account specific factors, namely:

(1) the timeliness of the state party report,

(2) the quality of the constructive dialogue between the committee and the state party,(3) the quality of all information submitted by the state party, (4) the adequacy of the state party's response to the previous concluding observations, (5) the state party's actual record in practice with respect to the implementation of the Convention.)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no, (The date is set for submission of the next report in the concluding observations, and if there are outstanding reports in theory/the report was long overdue, then it is set for somewhat a shorter period of time than the rule of procedure's usual time frame of 4 years.)

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no. (An initial report submitted late will still be labelled "initial" regardless if it is submitted after the due date of the second or subsequent periodic reports, and the state is permitted to combine the second and subsequent reports. This means that in practice the due date will be some distance from the consideration of the initial report.)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

all provisions, alternating comprehensive and updating reports (exercising discretion in determining whether a comprehensive report justifies the subsequent submission of a brief updating report)

Human Rights Committee

the reporting guidelines for states parties indicate that they should begin a subsequent report with an account of their response to the prior concluding observations; they also indicate that states should "focus on the issues" identified in those concluding observations; at the same time, subsequent reports should still incorporate reference to fundamental changes affecting Covenant rights over the reporting period; a recent change in Committee practice adds to this description of the periodic report, a call for the production of an early "follow-up" report which would specifically set out the steps taken to meet the Committee's observations

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

all provisions; the reporting guidelines indicate that with respect to specific articles subsequent reports should focus on a short review of changes during the reporting period

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

all provisions, focussing on the period of time since the last report, but including information on matters raised by the Committee which could not be dealt with at the time when the previous report was considered

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

all provisions, focussing on the period of time since the last report and changes occurring during the reporting period, as well as including information on measures taken to follow-up prior concluding observations

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

all provisions, focussing on changes, new measures, developments case law since the submission of the previous report; states should specifically include in subsequent reports information on measures taken to comply with prior concluding observations

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no comment

Human Rights Committee

yes, the Committee's practice says that states parties "may include the substance of parts of reports to another Treaty Body, on condition that they are linked to the specific requirements of the Covenant and to the Committee's General Comments, and are up-to-date"

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes, the Committee's guidelines say with reference to a specific number of articles that relevant material submitted to the UN or a specialized agency may be made in lieu of repeating information in the report

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no comment

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no comment

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no comment

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no, (except to advise a state that some elements should properly be put in a CORE report (which states usually then do).)

Human Rights Committee

no

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes, (secretariat has informal discussions about improving report before production (has been successful).)

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes, (in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, states have been asked to resubmit in accordance with the guidelines, (sometimes a report has been resubmitted, sometimes not).)

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes, (The committee has not called the report a "special" report. But the committee has engaged in exceptional requests. (a) The Committee has specifically requested of a state party prior to its submission of a report, on the basis of new information received, that an issue be addressed in the forthcoming report. (b) The Committee has specifically requested of a state party in the middle of a cycle, when no report is overdue, that specific information or a specific issue be addressed in the context of the next report. (c) The Committee has requested that additional information be submitted following the consideration of a report and has exceptionally scheduled the consideration of such information or the issue (whether or not the information was submitted) prior to the receipt of the next report. These instances appear below under "follow-up on requests for additional information".)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi,

Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). In addition the committee has considered, as part of its "urgent action" procedure: Liberia, Russian Federation, Sudan, Algeria (the Committee requested an overdue report on an "expedited" basis in the case of Russian Federation and Algeria, and took special decisions calling for specific actions in the case of Liberia and Sudan).

