periodic reporting under un human rights treaties
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Periodic Reporting under UN Human Rights Treaties. The Government’s report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child 4 – 5 June 2012. Overview. Introduction to the treaty reporting cycle Preparation of treaty reports Key steps Appearance before a Committee Key Steps - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Periodic Reporting under UN Human Rights TreatiesThe Government’s report to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child 4 – 5 June 2012
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Overview• Introduction to the treaty reporting cycle• Preparation of treaty reports Key steps• Appearance before a Committee Key Steps• Concluding Observations and follow-up
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Australia’s reports & appearances
CAT
4th Report:
2005
Appearance:
April 2008
ICCPR
5th Report:
2007
Appearance
March 2009
ICESCR
4th Report: 2007
Appearance:
May 2009
CEDAW
6th and 7th
Report: 2008
Appearance:
July 2010
CERD
15th-17th
Report: 2009
Appearance:
August 2010
CRC and OPs
4th Report (& initial reports for
OPS):
2009
Appearance:
June 2012
CRPD
1st Report: 2010*
Appearance:
? 2012?
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Treaty reporting cycleSubmission of
Periodic Report
Consideration by Treaty Committee
‘List of Issues’ given to State Party
‘Written Response’ to List of Issues submitted [and NGO
Shadow Report]
‘Constructive dialogue’/ appearance before
Committee
‘Concluding Observations ‘ Issued
Follow Up work and Preparation of Periodic
Report
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Key steps for Government1. Preparation of Periodic Report2. Written response to List of Issues3. Preparation for Committee Appearance4. Committee appearance5. Follow-up to Concluding Observations
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1. Preparation of Treaty Reports
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Preparation of periodic report• In Australia, typically there are 6 main stages in
preparing a periodic report• Stage 1: Prepare skeleton draft of report
– Check Rules of Procedure – Identify key issues – Prepare structure and headings – Draft ‘skeleton’ response
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Periodic report continued …• Stage 2: Circulate draft to relevant Federal
Government departments for input
– Identify relevant areas of Federal Government and the articles of the treaty they are responsible for
– Provide advance notice to departments of reporting process and timeframes
– May need to consult further and amend draft report
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Periodic report continued ...• Stage 3: Consult on draft with States and
Territories (SCOT)
– Identify relevant areas of State and Territory Governments and the articles of the treaty they are responsible for
– Provide advance notice to departments of reporting process and timeframes
– May need to consult further and amend draft report
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Periodic report continued …• Stage 4: Seek the views of the general public
– e.g. NGO input
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Periodic report continued ...• Stage 5: Inform responsible Government
agencies (Federal + State and Territory) about comments– May need to consult further and amend information– Also constitutes final update to and clearance of
report
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Periodic report continued ...• Stage 6: Ministerial clearance and
lodgement with UN
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2. Written response to List of Issues
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List of Issues• Questions on general issues and specific
cases, and requests for statistics/data• Consult with relevant departments and
States and Territories• Draft response• Ministerial clearance• Lodge with the UN within stated time frame
(allow sufficient time for translation)14
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3. Preparation for CommitteeAppearance
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Preparing delegation briefing• Key steps:
– Identify issues (‘briefing matrix’) and prepare briefings
– Prepare delegation briefing material– Draft Opening Statement – Draft Summary Statement (if required)
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4. Committee Appearance
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Appearances• One or two days; only a few hours in total• Geneva or New York• Purposes:
– To answer questions relating to the periodic report, the Written Response and any other issues relating to the implementation of treaty obligations
– To provide the Committee updates on progress– To identify and acknowledge areas that need
improvement/more work – especially priority issues
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Committee Appearance• Opening Statement [& Summary Statement (if required)]• Gathering questions• Responding to questions – techniques• Coordinating with Government
– Key contacts in New York/ Geneva, at your department and other relevant Federal and State+ Territory departments
– Advise key contacts of procedure relating to Committee appearances and timeframes
– Processes for gathering further information if requested by the Committee
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Committee appearance continued ...• Reviewing UN press release at end of day• Managing media reporting• The role of non-government organisations
(NGOs) and national human rights institutions
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5. Follow-up to Concluding Observations
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Concluding Observations and Follow-up• Anticipate Concluding Observations• Prepare press release• Review Concluding Observations• Identify priority areas for follow-up• Circulate to all stakeholders (AG publicises on
website)• Develop plan for follow-up• Use as the basis for next periodic report
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Further follow-up• Several Committees request information on
follow-up action on particular Concluding Observations/recommendations within one year
• Sometimes there are additional requests for further information – eg CAT Committee
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The role of civil society/NGOs• Increasingly NGOs are playing an important role
in the treaty reporting process, e.g.– Shaping the list of issues– Providing a detailed and co-ordinated Shadow report– Meeting with the Committee and attending the
appearance• NGOs comment on concluding observations and
monitor Government’s follow up.
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Third Optional Protocol to CRC• The Government is currently considering its
position in relation to this instrument• Submissions from public were invited on
website• Consultations within government are
continuing
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Any questions?
Further information published on website
http://www.ag.gov.au/Humanrightsandantidiscrimination/Pages/Humanrights.aspx#reports
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