The ICJ, Amnesty International, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights have presented a position paper ahead of the review of the human rights treaty body system.
Thefour NGOs are committed to ensuring the effectiveness of the United Nations human rights treaty bodies as critical institutions charged with strengthening the protection of human rights around the world.
General Assembly resolution 68/268 on Strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system mandates a review of the “effectiveness of the measures taken in order to ensure their sustainability, and, if appropriate, to decide on further action to strengthen and enhance the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system” no later than April 2020.
The goal of the four organizations is for the outcome of the 2020 review to support a treaty body system that strengthens the realization of human rights at the domestic level, including by assisting States to give effect to their treaty obligations and by making the system more accessible to rights-holders to exercise and enjoy their human rights.