Human Rights Committee

Albania, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Croatia, Haiti, Iraq, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda, United Kingdom (Hong Kong), Yugoslavia (Serbia Montenegro)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

Israel; specific information was requested to be included in an initial report (ie. not on the basis of prior concluding observations), and a request made for the prompt submission of the report (overdue 1 year, 10 months). Canada; the Committee requested by letter in the middle of a reporting cycle that a specific issue be addressed in the next report; when the report became overdue this was followed by further requests to address the issue in the report. (See also requests for additional information as follow-up.) (Prior to December 1999, this Committee did not have transparent procedures in situations which it wished to treat in an exceptional manner, and special requests sometimes took the form of private correspondence between the previous Chair and states parties, rather than published decisions of the committee.)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Croatia, Rwanda, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Bosnia

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

Israel

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

Not in the rules of procedure; criteria stated in a working paper generally as: "the lack of an adequate basis for defining and criminalizing all forms of racial discrimination..., inadequate implementation of enforcement mechanisms..., a pattern of escalating racial hatred and violence, or racist propaganda or appeals to racial intolerance..., a significant pattern of racial discrimination evidenced in social or economic indicators, significant flows of refugees or displaced persons resulting from a pattern of racial discrimination...; the presence of a serious, massive or persistent pattern of racial discrimination, or the situation is serious and there is a risk of further racial discrimination."

Human Rights Committee

no, (It depends on the proclivities of the Committee and lobbying by individual members with respect to specific situations.)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

no, (The Committee's decision has depended on information received by the Committee from external sources and the Committee's proclivities.)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes, (Criteria was formally adopted and stated in 1999 annual report as (a) there should be reliable and adequate information indicating grave or systematic violation of women's human rights, and (b) such violations are those that are gender-based or directed at women because of their sex.)

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no, (Request for other reports are authorized by the Covenant article 19(1). In the only case to date committee members read about a court decision in the newspaper when the committee was meeting, and was under media attention at the time.)

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

generally yes (one meeting, shorter if no state representative present)

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

dealt with in manner similar to initial reports, not dealt with by pre-sessional working group, no list of issues, one-two meetings

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

Yes, Burundi, Rwanda, Papua New Guinea.

Human Rights Committee

no

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

Yes, in the case of Israel. (March 2001 session)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

usually, (In principle, but political preferences of committee members have resulted in reports being taken out of order. Still, lack of a backlog means every report submitted is scheduled for consideration within 6-12 months.)

Human Rights Committee

yes, in general. (The interests of Committee members can change the order, and reports can be brought forward for consideration.)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

no, (Reports have been taken out of order when the committee has received much information from NGOs and the reports were overdue and the matter was urgent in the Committee's view.)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no, (selection made in order to have spread of initial and periodic reports and geographic balance, taking into account the date of the submission of the report).

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes, in general; (sometimes reports are brought forward for consideration where there is a special reason to consider it (in the Committee's view), or reports are set aside for a later date if a delegation is not ready to present. But since committee only plans one a half sessions in advance and does not have much of a backlog, generally take in order of submission.)

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes, in the sense that reports are not moved forward or up in the queue for an urgent situation. However, the committee considers at one session 7 initial reports and 2 periodic reports, and within each category reports are taken chronologically.

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no, criteria include length of time overdue, whether a CERD member has volunteered to be the country rapporteur, priority given to states never considered by CERD.

Human Rights Committee

n/a

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

no, (The Committee selects countries on the basis of geographic balance.)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes, (Given a priority for consideration; deadline set for submission is short and considered when they come in (or situation is considered anyway if no report))

Human Rights Committee

yes, in general. (The Committee would try to bring the report forward by putting it on reserve for the next session, since the backlog of already scheduled reports is approximately 1.5 years.)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

n/a it is not considered

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

normally additional information is not considered by the committee separately from the next report; exceptions are Colombia, France, Jamaica, Jordan, Panama, Philippines, Zaire

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a; it is not considered

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a; it is not considered.

