UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Statement by Ms Amanda Gorely
of the Australian Delegation to the United Nations
on behalf of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Chile.
Third Committee
Item 117 (a): Implementation of Human Rights Instruments
New York
7 November, 2003
Mr Chairman,
I make this statement on behalf of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and Chile.
The human rights treaty bodies play a vital role in the promotion and protection of human rights. Their dialogue with States Parties provides the basis for achieving practical and enduring improvements to human rights at the national level. It is therefore critical that the system operates with maximum effectiveness.
We are pleased with the significant steps towards reform of the treaty bodies that have been set in train since we made our statement in this Committee last year.
The Secretary General’s report of September 2002 “Strengthening the United Nations: an Agenda for Change” highlighted the urgent need to streamline and increase the effectiveness of the treaty bodies. It reflected widespread concerns regarding the strains on the reporting system and the need for measures to address this.
This report has stimulated much discussion and constructive thinking on what we, the stakeholders, can do to improve the system. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has adopted a pro-active approach, consulting widely with stakeholders over the last twelve months to formulate a response to the Secretary General’s recommendations.
We are pleased that the Secretary-General’s report of September 2003 on the status of implementation of his recommendations refers positively to the outcomes of a brainstorming session convened by the Government of Liechtenstein in May this year. This was a key element in the consultation process which brought together for the first time a cross-regional group of States, representatives from each treaty body, secretariat staff, NGOs and other UN specialized agencies. It recommended that the Secretariat develop guidelines for an expanded core document to complement more focused reporting and recommendations for more harmonized reporting guidelines, both of which are now in preparation by the OHCHR and will be considered by the third inter-committee meeting in 2004. We welcome this development.
Mr Chairman,
We see the inter-committee meeting as an increasingly valuable forum for bringing more consistency to the system so that it can operate as a coherent whole. Our view was reinforced by the points of agreement of the Second Inter-Committee Meeting which took place in June. The ICM’s support for an expanded core document, targeted periodic reports, greater harmonization of reporting guidelines and measures to address non-reporting and effective follow-up were particularly welcome. We encourage the treaty bodies to continue to share reform ideas and best practices amongst themselves. Ongoing leadership by the Committee Chairs will be fundamental to maintaining the momentum of this process.
We would also like to commend the individual treaty bodies and the Meeting of Chairs for their ongoing efforts to engage with states on their working methods and to institutionalize this valuable consultation into their session. It is pleasing to note that all six of the treaty bodies have now held dialogue with states, with the CERD and the CAT holding such a dialogue for the first time during recent sessions.
Mr Chairman,
We have in the past supported calls for increased funding of the OHCHR from the UN regular budget. We agree with the sentiments of the late High Commissioner de Mello when he said to this Committee last year that giving the Office less than 1.54% of the regular budget was at odds with the importance given to human rights in the UN Charter. We encourage support for the OHCHR’s bid for additional resources which will be considered by the Fifth Committee during this session, particularly those elements that would strengthen support for the treaty bodies.
Notwithstanding the resources situation, the Secretariat has introduced positive measures to provide less compartmentalised support to the treaty bodies with a greater emphasis on pooling of officers. We trust that this will help to foster a more collegial approach so that the treaty bodies work together as part of a holistic system.
Mr Chairman,
We State Parties also bear responsibility for making the treaty body system more effective. We have undertaken a number of national initiatives over the past year.
The Australian Government hosted its third of three workshops on the treaty bodies on the theme of “Improving coordination across the system”. This brought together a cross-regional group of 30 states, the Chair of the CRC and members of the Secretariat. Participants noted the potential value of the initiatives discussed at the Malbun meeting. The value of information technology in reducing the burdens on the system at the national and international level was also a recurrent theme.
At last year’s General Assembly, Canada led on the consensus resolution “Effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, including reporting obligations under international instruments on human rights”. This text suggested concrete ways to improve the functioning of the treaty bodies.
Mr Chairman,
In conclusion, the treaty bodies have done a lot in recent years to remove the backlog of reports awaiting consideration. Only the CRC now has a significant backlog and it is currently exploring cost effective options to redress this. However, as the backlog problem becomes more manageable, we cannot ignore the problem of chronic non-reporting, with over 600 reports more than five years overdue across the system.
This statistic, more than any other, indicates that we still have much work to do. We need to ask ourselves why this situation is getting worse and what we can do together to reverse the trend. We, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, will continue to work with others to ensure that answers are found and the right solutions are implemented.
Thank you.