Some progress has been made in ratifications within the international human rights treaty system. As at 10 August 1995, 177 States had accepted to ensure and respect the wide range of basic human rights laid down in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This means that the rights of more than 90 per cent of the children in the world today are protected by the Convention. This is in itself a notable achievement; every effort should be made to gain universal ratification by the end of 1995. Ratification of other treaties has not progressed so rapidly: as at 10 August, 132 States were party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; 131 to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 143 to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; and 141 to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Only 90 States had ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and only 4 had ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
In September 1994, I wrote to all Member States urging ratification of outstanding human rights treaties. In February 1995, I wrote to Heads of State or Government appealing for ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I am pleased with the numerous positive responses and I have asked the High Commissioner for Human Rights to follow up on my letters and to offer assistance where required. Nevertheless, new efforts must be made to achieve universal ratification of these important instruments.
At the heart of the international human rights treaty system are the six expert committees charged with monitoring respect for human rights as laid down in the respective treaties: the Human Rights Committee; the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Committee on the Rights of the Child; the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; and the Committee against Torture. Together, they review the human rights situation in some 60 countries a year. The committees and their members represent a precious source of information and expertise.
The committees have been improving their methods of work, providing more focused recommendations and carrying out field missions with increasing frequency. Three objectives are shaping their work: increased interaction and participation of the specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations; the establishment of closer connections between the findings of the treaty body concerned and the programme of advisory services and technical cooperation; and the establishment by treaty bodies of procedures aimed at preventing human rights violations and preventing existing problems from escalating into conflicts.
In connection with situations that require special or urgent action, the committees have requested special reports on an urgent basis (former Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, Iraq, Peru, etc.), undertaken good offices missions (Belgrade, Kosovo) or carried out technical assistance missions (Croatia, Panama). Special appeals have also been issued with regard to Indonesia, concerning East Timor and Pakistan.
In June I met, for the first time, with the chairpersons of all six treaty-based bodies. The discussion focused on the role of those bodies in early warning and preventive action, on the greatly increased capacity of those bodies to monitor accurately the human rights situation in a wide range of countries and the assistance those bodies needed from the Secretariat to carry out those expanded responsibilities successfully. I expressed my full support for their important activities and my personal commitment to securing universal ratification of human rights treaties. I look forward to closer cooperation with the treaty bodies in the future.
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