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

occasionally, not often

Human Rights Committee

yes, sufficiently often to interfere with constructive use of committee's time

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes, sufficiently often to interfere with constructive use of committee's time

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

last minute drop-outs are rare; about one state per session selected for consideration asks in advance to postpone consideration, the committee pre-selects back-up states which it then substitutes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

occasionally, not often

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no, (does not happen because UNICEF helps state to attend, they will even support costs of the delegation's attendance; so UNICEF helps to avoid last minute drop-outs)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no

Human Rights Committee

yes, starting March 2001

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

no. (Cases may take differing lengths of time to be "ready" for decision, that is until all the submissions from the author and the state party are in. Also, if admissibility and merits are severed the case will take longer. From the time cases are ready for decision, the committee also does not take cases in the order in which they are submitted. It will take into account:

(a) how long the case has been ready

(b) whether the matter appears to be more urgent, that is: (i) death row is always fast-tracked, (ii) all cases in which an interim measure was requested are given priority, (iii) people in detention get priority, (iv) older people get priority.)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

n/a

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes, unless interim measures are involved

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

10% of meeting time (this includes the 2-3 hours spent during the session by a working group on communications)

Human Rights Committee

30-35% of meeting time

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

n/a

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

20% of meeting time

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no

Human Rights Committee

yes, (there are two pre-sessional working groups if sufficient members come.)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

At least five are required for the working group on communications. If an additional 3 or more members come, the group will be split into two, and those over and above 5 will do state reports.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

five

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

three-four

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

approximately eight

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

volunteer

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

one is selected from each of the five regional groups within the committee by the group members.

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

regional group representation

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

volunteer

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

before

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

after

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

after

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

after

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

one session before - that is 4 months

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

one session before - currently 3 months.

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

one session before - that is 5 months

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

one session before - that is 3 months

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

a) considers the admissibility of cases

- adopts decisions finding a case to be admissible (where unanimous become final; if not unanimous case goes to the Committee)

- makes recommendations to the Committee on inadmissibility (unless Special Rapporteur has decided to send a recommendation of inadmissibility directly to the Committee)

b) can order interim measures

c) considers the merits of cases and makes recommendations

If there are 8 members or more, than the working group will split into 5 and 3 and a second group will do the following (if not the following is done by the one working group):

a) adopts list of issues

b) considers general comments

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

a) draft list of issues (each member acts as a country rapporteur for one state report)

b) look over additional information submitted and decide whether to take up

c) make recommendations re: working methods

other (ad-hoc)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

adopts list of issues

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

a) adopts list of issues

b) informal review of state report with NGOs and with UN agencies

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes (though at the moment it is actually a "working group of the whole"; previously there were two in-session working groups)

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

very rarely, one occasion

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

between 3-7 members

Human Rights Committee

ad-hoc

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

ad-hoc

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

everyone - 23

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

ad-hoc

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

volunteer, Chair appoints a convener of the working group

Human Rights Committee

volunteer

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

one member is asked to take responsibility for its creation and the rest volunteer.

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

all members are expected to attend

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

volunteer

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

volunteer, but also expertise

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

ad-hoc (e.g. informal working group on communications; contribution to world conference; drafting recent general recommendation)

Human Rights Committee

ad-hoc (e.g. International Law Commission Task Force on reservations, Working Methods, World Conference on Racism)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

ad-hoc (e.g. have worked on general comments, and working methods)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

ways and means - procedural questions; Article 21 - general recommendations and specialized agencies

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

drafting general comment

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

ad-hoc (e.g. one was media; and there is another informal working group (with outside persons) on disabilities)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

a) whether to register a case or not

b) whether to recommend directly to the Committee (without going through the working group) that a registered case should be found inadmissible

c) if a case is not sent directly to the Committee with a recommendation from the Special Rapporteur that it be found inadmissible, then the Special Rapporteur transmits the case to the state party for submissions on admissibility and merits

d) if the state party requests that the admissibility decision and the merits decision be severed or considered separately by the Committee, the Special Rapporteur decides whether to sever the two issues

e) prior to the decision on admissibility whether to ask for interim measures

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

n/a

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

a) recommends to the committee to conduct meetings with state parties in light of the information received (or not) following the 90-day period given to states to provide a remedy in cases of a decision finding a violation

b) holding meetings with selected states parties in the cases of a failure to provide a remedy

c) reporting to the committee on the follow-up meetings with state parties

d) recommending to the committee any further activities after the follow-up meetings

e) responsibility for the substance of the follow-up portion of the committees annual reports.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

n/a

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

n/a

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

(a) makes evaluation of state report and information received from other sources

(b) is first member of the committee to comment on state report by making opening comments and asking first questions

