Human Rights Committee Adopts Annual Report

The Human Rights Committee this afternoon adopted its annual report covering its one hundred and thirty-second, one hundred and thirty-third and one hundred and thirty-fourth sessions.

Duncan Laki Muhumuza, Committee Rapporteur, presented the draft annual report for the sessions. During the reporting period, the Committee had registered 211 communications, which it transmitted to the States parties concerned. Of the 211 communications, the Committee had adopted views on 75 cases and concluded the consideration of 24 cases by declaring them inadmissible.

The Rapporteur for follow-up on views had submitted reports at the 133rd and 134th sessions. At the time of the conclusion of the 134th session, the Committee had determined that there had been a violation of the Covenant in 1,342 of the 1,812 views adopted since 1977. The Committee expressed regret that many States parties failed to implement the views adopted under the first Optional Protocol.

Over the period, 14 periodic reports had been submitted by States parties to the Covenant. The Committee noted with regret serious delays in certain State parties’ submission of reports, and called on State parties to submit reports on time. The Committee also deeply regretted that the Russian Federation was not able to travel to Geneva to participate in its review, scheduled to have been conducted on 3 and 4 March 2022. The Committee expected the Russian Federation to come before the Committee for its review at the Committee’s one hundred and thirty-fifth session, scheduled to be held in July 2022.

Within the report, the Committee emphasised the importance of allocating adequate staff resources to service its sessions. Unless there was a significant increase in the staff capacity of the Petitions Unit, the Committee’s ability to address its backlog would continue to be seriously compromised.

Over the reporting period, the Committee had also adopted a position in relation to the treaty body strengthening process, adopted revised guidelines on the procedure for the follow-up to Concluding Observations, and appointed focal points for strengthening its ties with the other treaty bodies.

Documents related to the Committee’s one hundred and thirty-fourth session, including reports submitted by States parties, are available on the session’s webpage. The meeting summary releases prepared on the public meetings of the Committee can be found here. The Web cast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed at http://webtv.un.org/.

The Committee is next scheduled meet in public on Friday, 25 March at 11 a.m. to conclude its one hundred and thirty-fourth session.

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CCPR22.10E