Credit: CorteIDH via Flickr
In October, universal and regional human rights bodies and experts will review States’ compliance with their human rights obligations through the consideration of State and civil society reports and country visits. Four United Nations treaty bodies and two pre-sessional working groups will hold sessions to assess States’ progress regarding enforced disappearances; economic, social, and cultural rights; women’s rights; children’s rights; and civil and political rights. Nine UN special procedures will conduct country visits in October. Additionally, three UN Working Groups will hold sessions in Geneva. Of the regional bodies, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), European Committee on Social Rights (ECSR), Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) will all be in session. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will hold a Grand Chamber hearing.
The UN treaty body sessions may be watched via UN Web TV. The public hearings of the IACtHR, IACHR, and ECtHR may be viewed via the IACtHR’s Vimeo page, the IACHR’s YouTube page, and the ECtHR’s website, respectively.
To view human rights bodies’ past and future activities, visit the IJRC Hearings & Sessions Calendar.
UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies
Four of the 10 UN human rights treaty bodies, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Pre-sessional Working Group, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and the Human Rights Committee will meet this month to review certain States parties’ implementation of their treaty obligations. Additionally, the Committee on the Rights of the Child Pre-Sessional Working Group will begin its review of State reports and develop “list of issues” following its discussions on State reports. Through the State reporting procedure, treaty bodies review States’ reports and responses to a specific list of issues, receive additional information from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and national human rights institutions (NHRIs), engage in an interactive dialogue with each State’s representatives, and then adopt concluding observations detailing the progress and remaining challenges in the State’s implementation of the treaty. Through a simplified reporting procedure, treaty bodies may invite States to respond only to questions (list of issues) prepared by the treaty body, rather than submitting a comprehensive report and also responses to a subsequent list of issues.
Committee on Enforced Disappearances
The Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) will hold its 17th Session from September 30 to October 11, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The CED will conduct interactive dialogues with Bolivia and Slovakia to assess their compliance with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). The CED will also hold an interactive dialogue with Nigeria in the absence of a report, and examine and adopt list of issues for Mongolia and Switzerland ahead of those States’ interactive dialogues.
To view session documents, including State reports and civil society submissions, visit the CMW’s 17th Session webpage. For more information on the CED, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) will hold its 66th Session from September 30 to October 18, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. According to its provisional agenda, the CESCR will hold interactive dialogues with Denmark, Ecuador, Israel, Senegal, Slovakia, and Switzerland regarding their compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights (ICESCR). During the remainder of the session, the Committee will hold closed discussions. To view session documents, including State reports and civil society’s alternative reports, visit the CESCR’s 66th Session webpage.
Following the CESCR’s 66th Session, the CESCR Pre-sessional Working Group will hold its 65th Session from October 21 to October 25, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The CESCR Pre-Sessional Working Group will begin its review of the State reports of Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Nicaragua, and Serbia to assess their implementation of the ICESCR. It will also consider list of issues prior to reporting for Mongolia to address in its simplified reporting procedure. For more information on the CESCR, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) will hold its 74th Session from October 21 to November 8, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. According to its provisional agenda, the CEDAW Committee will engage in interactive dialogues with Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, and Seychelles to assess their compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Additionally, the CEDAW Committee will review one individual complaint that alleges violations of the CEDAW.
Civil society members looking to attend the CEDAW Committee’s session must register through the Indico system before November 8, 2019. To view session documents, including State reports and civil society submissions, visit the CEDAW Committee’s 74th Session webpage. For more information on the CEDAW Committee, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
Committee on the Rights of the Child – Pre-sessional Working Group
Following the 82nd Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which took place from September 9 to September 27, 2019, the CRC Pre-sessional Working Group will hold its 84th Session from September 30 to October 4, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The CRC Pre-sessional Working Group will begin its review of the State reports of Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Eswatini, and Tunisia to assess their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Additionally, the Working Group will consider list of issues prior to reporting for the Netherlands and Switzerland to address in its simplified reporting procedure. For more information on the CRC, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
Human Rights Committee
The Human Rights Committee will hold its 127th Session from October 14 to November 8, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. According to its proposed programme of work and provisional agenda, the Committee will hold interactive dialogues with Belgium, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Czech Republic, Mexico, and Senegal to assess their implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Additionally, the Human Rights Committee’s task forces will consider and adopt lists of issues for Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ukraine ahead of their interactive dialogue. Finally, the Committee will consider list of issues prior to reporting for Afghanistan, Croatia, and Spain to address in its simplified reporting procedure. Separately, the Committee will review one individual complaint that alleges violations of the ICCPR. The Committee will conclude the session with a press conference and a public discussion of the Human Rights Committee’s methods of work.