(c) is responsible, with the assistance of the secretariat, for drafting the concluding observations

Human Rights Committee

(a) first draft of the list of issues

(b) first draft of the concluding observations

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

(a) first draft of the list of issues

(b) first draft of the concluding observations

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

(a) collect background information on state

(b) in a closed meeting for approximately 15 minutes, just prior to the dialogue with the state party, introduce to the committee the background information/situation of the state and the major issues

(c) speak first following the state party's introduction

(d) sometimes sum up at the end of the dialogue

(e) first draft of the concluding observations with the assistance of the secretariat

(does not do first draft of list of issues)

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

(a) study report and other material on state party

(b) given the lead to ask questions in dialogue

(c) do first draft of concluding observations

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

(a) together with the secretariat, produces first draft of the list of issues

(b) the first draft of the concluding observations.

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

no

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes, (if asked will provide their professional address, fax and email number)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

volunteer (some members never volunteer)

Human Rights Committee

volunteer

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

country rapporteurs are members of the pre-sessional working group, and within that group volunteer.

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

usually volunteer, (Bureau suggests names; Rapporteurs usually come from same region or speak language), occasionally Chair unilaterally selects

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

volunteer, take into account linguistic ability

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

volunteer

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes for periodic reports, no for initial reports

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

(a) secretariat draft

(b) sent to country rapporteur (country rapporteur responsible for getting comments of colleagues)

(c) discussed and finalized in working group

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

(a) draft prepared by country rapporteur with help of the secretariat

(b) draft is discussed by the working group

(c) adopted by the working group

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

(a) secretariat and country rapporteur suggest draft questions, (based on the suggestions of the country rapporteur, notes by the secretariat, and issues left over from the previous dialogue)

(b) reviewed and amended by Committee in the working group

(c) adopted by the working group

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

(a) draft by secretariat

(b) country rapporteur then works on the list

(c) the list is then considered by the working group

(d) adopted by the working group

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes (approximately one month before)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no, (they are available to the public through the secretariat about a month after they are adopted, and on line after the dialogue)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

no

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes with respect to some questions/issues and not others.

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

n/a

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes, three months in advance of the meeting where considered (adopted one-two sessions prior to the dialogue)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes, one month from receipt of request/list (adopted one session before the dialogue)

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes, two months in advance of the meeting (adopted one session before the dialogue)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

n/a

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

more than 50% of the time

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

50% of the time

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

80% of the time

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

n/a

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

generally no, (They will only be put on line in a very limited number of circumstances where they are given to the Committee in electronic form.)

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

n/a

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

no. (They are given to the NGO-CRC group and they in turn send it to national level NGOs, and they are available upon request; they are put on the web if they are given to the secretariat on disk, and are put up only in the original language.)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no

Human Rights Committee

yes, for periodic reports only

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

- previous concluding observations of the Committee

- previous report of state party

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

- information from desk officers

- other treaty bodies' concluding observations

- country profiles of CRC

- thematic and country rapporteur reports

- all country-specific resolutions of UN bodies and specialized agencies on state concerned

- relevant annual reports and country reports of UN bodies or specialized agencies

- annual human rights reports of NGOs

- annual human rights reports of governments

- NGO shadow reports

- academic publications

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

- information from desk officers

- other treaty bodies' concluding observations: - country profiles of CRC

- thematic and country rapporteur reports

when relevant (focus on Reports of Special Rapporteur on Torture, Arbitrary Executions, Independence of Justice, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Working Group on Disappearances)

