GENEVA (8 June 2015) – The heads of the 10 UN human rights expert committees, known as the Treaty Bodies, will hold their annual meeting from 22 to 26 June at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights in San José, Costa Rica. The Chairpersons are scheduled to meet Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís on 22 June.

 

By meeting in Latin America, the Chairpersons, whose committees monitor the major international human rights treaties, want to strengthen co-operation between the Treaty Body system and the Inter-American human rights system. They will hold consultations with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

 

The adoption of a set of guidelines to prevent and address reprisals against those who cooperate with the Treaty Body system is also high on the Chairpersons’ agenda. The Chairpersons also use their annual meetings, held previously in Addis Ababa and Brussels, to hear from people directly affected by human rights violations, and in San José they will meet civil society representatives from across the Americas.

 

“Our committees are composed of independent experts from around the world, and our work involves assisting States from every region to fully comply with human rights treaties,” said Claudio Grossman, Chair of the Committee against Torture and President of the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights.

 

“ For Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, it is invaluable to continue and deepen a fruitful dialogue with States, civil society and the organs of the Inter-American system of human rights in a region which has made important advances in the protection of human rights but where challenges remain,” Mr Grossman added.

 

“As the Chairpersons of the 10 Treaty Bodies, we are delighted to be meeting in Costa Rica with its long record of support for human rights,” said Malcolm Evans, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.

 

The Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its State parties.

 

All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to the Covenant and then whenever the Committee requests (usually every four years). The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations”.

 

The Chairpersons will hold a news conference at the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights, located at Av. 8 Calles 41-43, No. 222, Los Yoses, San José, on Friday 26 June at 12:00 local time to discuss the outcome of their meeting.