COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS OPENS TWENTY-SIXTH SESSION

CESCR
26th session
13 August 2001
Morning




The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning opened its twenty-sixth session and adopted its agenda and programme of work.

At the beginning of the meeting, Virginia Bonoan-Dandan, Chairperson of the Committee, spoke about the annual meeting of the Chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies which she had attended. She said next year's meeting would be held during the last week of February. The agenda of the four-day meeting would focus on rules of procedure for the treaty bodies, and, if time remained, reservations to the treaties.

Mrs. Bonoan-Dandan said that the meeting with the Bureau of the Commission on Human Rights and the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights had been productive and had focused on ways to strengthen the treaty bodies. The will to create a Social Forum on Economic, Social and Cultural rights was raised. And representatives of UNAIDS at a meeting had urged the treaty bodies to focus more on the HIV pandemic when they examined country situations.

Lastly, Mrs Bonoan-Dandan said that several of the Chairpersons had attended a one-day meeting with 61 States parties. During this meeting, some States parties had asked the treaty bodies to respect their own recommendations and to use the additional information they requested from the States in follow-up procedures. Indeed, the States felt that the various Committees did not take into account the additional information they sent. The States also requested that non-governmental organizations, as the States parties did, respect a deadline for the submission of information to the treaty bodies.

Another suggestion by States was that each State party should listen to the statements made by non-governmental organizations at the beginning of the Committee's session concerning the reports that would be taken up

Before adjourning its morning meeting, the Committee met in private to discuss its organization of work.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will hear statements from non-governmental organizations concerning the reports by State parties which it will consider this session. These States parties are Senegal, the Syrian Arab Republic, Panama, Ukraine, Japan, Nepal and Germany.



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