- information from OHCHR in field on internal data base

- all country-specific resolutions of UN bodies and specialized agencies on state concerned

- relevant annual reports and country reports of UN bodies or specialized agencies when relevant, primarily reports of UNHCR

- annual human rights reports of NGOs

- annual human rights reports of governments - some national country data bases

- regional international organizations primarily Council of Europe and OAS; reports of the European Committee on the Prevention of Torture

- NGO shadow reports

- academic publications

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

- information from desk officers

- other treaty bodies' concluding observations,

summary records, country profiles

- thematic and country rapporteur reports

- information from OHCHR in field

usually through the desk officer

- all country-specific resolutions of UN bodies and specialized agencies on state concerned

- relevant annual reports and country reports of UN bodies or specialized agencies (UNICEF, WHO, ILO, UNHCR, UNESCO, UNAID); UNHCR prepares written submission to the working group and hence is not incorporated at the time the country profile is written

- regional data bases, such as Council of Europe

- many web sites with country specific information: eg. universities, UN agencies etc.

- annual human rights reports of NGOs

- annual human rights reports of governments

- NGO shadow reports

- academic publications

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

8-10 pages

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

approximately 15 pages

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

approximately 15-20 pages

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

approximately 25-30 pages, (country profile has two parts; first is a general human rights component; idea was to situate UNICEF's work in general human rights context and to allow other treaty bodies to use it)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

n/a

Human Rights Committee

(a) country rapporteur: when get to working group meeting

(b) working group: when get to working group meeting

(c) rest of committee members: at the committee session

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

(a) country rapporteur: one session in advance of working group meeting (2 sessions in advance of committee meeting)

(b) working group: one session in advance of committee meeting

(c) rest of committee members: at the session at which the report is considered

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

n/a

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

(a) country rapporteur: 3-4 weeks in advance of committee meeting is mailed to country rapporteur

(b) working group: n/a

(c) rest of committee members: at the session at which the report is considered

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

(a) country rapporteur: usually when get to working group, mailed in advance of the working group if requested (usually is not requested)

(b) working group: usually when get to working group, mailed in advance upon request, usually is not requested)

(c) rest of committee members: at the session at which the report is considered

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

(a) no country profile is prepared

(b) mailed to all committee members six weeks in advance of meeting is the state report, previous report of state, CORE document

(c) the following information is gathered in unedited form for members (the country rapporteur receives this six weeks in advance of the meeting; the rest of the committee members receive it at the time of the meeting (the UN material is provided in their individual files, other material is in a country file in the meeting room)):

- summary records of last consideration of state party by the committee

- desk officers are notified of meeting, submit information in writing occasionally

- other treaty bodies' concluding observations,

country profiles of CRC

- thematic and country rapporteur reports

- all country-specific resolutions of UN bodies and specialized agencies on state concerned

- relevant annual reports and country reports of UN bodies or specialized agencies

- NGO material (CERD does not solicit information from NGOs; secretariat will put before the Committee NGO material sent in on the NGOs' initiative, reports of Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and other annual NGO reports, country reports of the European Commission on Racism; NGO (ARIS) provides the committee with other information (eg. World Directory on Minorities and World Report on Anti-Semitism))

- ARIS also prepares a list of documents they have available and committee members can ask for copies from them

Human Rights Committee

(a) mailed to all committee members in advance of the meeting as they become available are the state report, CORE document, list of issues, NGO materials if received in advance (usually are not)

(b) mailed to the country rapporteur about two months in advance of the pre-sessional meeting are: the summary records and concluding observations of the last session of the committee on that state, the concluding observations of other committees, NGO material received in advance (most is not) and supplied in 20 copies for all members; the state report goes out to all members as it is received

(c) members of the working group are most likely to receive material additional to the state report at the time they arrive at the pre-sessional meeting

(d) in a country file in the room at the time of the session is:

