UN Human Rights Mechanisms

• Author: Mark Freeman, Gibran Van Ert
• Pages: 383-423

The UN system for the promotion and protection of human rights is

the largest and most universal of all multilateral systems. It includes

judicial, quasi-judicial, and non-judicial mechanisms. Although the

UN has existed for less than sixty years, and its human rights bodies

for less than that, it is hard to imagine the world in its absence. Despite

many imperfections, it is essential. And overall, if slowly, it is improv-

ing itself and the world around it.

A. Treaty Bodies

1) Overview

Most of the major UN human rights treaties or their related protocols

include undertakings by states parties to accept the oversight of spe-

cialized international committees known as treaty bodies.1The pur-

383

UN HUMAN RIGHTS

MECHANISMS

chapter 14

1 The only exception is the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

which was not established by treaty but by ECOSOC under Resolution 1985/17

(1985). While the ICESCR did not contemplate the establishment of a supervi-

sory committee, it did require states parties to submit periodic reports to the UN

Secretary-General (art. 16).

pose of these bodies is to ensure the compliance of states parties with

their treaty obligations.2There are currently seven treaty bodies:

• the Human Rights Committee (which monitors compliance with the

ICCPR),3

• the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (which

monitors compliance with the ICESCR),4

• the Committee against Torture (which monitors compliance with

the CAT),5

• the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (which

monitors compliance with the CERD),6

• the Committee on the Rights of the Child (which monitors compli-

ance with the CRC and its optional protocols),7

• the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

(which monitors compliance with the CEDAW),8and

384 international human rights law

2 On treaty bodies generally, see A. Bayefsky, The UN Human Rights Treaty System:

Universality at the Crossroads (New York: Transnational Publishers, 2001)

[Bayefsky, Universality]; and M. O’Flaherty & P. Bhagwati, Human Rights and the

UN: Practice Before the Treaty Bodies (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 2002).

3 Active since 1977, the Human Rights Committee is the most influential of all

UN treaty bodies. It is not to be confused with the Commission on Human

Rights, discussed later in this chapter. On the work of the Committee generally,

see K. Yound, The Law and Process of the UN Human Rights Committee (Ardsley,

NY: Transnational Publishers, 2002); S. Joseph et al., The International Covenant

on Civil and Political Rights: Cases, Materials, and Commentary (New York:

Oxford University Press, 2000); and D. McGoldrick, The Human Rights Commit-

tee: Its Role in the Development of the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994).

4 On the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights gener-

ally, see S. Leckie, “The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:

Catalyst for Change in a System Needing Reform” in The Future of UN Human

Rights Treaty Monitoring, P. Alston & J. Crawford, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2000) [Alston, Future of UN] at c. 6.

5 On the Committee against Torture generally, see P. Burns, “The Committee against

Torture,” in The UN Human Rights Treaty System in the 21st Century, A. Bayefsky,

ed. (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2000) [Bayefsky, 21st Century].

6 The Committee was the first UN treaty body in operation. It held its first meet-

ing in 1970. On the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

generally, see M. Banton, “Decision-taking on the Committee on the Elimination

of Racial Discrimination” in Alston, Future of UN, above note 4 at c. 3.

7 On the Committee on the Rights of the Child generally, see G. Lansdown, “The

Reporting Process under the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” in Alston,

Future of UN, ibid. at c. 5.

8 On the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women gener-

ally, see M. Bustelo, “The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination

against Women at the Crossroads” in Alston, Future of UN, ibid. at c. 4.

• the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Work-

ers and Members of Their Families (which monitors compliance

with the MWC).9

No treaty bodies were established under the Genocide Convention or

the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of

the Crime of Apartheid 1973.10

Each UN treaty body is composed of expert members elected by the

states parties. Members serve in a personal or independent capacity.

Canadians have served on the Human Rights Committee and the Com-

mittee Against Torture.11

Four kinds of procedures fall within the jurisdiction of various of

the treaty bodies:

1) review of periodic reports submitted by states parties;

2) investigation of systematic violations;

3) review of petitions filed by one state against another; and

4) review of petitions made by individuals against states parties.

For a graphic representation of the mandates and procedures of UN

treaty bodies, see Table 14.1 below.12

Canadian acceptance of, and participation in, these treaty body pro-

cedures is significant but not complete. Canada is required to provide

periodic reports to all of the treaty bodies with the exception of the com-

mittee established under the MWC, to which Canada is not a party.

Canada is subject to investigation for systemic violations of human

rights under the CAT and the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW 1999

UN Human Rights Mechanisms 385

9 The Committee held its first session in March 2004.

10 But note that art. 9 of the Apartheid Convention, GA res. 3068 (XXVIII), did

establish a so-called “Group of Three.” The group — disbanded in 1995 — con-

sisted of three members of the Commission on Human Rights. Its mandate was

to consider reports submitted by states parties in accordance with art. 7 of the

Convention. The Group was authorized to meet either before or after each

annual session of the Commission on Human Rights to consider the reports sub-

mitted in accordance with art. 7.

11 Three Canadians have served as members of the Human Rights Committee:

Walter Tarnopolsky (1976–83), Gisèle Côté-Harper (1983–84) and Maxwell

Yalden (1997–present). Peter Burns has been a member of the Committee

Against Torture since 1987 and its chair since 1998.

12 See page 399. The quasi-judicial procedures established by the ILO and

UNESCO are not included on the chart. They are not technically “treaty bodies”

in the sense of being established under and responsible for monitoring a particu-

lar treaty. ILO procedures are discussed in Chapter Sixteen, and the UNESCO

procedures are discussed later in this chapter.