A/HRC/31/3
Disappearance quadrupled, from 50 in 2014 to over 200 in 2015. The active use of treaty
bodies by individuals alleging human rights violations is positive but needs to be matched
with adequate resources to avoid long delays. OHCHR launched an online treaty body case
law database (http://juris.ohchr.org/) and worked to ensure the webcasting of all treaty body
sessions.
12.
At their twenty-seventh annual meeting, held in Costa Rica, the Chairs of the treaty
bodies formulated proposals for strengthened cooperation with the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights and welcomed the call by Costa Rica for an academic
process of reflection on the future of the treaty body system. The Chairs also endorsed the
Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (the San José Guidelines) and recommended
them for adoption by all treaty bodies, some of which have meanwhile done so.
13.
OHCHR rolled out the treaty body capacity-building programme created through
General Assembly resolution 68/268, with national-level activities in over 40 countries. A
study and practical guide on national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up was
developed. The first subregional training-of-trainers events for government officials took
place for the Pacific (in Samoa) and the Caribbean and English-speaking Americas (in
Barbados).
14.
OHCHR celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the
adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The High Commissioner launched
the year-long celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the two covenants under the slogan
“Our rights. Our freedoms. Always.”
2.
Human Rights Council
15.
In 2015, as mandated by the Human Rights Council, OHCHR continued to support
three commissions of inquiry (on the Syrian Arab Republic, the Occupied Palestinian
Territory and Eritrea) and conducted investigations and fact-finding missions on Sri Lanka,
Iraq and Libya, as well as Boko Haram-related abuses, and carried out a human rights
assessment mission to South Sudan. Despite operational challenges, the resulting reports
represent independent, impartial and authoritative references.
16.
OHCHR organized panel discussions, including on the death penalty, climate
change, the effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, unilateral coercive measures, the rights of the child, women’s rights, the right to
education for every girl, racial discrimination worldwide, a human-rights approach to good
governance and follow-up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. The annual
discussion on the integration of a gender perspective in the work of the Human Rights
Council, in September 2015, focused on gender parity. For the first time, the impact of the
world drug problem on human rights was the subject of a panel. OHCHR also organized a
number of side events, for example on the application of human rights criteria to the Arms
Trade Treaty.
17.
The Human Rights Council held an enhanced interactive dialogue on the human
rights of migrants and a dialogue on the status of negotiations on the post-2015
development agenda, and held informal conversations with the Deputy Secretary-General
and the High Commissioner.
18.
The Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund to Support the Participation of
Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States in the Work of the Human
Rights Council covered the participation of 18 government officials in Council sessions.
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