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Human Rights Committee

Monitoring civil and political rights

The Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its State parties.

All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to the Covenant and then whenever the Committee requests (usually every four years). The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations”.

In addition to the reporting procedure, article 41 of the Covenant provides for the Committee to consider inter-state complaints. Furthermore, the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant gives the Committee competence to examine individual complaints with regard to alleged violations of the Covenant by States parties to the Protocol.

The full competence of the Committee extends to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant on the abolition of the death penalty with regard to States who have accepted the Protocol.

The Committee meets in Geneva or New York and normally holds three sessions per year.

The Committee also publishes its interpretation of the content of human rights provisions, known as general comments on thematic issues or its methods of work.

For more information about the work of the Human Rights Committee, click here.

New Publication

Now available in PDF

Compilación de observaciones finales del Comité de Derechos Humanos sobre países de América Latina y el Caribe (1977-2004)

A compilation of HRC concluding observations for Latin American and Caribbean countries in their original languages. Contains all of the concluding observations of the Committee from 1977 to 2004 relating to Spanish-speaking countries in Spanish, English-speaking countries (as well as Brazil) in English, and Francophone countries in French.

Published by OHCHR and the Centro de Derechos Humanos of the Universidad de Santiago, Chile.

ISBN:

To download a copy (3.2MB), click on the cover page

Forthcoming Events

28th Meeting of States parties (New York, 9 November 2009)

98th session of the Human Rights Committee: 8-26 March 2010 in New York

Recent Developments and Events

97th session of the Human Rights Committee 12 - 30 October 2009

Statement delivered at the Durban Review Conference (20-24 April) by Ms. Zonke Zanele Majodina, Vice-Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee

A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO PUBLIC RELATIONS, INCLUDING RELATIONS WITH THE MEDIA

General Comment 33 on the obligations of States parties under the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant adopted at 94th session
E

Latest report to the General Assembly

Report to the GA - A/63/40
A C E F R S

Outcome of elections held in New York on 4 September during the Twenty-seventh Meeting of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to replace those members of the Human Rights Committee whose terms are due to expire on 31 December 2008

Recent signatures, ratifications and accessions

On 26 September 2009, Lao People's Democratic Republic became the 165th State party to the Covenant

On 25 September 2009, Brazil acceded to the 1st Optional Protocol as well as to the second optional protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty

Note: entry into force occurs 3 months after date of deposit of instrument of ratification or accession.

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