A/HRC/45/51 84. During the reporting period, the Government participated in two treaty body reviews: the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,84 in October 2019, and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,85 in November 2019. 85. On 2 April 2019, Cambodia submitted its third periodic report to the Human Rights Committee86. Its fourth to sixth combined periodic report 87 to the Committee on the Rights of the Child is scheduled for review in 2020. The Government also submitted its report to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in June 2020. 88 Dates of treaty body sessions are yet to be confirmed, owing to travel restrictions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to actively engage in treaty monitoring processes, submit all overdue reports and prepare a plan for timely future submissions. 86. It is unfortunate that despite assurances, 89 the Government has not submitted an updated common core document. The Special Rapporteur repeats her call to update the common core document. The current core document dates to 1997, and Cambodia is now a very different country, having developed considerably since the early period of the modern constitutional era. An accurate common core document will ameliorate the work for the State when preparing its periodic reports. 87. The treaty body review process represents an opportunity for the Government to engage in constructive discussions with independent experts on progress made and challenges encountered in realizing the treaty obligations of Cambodia. Following each review, the concluding observations should be translated into Khmer, publicly disseminated and discussed in the country. This should be accompanied by inclusive and comprehensive discussions across stakeholders who can assist in implementing the recommendations made, as well as contributing towards follow-up90 and subsequent reports. 88. The first reports of Cambodia to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, both due in 2015, remain outstanding. In addition, the response to the list of issues for the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has also been overdue since 2014. The failure to submit the response to the list of issues appears to result from the task being assigned to the National Committee against Torture – the country’s national preventative mechanism for torture through the royal decree. An independent mechanism should not be tasked with reporting on behalf of the State. Completing the overdue reports affords the State an opportunity to reflect on progress made and to identify opportunities to better embed all interdependent, interrelated and indivisible rights and freedoms for all Cambodian people in fulfilment of its treaty obligations. 89. With increased engagement across United Nations human rights monitoring mechanisms, it is an ideal time for Cambodia to consider preparing a comprehensive national action plan for human rights, following the example of other countries in the region. This could include a rolling schedule for treaty body and universal periodic review reports, midterm updates, and the implementation of the National Human Rights Recommendations Tracking Database. It should integrate the work to date on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Further, it should strengthen the human rights dimension of the Government’s Rectangular Strategy Phase IV, with a view to enabling the Government to reflect on the best way to promote and protect all human rights in the country. A national action plan would also provide a framework for constructive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society organizations. Such engagement is essential for ensuring the implementation of accepted recommendations and concluding observations. 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 18 CEDAW/C/KHM/CO/6. CERD/C/KHM/CO/14-17. CCPR/C/KHM/3. CRC/C/KHM/4-6. E/C.12/KHM/2. A/HRC/42/60, para. 11. See, for example, CEDAW/C/KHM/CO/6, para. 55, requesting follow-up within two years.