Civil society members interested in attending the session must register through the Indico system before October 9, 2019. To view session documents, including State reports and civil society submissions, visit the Human Rights Committee’s 127th Session webpage. For more information on the Human Rights Committee, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
Special Procedures
Various independent human rights experts and monitoring bodies, known as UN “special procedures,” have country visits or sessions scheduled in October. Nine special procedures will carry out country visits and three working groups will hold sessions this month.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants agreed to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina from September 24 to October 1, 2019.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development agreed to visit Switzerland from September 23 to October 2, 2019.
The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance agreed to visit The Netherlands from September 30 to October 7, 2019.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food agreed to visit Azerbaijan from October 1 to October 11, 2019.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities agreed to visit Norway from October 2 to October 11, 2019.
The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences agreed to visit Bulgaria from October 14 to October 21, 2019.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples agreed to visit the Congo from October 14 to October 24, 2019.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children agreed to visit The Gambia from October 21 to October 29, 2019.
The UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity agreed to visit Sri Lanka from October 28 to November 8, 2019.
The UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism agreed to visit Brazil from October 28 to November 8, 2019.
The Working Group on discrimination against women and girls will hold its 26th Session from October 21 to October 25, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises will hold its 24th Session from September 30 to October 4, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action will hold its 17th Session from October 21 to November 1, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.
During their country visits, these special procedures mandate holders will assess both the overall human rights situation in the country and the issues specific to their thematic focus. Experts also meet with civil society, government, and national human rights institutions when they visit a country. Their findings are published later in reports addressed to the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly. See OHCHR, Country and other visits of Special Procedures. To view the full list of forthcoming country visits, review the Special Procedures’ Visits document and visit the OHCHR website. For more information on each special procedure, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
Regional Bodies
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) will hold its 65th Ordinary Session from October 21 to November 10, 2019 in Banjul, The Gambia. During its session, the ACHPR typically holds various panel discussions on the human rights situation in Africa and considers State reports to review compliance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter). Additionally, the special mechanisms of the ACHPR, the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Commission, and other Commissioners present activity reports. More information is available on the 65th Ordinary Session page, including the invitation to NGOs and the invitation to NHRIs. For more information on the ACHPR, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
European Committee on Social Rights
The European Committee on Social Rights (ECSR) of the Council of Europe will hold its 309th Session from October 14 to 18 2019 in Strasbourg, France. The agenda and the synopsis for this session will be published on the ECSR’s calendar at a later date. During its sessions, the ECSR reviews States’ reports on their implementation of the European Social Charter, considers collective complaints alleging violations of the Charter, and follows up on the Turin process to improve implementation of the Charter at the continental level. According to the ECSR’s calendar for national reporting, the ECSR will consider State reports concerning the rights of children, the family, and migrants from France, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, and Finland throughout the 2019 calendar year. The ECSR will consider simplified reports on the same topics from the Netherlands, Sweden, Croatia, Norway, Slovenia, Cyprus, and the Czech Republic throughout the 2019 calendar year. Simplified reports focus on areas of non-conformity identified in the Committee’s previous conclusions. For more information on the European Committee of Social Rights, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will hold a Grand Chamber hearing in the case of Gestur Jónsson and Ragnar Halldór Hall v. Iceland (nos. 68273/14 and 68271/14) on October 9, 2019. See ECtHR, Calendar of Hearings. This case concerns the rights to fair trial and no punishment without law of two Icelandic criminal defense attorneys who were fined in absentia (without being physically present) after a national court denied their request to be removed from a case in which they were to represent two defendants. [ECtHR Press Release] The national court fined and sentenced the applicants for contempt of court and for delaying the proceedings, even though the applicants alleged that they were not called to attend the trial hearing or notified that the national court would fine them. [ECtHR Press Release] A Chamber of the European Court issued a judgment on October 30, 2018, finding that there had been no violation of Article 6 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights because the applicants were able to appeal and obtain a “fresh factual and legal determination of the charges against them” before the national Supreme Court, even if they were initially tried in absentia. [ECtHR Press Release] The Chamber also found that there had been no violation of Article 7 (no punishment without law) because the applicants could have “reasonably foreseen” the fines against them, and held that the fact that a domestic legal provision does not specify the maximum fine that can be collected does not violate Article 7 of the Convention. [ECtHR Press Release] Following this judgment, the applicants submitted a request for referral to the Grand Chamber, and the Grand Chamber accepted the request on May 6, 2019. [ECtHR Press Release]
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will continue its 173rd Period of Sessions, which began on September 23 and will end on October 2, 2019, in Washington D.C., United States. During the session, it will hold public hearings on a range of human rights concerns in the region, including in 17 countries. The schedule of hearings is available on the IACHR website. For more information on the IACHR, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) will hold its 131st Regular Session from October 7 to October 18, 2019 at its seat in San José, Costa Rica. During its sessions, the IACtHR typically holds public hearings on the merits of individual complaints and deliberates on contentious cases alleging human rights violations. For more information on the IACtHR, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub.