A/HRC/6/21 page 11 6. Placing the CESCR on a par with other treaty monitoring bodies would involve the States parties to the Covenant providing for the establishment of such a body in a treaty - either by amendment of the Covenant or through the adoption and entry into force of a new treaty or protocol. 7. The States parties may choose to improve and rationalize the workings of the CESCR by adding provisions to those contained in ECOSOC resolution 1985/17 of 28 May 1985, describing the number, qualifications, election, term and emoluments of experts of the new treaty body; number and venue of meetings of that body; its monitoring functions with regard to the Covenant; the periodicity of reports made by States parties; and the addressees of the annual report(s) of the treaty body. The articles describing a new committee may more closely match those in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, for example. Amendment of the Covenant 8. The first option to establish a new committee under a treaty regime to monitor implementation of the Covenant would be through an amendment of the Covenant. 9. Any State party to the Covenant may propose an amendment and “file it” with the Secretary-General.2 The Secretary-General then circulates the proposed amendment to States parties and requests that they notify him whether they favour a conference of States parties for the purposes of considering and voting upon the proposal. In the event that at least one third of the States parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General convenes a conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly for approval. 2 Article 29 of the Covenant reads as follows: 1. Any State Party to the present Covenant may propose an amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate any proposed amendments to the States Parties to the present Covenant with a request that they notify him whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that at least one third of the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations for approval. 2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties to the present Covenant in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. 3. When amendments come into force they shall be binding on those States Parties which have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of the present Covenant and any earlier amendment which they have accepted.