The Human Rights Committee is an impartial body of specialists that oversees state parties’ implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The work of the Committee promotes the enjoyment of civil and political rights, leading to various improvements in legislation, policy, and practice. As a result, it has enhanced the lives of people all around the world. It continues to work to ensure that the civil and political rights guaranteed by the Covenant are fully and unequivocally enjoyed by all persons.
Human Rights Committee
According to Article 28 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the Human Rights Committee is composed of 18 independent experts who are elected for a four-year term by States Parties to the ICCPR. The Committee shall be made up of nationals of the States Parties to the present Covenant who are –
- high moral character.
- recognized competence in the field of human rights.
Consideration shall be given to the usefulness of the participation of some persons having legal experience.
Members of the Committee are chosen and serve in their capacities. Members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of individuals who meet the requirements outlined in Article 28 and who have been nominated for the position by the States Parties to the present Covenant.
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Each State Party to the Covenant may appoint no more than two individuals. These individuals must be nationals of the nominated State. One of them will be eligible for re-nomination. Persons chosen to the Committee shall be those nominees who get the most votes and an absolute majority of the votes cast by representatives of States Parties present and voting at the election. The Human Rights Committee may not include more than one representative from the same state. Consideration must be given to the following factors in the selection of the Committee:
- the equitable geographical distribution of membership;
- the representation of the different forms of civilization and
- the principal legal systems.
The members of the Committee will be elected for a four-year term. If renominated, they will be eligible for re-election. The mandates of nine of the members elected in the first election, however, will expire after two years. The names of these nine members will be drawn at random by the Chairman of the meeting immediately following the first election. The provisions of this portion of the current Covenant shall be used to hold elections when an office expires.
If a member of the Human Rights Committee, in the unanimous opinion of the other members, has ceased to carry out his functions for any reason other than the absence of a temporary character, the Chairman of the Committee shall notify the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall then declare the seat of that member vacant. In the event that a member of the Human Rights Committee dies or resigns, the Chairman shall promptly notify the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall proclaim the seat empty as of the date of death or resignation.
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Members of the Human Rights Committee shall be paid emoluments from United Nations funds, subject to the approval of the United Nations General Assembly, in recognition of the importance of the Committee’s activities.
Before performing his responsibilities, each member of the Human Rights Committee must make a solemn commitment in open committee that he will discharge his obligations impartially and conscientiously. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure, but these rules shall include provisions such as:
- Twelve members shall constitute a quorum;
- Decisions of the Human Rights Committee shall be made by a majority vote of the members present.
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Working Methods To Protect Civil And Political Rights
The Human Rights Committee follows four specific methods to discharge its duty to the protection of civil and political rights-
- State Reporting;
- Inter-state Reporting;
- Reconciliation and
- Individual Reporting.
State Reporting
Each State Party shall submit to the Human Rights Committee a report documenting the status of its implementation of the ICCPR’s provisions one year after it enters into effect. Following the initial report, a state will submit periodic reports as requested by the Bureau of the Human Rights Committee. Historically, the first step in the Human Rights Committee’s review of periodic state reports has been the state’s submission of its report addressing the progress made since the previous reporting cycle, followed by the Committee adopting a list of issues to identify the topics it most wanted to discuss during a constructive dialogue with the state. Based on the reports and replies to the list of issues submitted by the state and civil society, the Committee would then prepare its concluding observations.
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The Human Rights Committee has simplified the reporting process. The Committee adopted an “opt-out” model of the simplified reporting approach in 2020, which means that the state will reply to the Committee’s list of problems rather than first compiling its report unless the state tells the Committee that it prefers the usual reporting procedure. The Committee also resolved to restrict the number of queries in each problem list to 25.
The Committee may nevertheless require a comprehensive report from a state of “a major change in the state party’s political or legal approach to ensure the enjoyment of covenant rights has occurred.” The state under consideration may alternatively opt for the traditional reporting technique.
Following the submission of a state report, the Human Rights Committee holds an in-person constructive debate with state party representatives concerning the list of problems and the contents of the state and civil society reports. When asking questions of state party officials, members of the country’s Task Force responsible for creating the list of topics normally have precedence. These beneficial discussions take place at the committee’s meetings.
