Reporting Obligations of States Parties to United Nations Conventions on Human Rights

A/RES/40/116View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 104 International Covenants on Human Rights, published in 1986.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 1985–1986

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
1986	A/RES/40/116	Reporting obligations of States parties to United Nations conventions on human rights	1,370	19%Compare
1985	A/RES/39/138	Reporting obligations of States parties to United Nations conventions on human rights	773	–

What subjects does this mandate have?

13 subjects

Advisory Services Caribbean Region Conferences Financial Implications Functional Commissions Guidelines Human Rights Periodic Reports Report Preparation Reporting Procedures Technical Cooperation Training Programmes Treaties

What’s in this document?

18 operative paragraphs

I.

Takes note with appreciation of the very comprehensive second report of the Secretary-General on reporting obligations of States parties to United Nations conventions on human rights, which contains:

Updated information on the general situation of the submission of reports of States parties to the five conventions currently in force;

Consideration of and suggestions on the question of consolidating the guidelines of the supervisory bodies

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entrusted with the consideration of the reports of States parties on the implementation of the conventions;

A list of articles dealing with related rights under the various conventions and a compilation of the current guidelines;

Expresses its deep concern about the alarming number of reports overdue from many States parties to the international conventions on human rights, 120 which negatively affects the reporting systems of those conventions, in particular the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Expresses particular concern that some States that are parties to four or to five conventions seem to have serious difficulties in submitting their reports, as indicated by the repeated reminders addressed to them by the Secretary-General at the request of the competent supervisory bodies;l20 4.

Takes note with interest of Economic and Social Council decision l 985/ l 32 of 28 May l 985, by which, while maintaining the first six-year cycle of the reporting procedures on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Council decided to establish a nine-year period for the subsequent cycles, and considers this decision a first step towards the necessary lightening of the heavy burden of reporting obligations placed upon the States parties to that Covenant;

Supports the request addressed to the Secretary- General by the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1985/45, concerning the provision of practical assistance to States, under the programme of advisory services in the field of human rights, in the preparation of their reports under United Nations conventions;

Commends the United Nations Institute for Training and Research for having organized in the Caribbean region, at the suggestion of the Centre for Human Rights and with its close co-operation, a training course on the preparation and submission of reports under international conventions on human rights, and expresses the hope that other courses of that type may be organized in Africa and Asia;

Believes that new timely steps are needed in order to ascertain better the most relevant causes of the present situation regarding the non-submission of reports and to devise feasible types of action intended to remove the difficulties being encountered;

Requests the Secretary-General, to this end, to send a note verbale to all States parties to the five United Nations conventions on human rights having at 1 February 1986 more than two reports overdue, inviting them to indicate, if they so wish, the reasons for their difficulties in complying with the reporting obligations with regard to the conventions under which their reports are overdue and their interest, if any, in technical advice and assistance with a view to better fulfilling their reporting obligations;

Invites the supervisory bodies entrusted with the consideration of reports submitted under all conventions currently in force to give particular attention, during the usual consideration of the action taken by the General Assembly on their annual reports, to the report of the Secretary-General 123 and to the present resolution;

lO.

Recommends to the States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination that, at their next meeting. they consider suggesting to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination the adoption, as a general rule, of the practice already being followed by the Committee of

considering two successive reports in one single text;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-first session a report containing updated information on the general situation with regard to overdue reports, an assessment of the operational and financial implications of increasing training activities in this field and the results of the request addressed to him in paragraph 8 above;

Decides to consider at its forty-first session the convening, in 1987, of another meeting of the Chairmen of the supervisory bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, if already established, the committee against torture, in order to consider jointly the report of the Secretary-General requested in paragraph 11 above;

Fully concurs with the considerations and suggestions of the Secretary-General on the question of consolidating the guidelines of the supervisory bodies entrusted with the consideration of reports of the States parties on the implementation of the conventions on human rights;

Takes note with appreciation of the compilation of the general guidelines elaborated by the various supervisory bodies and of the list of articles dealing with related rights under the five conventions, 123 both of which are very helpful for States parties in the preparation of their reports;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-first session a separate item entitled "Reporting obligations of States parties to the United Nations conventions on human rights".

118 A/38/393.

Ill A/40/600/Add.l, annex J 19 N 39/484, annex.

i225ee F.JCN.4/1985/30. 120 A/40/600, sect. II.

123 N40/600 and Add. I.

l25 A")'l/402, annex 124 N40!425.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

I.

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