A/HRC/4/62 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Human Rights Council, by decision 2/102 of 6 October 2006, requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to “continue with the fulfilment of her activities, in accordance with all previous decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and to update the relevant reports and studies”. On the current issue of the “Question of the realization of economic, social and cultural rights”, a comprehensive annual report (E/CN.4/2006/38) was submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixty-second session pursuant to resolution 2005/22. The information in that report remains relevant. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) understands decision 2/102 to preserve the previous annual reporting cycle in respect of this issue until otherwise decided by the Council. The current report to the Council accordingly addresses developments in respect of the question of the realization of economic, social and cultural rights over the last year. 2. The report provides a brief overview of the activities of the United Nations human rights system in relation to economic, social and cultural rights during the year 2006. In addition, the main section of the report elaborates upon the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in conflict and post-conflict societies. The international community has a particularly important role to play in the protection and realization of all human rights in such contexts. Economic, social and cultural rights have been comparatively neglected in strategies aimed at restoring peace and ensuring accountability in conflict and post-conflict settings. It seems therefore timely to explore the relevance of these rights to situations of conflict or post-conflict. II. ACTIVITIES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM SELECTED DEVELOPMENTS A. Intergovernmental bodies 3. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 December 2006 (resolution 61/106). The Convention is a comprehensive instrument covering the full range of rights - civil, political, economic, social and cultural - of persons with disabilities, thereby reaffirming the indivisibility of all rights. 4. The open-ended working group on an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) held its third session in February 2006. On the basis of a report prepared by the Chairperson-Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2006/WG.23/2), the working group held focused discussions on the main elements of a possible communications procedure under ICESCR. In June, the Chairperson-Rapporteur, Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, presented the report of the working group (E/CN.4/2006/47) to the first session of the Human Rights Council. The Council, in its resolution 1/3, extended the mandate of the working group for a period of two years, giving it a mandate to start drafting an optional protocol and requesting the Chairperson-Rapporteur to prepare a first draft to be used as a basis for the forthcoming negotiations. The Chairperson-Rapporteur will submit the draft to the fourth session of the working group, to be held in July 2007.