The Committee’s last step is to draft and adopt concluding observations, a document that comprises an introduction, positive features, reasons and obstacles inhibiting ICCPR implementation, main areas of concern, and suggestions and recommendations. There is also a temporary deadline for the state party’s next periodic report. The Committee will follow up on two to four suggestions in its concluding observations for urgent implementation within one year. A special rapporteur is also selected for the follow-up to concluding observations, and each session will prepare a follow-up progress report. The Committee maintains an up-to-date list of concluding observations.
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Inter-State Complaints
A state party may submit to the Human Rights Committee a communication stating that another state party is failing to fulfill its duties under the Covenant. This reflects the dual understanding of a human rights treaty as not just a contract between a state party and persons subject to its jurisdiction but also as a multilateral treaty in the traditional sense that all state parties to a treaty have an interest in other state parties’ compliance with their obligations. Human rights abuses in one state party are of direct concern to all other state parties under this strategy. Such a complaint, as allowed for in Article 41 of the Covenant, may, however, be brought only in relation to two States parties that have proclaimed that they acknowledge the Committee’s competence to hear and examine such inter-State complaints. At the time of publishing, 48 states had made such a proclamation. However, no inter-state complaint has been brought to the Committee so far. However, it is useful to illustrate how this technique might work.
The first step would be for the state to file a complaint to bring the situation to the attention of the accused non-compliant state. The latter must respond within three months with a written explanation or clarification. If the dispute is not resolved to the satisfaction of both parties within six months, either party may submit it to the Committee, which may deal with it once satisfied that all domestic remedies have been exhausted within a reasonable amount of time. The Committee may then take up the problem and provide its good offices in the quest for a mutually beneficial solution.
Conciliation
The Human Rights Committee uses the conciliation mechanism in situations of inter-State communications where a dispute is not resolved to the satisfaction of the States Parties involved. In such instances, the Committee may, with the prior permission of the States Parties concerned, create an ad hoc Conciliation Commission in order to reach an acceptable settlement based on respect for the Covenant.
The conciliation committee will be comprised of five members appointed by the committee. Members of the Commission will serve in their official capacities. They must not be nationals of the relevant States Parties or of a State Party that has not made a declaration under Article 41. The Commission will elect its own chairman and create its own set of regulations. The Commission’s meetings are generally conducted at the United Nations Headquarters or the United Nations Office in Geneva.
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The Committee is required to make all information received and gathered accessible to the Commission. The Commission may also request that state parties submit information that is not already on file with the Committee.
Following its inquiry, the Commission must provide a report to the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee for communication with the State Parties. The Commission should not take more than a year to assess the issue. If the Commission is unable to finish its investigation within twelve months, it may limit its report to a concise summary of the situation. If an amicable settlement based on respect for human rights as recognized by the Covenant is established, the report must be limited to a concise summary of the facts and the solution reached. If an agreement cannot be achieved, the Commission’s report must include its conclusions on all factual matters pertinent to the disputes between the State’s Parties involved, as well as its “opinions” on the possibility of an amicable settlement. This report must include the written contributions as well as a record of the oral submissions made by the States Parties involved. In such situations, the State Parties must tell the Chairman within three months of receiving the report whether or not they accept the contents of the Commission’s report.
Individual Complaints
Individual complaints alleging violations of an individual’s rights under the ICCPR may be considered by the Human Rights Committee if the state is a party to the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, which provides the complaints procedure. The conditions for the Committee’s examination of an individual complaint are outlined in Articles 1 through 5 of the Optional Protocol.
To submit an individual complaint, the model complaint form may be used to provide:
- basic information,
- the State party to which the complaint is directed and the rights set out in the ICCPR that have been alleged to be violated,
- steps are taken to exhaust domestic remedies,
- a chronological list of facts on which the complaint is based, and
- a checklist of supporting documents, including copies of complaints or decisions before domestic courts and corroborating evidence.
Individual complaints should be sent to the Petitions Team’s mailing address at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, or to the email addresses below.
The individual communication mechanism has also not been particularly effective, owing to the committee’s focus on state reports and a lack of time and attention spent on the individual petition. As a result, the Committee has received a great number of communications. To maximize the effectiveness of its views, the Committee must act quickly.
