COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES FIFTY-SIXTH SESSION

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon concluded its fifty-sixth session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Burundi, Italy, Guyana, Iraq, Morocco, Sudan and Greece on their implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

In closing remarks, the Chairperson of the Committee, Waleed Sadi, said that during the three-week session, the Committee had conducted dialogues with representatives of seven States parties with respect to their submitted reports, and had examined two communications under the Optional Protocol and declared them inadmissible. The Committee had made significant progress on its draft General Comment on article 12 of the Covenant on the right to sexual and reproductive health, and Mr. Sadi expressed hope that the draft General Comment on article 7 would be addressed during the next session. The Committee had adopted new methods of work and discussed the treaty bodies strengthening process, and had held meetings on the side-lines of the session, including with the Geneva Academy for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights which facilitated an informal discussion with members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

The Committee then formally adopted its concluding observations and recommendations for Burundi, Italy, Guyana, Iraq, Morocco, Sudan and Greece, which will be available on the session’s webpage on Monday, 12 October at the end of the day.

The country reports and other session documents before the Committee are accessible on the session’s webpage in various official United Nations languages.

The Committee’s fifty-seventh session will be held from 22 February to 4 March 2016 during which it will consider the reports of Canada, Kenya and Namibia.



For use of the information media; not an official record

ESC15/030E