Human Rights.
The United Nations
Human Rights
Committee
UNRC
Key words
United Human Utopia Law Bureaucrac Civic and
Nations Rights y Political
Committee rights
• There are clusters of UN Human Rights Treaties and
committees to monitor how states comply with their
covenant bound obligations.
• The Human Rights Committee is one with a body of
18 independent experts formed in 1976. Its key
function is to monitor implementation of the
International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights
(ICCPR) and how states comply with it.
• It is seen as the most law-like and authoritative of
all the 10 UN human rights treaty bodies.
UN Human • Civil and political rights are seen as the most
foundational of all the fundamental human rights
Rights recognized by international covenants and domestic
legislation.
Committee • Human rights committee is centered on the law.
Most personnel have a legal background. Even the
Language used. It important to note that it is not a
court but performs functions that are court like.
Basic of the
Human Rights
Committee.
• Its Operations is stated in Article 26 of ICCPR
• The committee shall establish its own rules of
procedure
• Primary operation; review periodic state reports,
process individual communication, issue general
comments. State parties submit regular reports
on the implementation of civic and political rights.
• Constructive dialogue under reviewing state
reports resembles the Universal Periodic Review
(UPR )by the UN Human Rights Council. The
technique used to smoothen tensions in the
committee.
• Monitoring mechanism of the human rights
committee as distinctly legal.
• The committee meets in Geneva and normally
holds three sessions per year.
Key Functions
• Maintain law, policies and practice that enhance
enjoyment of civic and political rights.
• To withdraw or amend measures that are destructive of
covenant rights.
• To take appropriate action when state parties fail to
protect these rights.
• To hold dialogue sessions with state delegations. For
example, in it’s 135 session 2022, it held dialogues with
six state delegations in Palais Wilson Geneva and
adopted concluding observations on the fourth report of
Luxembourg and Hong Kong ,sixth report of Uruguay,fith
of Ireland and Georgia, second report of China. The
committee also adapted a list of issues in relation to
state reports of Colombi, Palestine and Uganda
• Not to be confused with the UN Human Rights Council
which replaced the UN commission on Human Rights or
the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights(OHCHR). IT IS not a global body that describes all
Human Rights described in the treaties rather a
committee that is responsible for the oversight for the
implementation of the civic and political rights set out in
the ICCPR
Overview 135th session Human
Rights Committee in Palais Wilson,
State Party Report in Kenya. 131st Reference :State party reporting
on Kenya
session by the CCPR
• To find out whether the new Refugee bill protects
Minority groups and the general safeguard of
Asylum seekers despite their sexual orientation.
Some of the • Whether the Huduma bill on the registration of
births and deaths and the issuance of other
travel documents to refugees and asylum
Agendas. seekers were in line with international legal
standards.
First • Finding durable solution for internally displaced
persons in Kenya.
Session of • Children bill to increase criminal age to 12 years.
• Reforms undertaken to address the multiple
the election irregularities.
• The Public Order Bill of 2019 criticized for the
Meeting. unlawfully arrest of human rights defenders for
having exercised their right of peaceful
demonstrations and supporters killed by police
and pro-government militias during the
demonstrations following the 2017 general
election
On its side Kenya Said: Second
session of the meeting.
• It has faced ongoing threats from Al-Shabaab militia and other terrosist groups. Creating
employment, Convictions.
• On the issue of election irregularities, the supreme court has anulled the 2017 Presidential
elections and a fresh election held. Government handshake with opposition to promote
peace.
• All allegations of misconduct in public office were investigated and any persons suspected
of engaging in illegal activity were prosecuted
• The Government was committed to protecting the right to life and did not condone the
execution of individuals by State agents
• Applications for refugee status could not be rejected on the basis of the applicant’s sexual
orientation; such discrimination was prohibited under article 27 of the Constitution.
• Around 350,000 persons displaced during the post-violence elections had been able to
return to their homes.
• The children bill had been approved by the Cabinet and would be submitted to the
Parliament in early 2021 to increase the age of criminal responsibility from from 8 to
12years. Currently its 12 years.
Limitations and Frustration at
the UN Human Rights
Committee
• Insufficient resources. Limited Personal resources by the UN Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) hinders the committee from
performing all the operations it would like. Understaffed
• By continually negotiating its mandate with state parties it appears to be too
slow, too technical and legal, too bureaucratic and seen as irrelevant.
• Work backlog. Increased processing times for individual communications
cases. The UN bureaucracy as one of the major reasons for the delays.
• Human Rights committee overshadowed by the Human Rights Council. The
Universal Period Review (UPR) by the council receives high visibility in the
media.
• Dilemma faced by the Human Rights Committee to persuade state parties to
produce reports for a law-like body with no enforcement power. Failed in
achieving an Utopian society.
• Conflicting sentiments in the operations of the UN Human Rights Committee.
Need for Reforms? Guard the
Utopia.
The committee aspires to do more in addition to
monitoring human rights, it is also a progressive
interpreter in the current scope of human rights.
Increased number of processed documents by
treaties in the past decade puts emphasis on the
need for reforms.
• There continually new human rights treaties in the UN to reform
them into a more unified and coordinated system which would
eliminate reporting overlaps.
• Improvements on delays and backlog in individual petitions.
• More Constructive dialogue
References
• Guarding utopia: Law, • Reference :State party
Vulnerability and frustration at reporting on Kenya by the
the UN Human Rights CCPR
Committee by MIIA HALME-
TUOMISAARI
Thank you