International Service for Human Rights

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will have a busy session from 2-20 November as it examines the 2nd to 5th combined periodic reports of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 21 years after the examination of its initial report due to ‘political events that shook the country from 1991 to 2002’ (State report). The Committee is expected to address the incorporation of the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights into peace agreements, mismanagement of the country’s natural resources, measures taken to combat corruption, protection of minorities, gender discrimination in law, and the arrest of trade union leaders, among other issues. CESCR will also examine Poland, Madagascar, Chad and the Republic of Korea, while the Committee against Torture will examine eight State reports, including from Azerbaijan, Colombia and Spain.

While the examination of Spain before the Committee against Torture has generated significant attention from national and international NGOs, both committee sessions are notable for a relatively low number of submissions, with a maximum of four submissions for the DRC with and none for Chad and Madagascar (CESCR) and only one submission for Colombia before the Committee against Torture, while the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has submitted information on the State’s examination by CESCR.