Credit: AfCHPR
In December 2022, various international human rights bodies will meet – some virtually – to continue their monitoring and oversight of States’ human rights practices. For more information on each of the bodies mentioned, visit the Courts & Monitoring Bodies section of the IJRC Online Resource Hub.
At the regional level, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the European Committee of Social Rights will be in session in December. Additionally, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights will jointly host the fifth Forum of the Inter-American Human Rights System on December 5 and 6, in a virtual format.
At the United Nations, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will be in session. The UN special procedure mandate holders scheduled to carry out country visits in December include the Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, to Ghana; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation, to Peru; the Working Group on business and human rights, to Luxembourg; the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea, to the United Kingdom; the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, to Morocco; the Working Group on people of African Descent, to Australia; the Special Rapporteur on privacy, to Lithuania; and, the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous peoples, to Tanzania. In Geneva, Switzerland, the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent will hold its first session, from December 5 to 8, while the Forum on Minority Issues will hold its 15th Session on December 1 and 2.
Finally, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and special procedures have issued many calls for input with deadlines in December, including for submissions related to some of the above-mentioned country visits, as well as regarding: a draft commentary on Article 1(1) of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the next decade of implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, a global study on the impact of counter-terrorism measures on civil society and civil space, thematic studies of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, custody cases and violence against women and children, and a report on the impact of climate change on the right to food.
African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) is holding its 67th Ordinary Session from November 7 to December 2 at its seat in Arusha, Tanzania. [AfCHPR Press Release] The judges will deliberate privately, and then publicly deliver judgments on December 1 via the Court’s YouTube channel.
African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) is holding its 40th Ordinary Session from November 23 to December 2. The session is taking place in person in Maseru, Lesotho, and the public portions have been broadcast live on the ACERWC Facebook page. The ACERWC held a day of general discussion, on the topic of children’s rights in the digital world, during this session.
European Committee of Social Rights
The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) will hold its 331st Session from December 5 to 9. The agenda will be made available online in advance, and a synopsis will be shared afterward. The ECSR meets privately to review States’ implementation of the European Social Charter and to consider collective complaints.
UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies
UN treaty bodies have resumed State party reviews and in-person sessions, which had been postponed because of COVID-19. Note that the sessions are listed in reverse chronological order, based on their start date, on the Meeting and Events page of the OHCHR’s website and also visible on its Teamup Calendar. Treaty bodies’ public activities, including constructive dialogues held as part of State party reviews, will be webcast on UN Web TV.
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is holding its 108th Session from November 14 to December 2, in person in Geneva, Switzerland. During the session, the CERD has held constructive dialogues with Bahrain, Botswana, Brazil, France, Georgia, and Jamaica concerning their implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The provisional agenda also includes the Committee’s consideration of inter-State and individual complaints, in addition to follow-up on the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the Durban Review Conference.
Additional Information
To view human rights bodies’ past and future activities, visit the IJRC Hearings & Sessions Calendar. For more information on the various human rights monitoring bodies, visit IJRC’s Online Resource Hub. To stay up-to-date on international human rights law news, visit IJRC’s News Room.