A/HRC/25/22
review of their report, and held 12 follow-up meetings with States on their concluding
observations.
67.
At its 54th session, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women adopted a revised follow-up methodology (A/68/38, annex III).
68.
In addition to supporting the individual committees and the annual meeting of the
chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies, OHCHR continuously promotes the
harmonization of the work of the treaty bodies and the secretariats supporting them. In
2013, OHCHR continued its online survey to solicit feedback from treaty body members on
the support received from the Office in relation to all treaty body activities. As of the third
quarter of 2013, the Office was using a similar online survey to gather feedback from
human rights officers supporting the treaty bodies with a view to generating statistical data
to be used to assess and enhance synergies in OHCHR to support the work of the
mechanisms. OHCHR also organized weekly internal meetings with the secretaries of all
the treaty bodies in order to stimulate sharing of good practices, coordinate activities, and
optimize the support provided to the treaty bodies.
69.
Treaty body-relevant expertise is further shared across the divisions of OHCHR to
ensure the integration of a treaty body perspective across the organization, including in the
context of country visits by the High Commissioner, with the aim of enhancing follow-up
to the concluding observations of the treaty bodies. The participation of field presences in
the treaty bodies’ State party review processes has been further strengthened through the
submission of written inputs and active participation via videoconference or physical
representation during the meetings whenever possible, taking into account financial
constraints.
70.
OHCHR continued to make the Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI) available as
a comprehensive, up-to-date tool for searching treaty body output; it compiles
recommendations from treaty bodies, special procedures and the universal periodic review
(UPR) and is continuously updated. The UHRI can be accessed through the OHCHR
website (www.ohchr.org).
71.
Moreover, OHCHR enhanced the functionality of the treaty body database and
gradually integrated it into the OHCHR website with the goal of allowing for better
information sharing with, and participation of, all stakeholders. OHCHR also continued to
develop online systems to facilitate the management of civil society participation in the
sessions of some committees.
72.
OHCHR further continued to ensure that the outputs of the treaty bodies were duly
reflected in the documentation for the UPR, more specifically in the compilations prepared
by OHCHR.
73.
In 2013, OHCHR disseminated 50 weekly updates and three quarterly newsletters of
the Human Rights Treaties Division to civil society and other stakeholders. The quarterly
newsletters are shared with Member States, United Nations partners, NHRIs and civil
society organizations, and the weekly updates keep online subscribers around the world
abreast of the work of the treaty bodies. A weekly broadcast is also circulated to all 172
treaty body experts and provides more detailed information on the treaty body sessions, the
work of the Human Rights Treaties Division and issues of relevance to the work of the
treaty bodies, so that each committee is aware of the work of the other nine committees.
74.
Through Facebook and Twitter, as well other social media platforms, OHCHR has
sought to increase the visibility of the treaty bodies, creating greater awareness of their
findings, and increasing the number of stakeholders. On Facebook, a short summary of the
discussion of each State party’s report is posted with a link to the relevant page on the
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