The Human Rights Committee this morning concluded its one hundred and thirty-fifth session after adopting concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of the Luxembourg, Uruguay, Ireland, Georgia, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and Macao Special Administrative Region of China. The Committee’s concluding observations on these reports will be released on the webpage of the session at 1 p.m. Geneva time.
Photini Pazartzis, Committee Chair, said that during the session, the Committee also considered three lists of issues on Columbia, Uganda and the State of Palestine. In addition, under the Optional Protocol, it had adopted 64 decisions on individual communications ranging from climate change to political rights and life imprisonment. Of those, 44 were decided on the merits (so called views), 6 cases were declared inadmissible and 14 communications were discontinued. Regarding the cases decided on the merits, the Committee found violations in 43 of them.
Further, the Committee adopted a progress report on follow-up to concluding observations, considering the follow-up reports of Bahrain, El Salvador, Lithuania and Romania. The Committee noted good progress by these States parties in the implementation of its recommendations. The Committee was also considering revised guidelines on the procedure for follow-up to views, and Ms. Parartzis expressed hope that these guidelines would be adopted in a future session.
Ms. Pazartzis noted that, after a delay of two years due to COVID-19, the Committee had held its twelfth informal meeting with States parties to the Covenant, which was attended by over 60 States parties. At this meeting, the Committee provided an update on the treaty bodies strengthening process, on its backlog of work under its reporting procedure and its Optional Protocol, as well as on the digital uplift of the work of the Committee. The Committee was encouraged by the appreciation and support expressed by the States parties.
The Chair said that at its one hundred and thirty-sixth session, to be held from 10 October to 4 November 2022, the Committee would review the periodic reports of Ethiopia, Haiti, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Philippines and the Russian Federation. The Committee would also adopt lists of issues in relation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Further, the Committee would evaluate Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria and Viet Nam under the follow-up procedure to concluding observations. Under the Optional Protocol, the Committee would consider several draft communications.
Concluding, Ms. Pazartzis thanked all who worked with the Committee and Committee Experts for their hard work, professionalism, enthusiasm and commitment during the gruelling session, which was compounded with a heat wave.
Committee Experts also thanked Ms. Pazartzis for the wisdom, patience and care with which she handled the Committee’s interventions. Ms. Pazartzis said that the achievements made the Committee during the session were a result of the collective efforts of the Committee Experts and all involved.
The one hundred and thirty-sixth session of the Human Rights Committee will be held from 10 October to 4 November 2022, during which the Committee is scheduled to review the periodic reports of Ethiopia, Haiti, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Philippines and the Russian Federation.