HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE DISCUSSES FOLLOW-UP TO CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS AND TO VIEWS

The Human Rights Committee this morning discussed a progress report by the Special Rapporteur on Follow-up to Concluding Observations and a progress report by the Special Rapporteur on Follow-up to Views.

Committee Members wondered why the two documents were available in English only and had not been translated to other languages. The Secretariat explained that that was due to budget cuts and assured the Committee that such a situation would not repeat. The Committee then adopted a decision on working methods, which stated that any draft that required discussion and adoption by the Committee needed to be translated into the working languages of the Committee.

SARAH CLEVELAND, Committee Member and Special Rapporteur on Follow-up to Concluding Observations, briefed the Committee on the follow-up procedures with the Dominican Republic, Iceland, Djibouti, Mauritania, Japan and Ireland. Before discussing the countries, Ms. Cleveland raised two methodological issues. One issue regarded the grading system, which penalized countries when they responded with an unsatisfactory or late response, but did not penalize countries which had not responded at all. In that respect, a reassessment of the grading system was needed. Another issue was the wording limit, due to the severity of which, the country’s or non-governmental organizations views were not fairly represented. That led to a situation where some Committee members could not assess the response. Ms. Cleveland said that another approach to addressing the length was needed. Another Expert raised the question of why the previous grading needed to be reiterated in the report, as it had already been issued in the previous report. The Expert suggested that the follow-up questions appear without previous grades.

Regarding the Dominican Republic, the Committee asked the State party to provide recognized means of identification to asylum-seekers and refugees in order to protect from them from unwarranted deportation. The Committee required concrete information on the number of identifications issued since the adoption of the Concluding Observations. It also required concrete information on steps taken to eliminate violence against women, including whether the number of shelters provided were sufficient to cover the demand. The State party had also been asked to abstain from applying the 2004 General Migration Act retroactively and to maintain Dominican nationality for persons who acquired it at birth. The Committee regretted the Constitutional Court’s judgment of 2013, which rendered stateless several generations of Dominicans of foreign descent, and welcomed the improvements introduced by an Act which allowed recognition of citizenship for those born in the territory to foreign parents in irregular status.

Turning to Iceland, the Committee welcomed the State party’s efforts to implement its recommendations on gender equality regarding wages, and required additional information on the plan of action in reducing gender-based discrimination. It reiterated its recommendations to the State Party to introduce measures to increase the representation of women in decision-making positions, in particular in the Foreign Service, the judiciary and the academia. On the abuse of children, the State was asked to take all steps to ensure bringing perpetrators to justice, as well as training of teachers, lawyers, police officers. Information had been provided on training and awareness-raising, but not on investigation and prosecution of perpetrators. The Committee requested additional information on complain mechanisms, number of complaints received in the past three years, and a number of pending cases before courts
Djibouti had been asked to strengthen its legal protection of women victims of domestic violence. The State party had announced a number of proposed measures which remained, according to the Rapporteur, in a state of wishful thinking. Regarding torture and ill-treatment, Djibouti reiterated its past commitments, including its intention to ratify the Istanbul Protocol. Finally, in respect to freedom of expression, the State party had denied the imprisonment of journalists and pledged to reform the Communications Act of 1992, as well as the National Independent Electoral Commission.

The Committee had asked Mauritania to take steps to clearly criminalize torture, investigate it and ensure the Istanbul Protocol was included in all training programmes. The Committee reiterated its request for information on the content of the bill criminalizing torture and acknowledged information on investigations, but asked for details, and reiterated its recommendations on training. Regarding criminalization of slavery, the Committee welcomed the adoption of the roadmap and required further information on progress in that respect. It acknowledged the information on investigations and prosecutions into case of slavery provided by the State party, but required additional information on whether the figure of 31 cases referred to the number of completed prosecutions since October 2013; a breakdown of the completed prosecutions for slavery; specific measures taken to provide compensation for victims; and the progress of the establishment of the Special Court on Slavery. More information was also sought on the awareness raising campaigns.

With regards to Japan, the Committee noted that the State party had been asked to abolish the death penalty, strengthen legal safeguards against wrongful sentencing to death, and adopt other measures including an independent mechanism to review the health of death row inmates. The State Party had repeated information already provided and had indicated that it did not intend to take measures to implement the recommendations. The Committee thus reiterated its recommendations on those issues. Regarding the “comfort women” issue, the Committee had asked the State party to ensure that all allegations were effectively, independently and impartially investigated and that perpetrators were prosecuted and, if found guilty, punished. Information had been received regarding the agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea, and the Committee noted that State party had taken significant steps, including a public apology, recognizing significant responsibility and payment for the women victims. The Committee required new information on labor trafficking.

While Ireland had been asked to address the Magdalene Laundries issue thoroughly, the Rapporteur noted that it had not provided new information on prosecutions and punishment of the child abusers. Although it welcomed the establishment of the Commission of Investigation, the Committee reiterated its request that the State party conduct an independent and thorough investigation. Regarding the issue of the practice of symphysiotomy, a medical procedure expanding the pelvis before childbirth, although the Committee welcomed the Walsh and Murphy reports, it requested information on measures taken after the report, including investigations, prosecutions and punishment of perpetrators. On the practice of “slopping out” and prison overcrowding, the Committee noted the State party efforts, but required information on progress made.

VICTOR MANUEL RODRIGUEZ-RESCIA, Committee Member and Special Rapporteur on Follow-Up to Views, presented updates to the progress report on follow-up to views.
The Committee then discussed its views on cases from the following States parties: Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Kirgizstan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Nepal, the Netherlands, Paraguay, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea. They agreed to discuss the rest of the cases, namely, the Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Uzbekistan, on 30 March. Mr. Rodriguez-Rescia told the Committee that during the session he had met with the representatives of Libya, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

The two follow-up reports would be incorporated into the Committee’s annual report, which would be adopted at the end of the session and subsequently presented to the United Nations General Assembly.

The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on 22 March, when it will continue its discussion on the draft general comment on Article 6 of the Covenant, on the right to life.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CT16/012E