Franciscans InternationalReform of UN Treaty Bodies
Top UN officials have called on Member States to consider a set of proposals to strengthen the UN's treaty body system, which has doubled in size in the last twleve years and is in need of reform. The treaty bodies are the committees of independent experts that monitor the implementation of the UN human rights treaties by States parties.
In his opening statement to the General Assembly's meeting on treaty body reform, the President of the Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, talked of the need to rationalise, adapt and streamline the important UN machinery in the field of human rights with the aim of improving its efficiency. He outlined the two objectives of reform: firstly, to strenghten the treaty bodies' capacity and efficiency in assisting States Parties in meeting their relevant obligations; and secondly, to improve the impact of human rights bodies on rights-holders and duty-bearers at the national level, by making their work more efficient while fully respecting their independence.
Read President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser's statement