- information from desk officers

- other treaty bodies' concluding observations: - thematic and country rapporteur reports

- relevant annual reports and country reports of UN bodies or specialized agencies

- occasionally UNDP reports

- annual human rights reports of NGOs

- annual human rights reports of governments

- NGO shadow reports

(also included are most Annexes to state reports (whatever language they are in; they are normally not translated))

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

(a) given to members of working group while in Geneva (one session in advance of working group meeting) is the state report, CORE document, country profile

(b) mailed to all committee members as soon as they are published are the state reports (as well as all other committee documentation), list of issues, written replies if received (but rarely are), NGO submissions if received in advance (NGOs are advised by the secretariat to send their reports directly to the members)

(c) in a country file in the room at the time of the session is everything else that has been gathered.

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

(a) no country profile is prepared CHECK

(b) mailed to all committee members one month before the session is the state report, list of issues, written replies to list of issues (if submitted), concluding observations of other treaty bodies

(c) mailed to the country rapporteur and to members of the working group about 2.5 months before the pre-session meeting is the state report, information on other treaty bodies conclusions, thematic mechanism information, reservations on CEDAW by the state, ratification and reporting profile, list of suggested questions, NGO material which has come in (state reports may be sent earlier, when available)

(d) the following information is gathered in an unedited form for members and placed in a country file at the time of the session (information primarily drawn from UN database and UN reports):

- other treaty bodies' concluding observations

- thematic and country rapporteur reports

- information from OHCHR in field which is

on UN database

- all country-specific resolutions of UN bodies and specialized agencies on state concerned

on UN database

- relevant annual reports and country reports of UN bodies or specialized agencies on UN database

- NGO information submitted

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

(a) mailed to all committee members 3-4 weeks in advance of the session is the state report, CORE document, previous reports from same country; NGO material if well-structured and sent sufficiently in advance (usually NGO material is not received far enough in advance); NGOs also have the addresses of most committee members and some send them material in advance directly

(b) in a country file in the room at the time of the session is everything else that has been gathered; this includes most NGO material (which is often received at the last moment); a list of material received and available in the file is provided to each member

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

(a) available to Committee members by mail if requested in advance of the session - but usually not requested, so is in country file in room at the time of the working group during the working group meeting, and at the time of the session for non-working group members: UNICEF's situation analysis (done by UNICEF for each state) every 3 years or so; NGO-CRC Group report

(b) in a country file in the room at the time of the session is everything that has been gathered, about 115 different documents

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

no, (sometimes they provide information in writing)

Human Rights Committee

yes, working group, (sometimes there is also continuing informal interaction between desk officer and the country rapporteur)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes, working group

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

no

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

no, (there is informal interaction; desk officers occasionally (not as a matter of routine) brief the country rapporteurs)

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

desk officers brief the working group (desk officers are contacted by the secretariat 2-3 months before the working group,

desk officers contact the field offices, collect information, and prepare a 3-10 page memo for the committee - or will put on paper their briefing notes for the working group)

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

yes

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

yes

Human Rights Committee

in some cases in respect of basic statistics

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

yes

Women's Discrimination Committee (CEDAW)

yes

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

yes

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

yes

Racial Discrimination Committee (CERD)

(a) the working group: n/a

(b) the whole committee: no

(c) informal meetings during unscheduled times while in session: yes, (at lunch time there are informal meetings with NGOs; are flexible about the content of the meeting and they may hear from NGOs concerning about half of the state reports considered that session; about one-third of the members go (usually the same members) including the country rapporteur (certain members never attend - e.g. current and past Chair))

Human Rights Committee

(a) the working group: yes

(b) the whole committee: no

(c) informal meetings during unscheduled times while in session: yes, (about half the committee members attend)

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee

(a) the working group: yes, (on the first day of the working group meeting)

(b) the whole committee: yes, (on the first day of the session, informal meeting with no summary records)

(c) informal meetings during unscheduled times whil