Treaty Bodies

There are eight core international human rights treaties currently in force.

Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, all UN Member States have ratified at least one core international human rights treaty, while 80 per cent have ratified four or more.

Human rights treaty bodies are committees of independent experts that monitor the implementation of these treaties. They are created by the treaty that they monitor and their main function is to consider the reports of States Parties.

Some treaty bodies allow NHRIs opportunities to participate in the reporting process, such as:

• holding a private meeting with the treaty body
• submitting information to assist with drafting the written list of issues sent to the State before the session
• making a statement during the plenary session

NHRIs also have a key role to play in the follow-up to the reporting process, particularly through encouraging their government to implement the recommendations made by the treaty body and to monitor progress in this area.

CEDAW

In 2008 the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women released a statement on its relationship with national human rights institutions.

The Committee said that “close cooperation between the two is critical” and was “exploring ways to create further interaction and links with national human rights institutions.”