A/HRC/13/69 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 17 February 2010 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirteenth session Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Report of the Secretary-General on measures taken to implement resolution 9/8 and obstacles to its implementation, including recommendations for further improving the effectiveness of, harmonizing, and reforming the treaty body system* 1. In its resolution 9/8 entitled “Effective implementation of international human rights instruments”, the Human Rights Council requested the Secretary-General to report annually on measures taken to implement that resolution and on obstacles to its implementation, including recommendations for further improving the effectiveness of, harmonizing, and reforming the treaty body system. This report briefly highlights the most recent developments in this regard. 2. Information regarding the twenty-first meeting of the chairpersons of human rights treaty bodies, held in Geneva on 2 and 3 July 2009, has been submitted to the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly pursuant to its resolution 57/202. This report (A/64/276) also includes information on the outcomes of the eighth and ninth Inter-Committee Meetings. 3. During 2009, human rights treaty bodies held 20 sessions amounting to 64 weeks in Geneva and New York (each session lasting between one and four weeks), during which 103 State party reports were reviewed in plenary sessions and an equivalent number in working groups, where such groups exist. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women held one of its sessions in two chambers and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination extended one of its sessions by one week to address the backlog of reports awaiting review. Treaty bodies received during 2009 a total of 150 State party reports. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities held its first two sessions in 2009 and commenced work on its rules of procedures and working methods. * GE.10-10725 Late submission