New York

25 June 2019

Note to correspondents – Secretary-General’s meeting with chairs of the human rights treaty bodies

Today, the Secretary-General met with the ten Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies who are in New York for their annual meeting to discuss their work. The Chairs meet once a year to share observations on positive and negative trends, improve their cooperation and share good practices and working methods with the aim of harmonizing them and improving their collective efficiency and effectiveness.
 
Together with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary-General’s office is attempting to mitigate the impact on the work of the treaty body system of budget reductions adopted by the General Assembly in 2017, which are further compounded by the financial crisis facing the Organization. The Secretary-General submitted proposals to Member States to resolve the financial crisis and counts on their support for a short-term and longer-term solutions.
 
The Secretary-General affirms the importance of the crucial human rights work done by the treaty bodies and he emphasizes that it is crucial for human rights and victims around the world that the Committees can count on the necessary support and resources to be able to fulfil their mandates.
 
The forthcoming review in 2020 of the treaty body system by the General Assembly will be an opportunity for States to fully assume the implications of their responsibilities enshrined in human rights treaties. The review intends to render the system more effective at the national level, especially for those who are most vulnerable, and the chairs are actively involved in developing innovative solutions to ensure this outcome.