International Service for Human Rights

On 9 and 10 November 2011, Belarus was examined by the Committee Against Torture (the Committee) in relation to its compliance to its responsibilities and obligations under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention). Belarus ratified the Convention in March 1987.

The Committee raised numerous concerns with Belarus, including its treatment of human rights defenders and lawyers. Specifically, in the List of Issues,[1] the committee asked Belarus to comment on allegations of widespread harassment of human rights defenders and journalists by law enforcement officials. The Committee referred to specific cases where human rights defenders and journalists had been allegedly arrested including the arrest and detention of the Chair of a human rights NGO, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC). In its written reply, Belarus did not address the allegations regarding the Chair of the BHC, however in relation to the allegations concerning the journalists, Belarus claimed that the journalists had been afforded due process.

On 17 November 2011, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee) finished reviewing the third periodic report of Israel. The Committee experts addressed a number of issues, including those presented in NGO reports. The Committee paid special attention to the cultural rights of the Bedouins, which is considered an indigenous population by the Committee but not by Israel. The experts and the Israeli delegation also found themselves in disagreement on the State party’s responsibility to report on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). According to the delegation, the OPT fall under the responsibilities of the Palestinian Authority as a result of the 2005 Interim Agreement. The Committee, on the other hand, reminded Israel that it is legally bound by international law to report on such matters, despite denying having effective control on the area.

During its 102nd session in Geneva in July 2011, the Human Rights Committee (the Committee) adopted a new General Comment number34. The General Comment is on article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the Covenant) which covers freedom of opinion and expression. Mr Michael O’Flaherty was the rapporteur of this extensive General Comment, which replaces General Comment 10, the Committee’s previous interpretation of article 19.[1] For a full list of the general comments developed by the Committee see here. In three public meetings (19, 20, and 21 July 2011) the Committee completed the second reading of paragraphs 25 to 54 and adopted the amended version of General Comment 34. For previous reports on the Committee's discussions on the drafting of this General Comment, see here and here.

Two main issues persisted throughout the meetings. Firstly, there was a general concern about language in certain paragraphs, which would open loopholes for States to avoid their treaty obligations. For instance, a recurring issue was Japan’s proposal to change the word ‘must’ to ‘may’ throughout the General Comment. This was rejected by the Committee. Secondly, the fact that Committee members originate from many different legal cultures, occasionally posed a difficulty in reaching compromise and triggered lengthy discussions.

On 20 and 21 June 2011 the Centre for Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, hosted a civil society consultation on strengthening the UN treaty body system. The consultation was attended by eight national and regional NGOs[1] and facilitated by two international NGOs.[2] Also in attendance were members of OHCHR and the Chair of the Human Rights Committee, Ms Zonke Majodina.

This meeting was the latest in a series of consultations on reform of the treaty bodies. Previous consultations have resulted in the Dublin Statement and the Poznan Statement (both by current and former treaty body members acting in a personal capacity), the Marrakech Statement (by National Human Rights Institutions) , and the Seoul Statement (by mostly international NGOs). A group of mostly international NGOs also came together to produce the NGO response to the Dublin Statement.

The Pretoria Statement is an important addition to these documents, as it represents the views of regional and national level organisations. These groups are some of the most active in engaging with the treaty bodies, have the ground level knowledge to make effective and necessary contributions to the review of a State, and are the best placed to follow-up on the recommendations that come from the various committees. Their perspective on the process of reform of the treaty bodies is essential, but up until now it has been largely lacking, certainly in any focused form. The views of these NGOs, as represented in the Pretoria statement, must be taken forwards as an indispensable element of the discussions on reform as they continue throughout the course of this year. You can find more information on upcoming consultations here.

The strong backing of wider civil society for the Pretoria Statement and the perspective it represents would go some way towards ensuring that the voice of regional and national organisations cannot be ignored. To this end the statement has been opened for endorsement beyond the original group of drafters. Any organisation that wishes to endorse the statement can do so through the OHCHR site. Endorsements should be made by 15 August.

During its 101st session in New York in March 2011, the Committee started its second reading of the draft general comment No. 34 on Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the Covenant), which covers freedom of opinion and expression. The first reading of the General Comment was concluded in October 2010. Mr. Michael O’Flaherty is the rapporteur of the extensive General Comment which will replace the earlier and more limited General Comment No. 10. In three public meetings (18, 23 and 24 March), the Committee held the second reading of paragraphs one through 24.

Following the Committee’s call for stakeholder comments by end of January 2011, many States, human rights organisations, academics and other actors provided input into the General Comment. In total, the Committee received 70 submissions.  All comments were considered, and many discussed by the Committee during the public meetings. Mr. O’Flaherty said that the level of interest among stakeholders was extremely high and that, overall, the commentators welcomed the new General Comment on freedom of opinion and expression.

The Committee evaluated the General Comment on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis, and a number of paragraphs triggered lengthy and contentious discussions. In the first section of the General Comment under the heading 'General remarks', the Committee decided to incorporate a paragraph 2bis as proposed by Mr. Gerald Neuman, including a reference to the enjoyment of the freedom of opinion and expression as a necessary condition for realizing the principles of, inter alia, transparency.

A lengthy discussion took place on the insertion of some articles containing guarantees for freedom of opinion and expression in paragraph three. Some Committee members contested the inclusion of article 17 (right of privacy) in the list, arguing that its relation to freedom of opinion and expression is unclear. At first the Committee deleted the reference to article 17 but later reinserted it on the basis that paragraph 19 makes a reference to article 17, and therefore the list in paragraph three would be incomplete without the reference. The proposal to include a reference to article 24 (right to nationality) did not find support, with Mr. Krister Thelin remarking that it would lead to the proposal of many more unrelated articles. Similarly, the Committee did not support other proposals which added references to economic, social and cultural rights on the basis that minimalist rather than expansive language was preferred.  The Committee included language stating that freedom of expression is integral to exercise the right to vote.