UN Photo/Yubi Hoffmann
5 June 2018
On 29–30 May 2018, our Manager of Policy Studies, Felix Kirchmeier, presented our publication Optimizing the UN Treaty Body System in New York to the Chairpersons of United Nations (UN) treaty bodies (TBs), diplomats and civil society representatives.
‘It was important for us to present this publication in New York as it directly feeds into the upcoming review of UN TBs by the UN General Assembly’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier. ‘While Geneva is the place where delegations interact with UN TBs, New York is where TBs members are elected and where political decisions on the TBs system are taken’ he adds.
Presentations in New York started with the annual meeting of Chairpersons of UN TBs . The discussion aimed at outlining the report’s main recommendations, notably on the structure of reporting and dialogue with state parties. It showed that the proposals entailed in the report build on TBs practice developed by the various TBs over the last years.
‘The report highlights that TBs have a large discretion over their own working methods, which means that they could already move towards a more aligned approach and a clustering of dialogues, without waiting for a new resolution from the General Assembly’ stresses Felix Kirchmeier.
At meeting hosted by the Permanent Missions of Switzerland and Costa Rica to the UN in New York, more than 30 New York-based diplomats and civil society representatives discussed the main recommendations entailed in the report.
‘This report is an important contribution to the ongoing discussions in the context of the 2020 review, while the review itself provides an opportunity to secure a sustainable future for the TBs as a coherent and efficient system, with the committees as complementary and mutually reinforcing components’ stresses Ambassador Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York.
‘Participants welcomed the work of our Academic Platform on TB Review as well as our report and provided interesting feedbacks’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier. ‘They also recognized its contribution to the 2020 discussions’ he adds.
The publication Optimizing the UN Treaty Body System outlines a series of recommendations related to the functioning of UN treaty bodies TBs, considered a cornerstone of universal human rights protection. It provides detailed and innovative solutions for optimizing the system.
This work is the outcome of a three-year consultative process coordinated by the Geneva Academy – the Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020 – to collect academic inputs and ideas for the 2020 review via the creation of an academic network of independent researchers, a call for papers, a series of regional consultations, annual and expert conferences, as well as ongoing interactions with key stakeholders: states, treaty bodies, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other parts of the UN.
Adobe
Our recent research brief series explores how the United Nations' human rights system can enhance its role in early warning and conflict prevention.
Geneva Academy
The Geneva Human Rights Platform has taken its work on strengthening the international human rights system to the heart of European policymaking.
LATSIS Symposium
This Human Rights Conversation will explore how AI is being used by human rights institutions to enhance the efficiency, scope, and impact of monitoring and implementation frameworks.
Wikimedia
This evening dialogue will present the publication: International Human Rights Law: A Treatise, Cambridge University Press (2025).
ICRC
Participants in this training course will gain practical insights into UN human rights mechanisms and their role in environmental protection and learn about how to address the interplay between international human rights and environmental law, and explore environmental litigation paths.
Adobe
This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.
Adobe
To unpack the challenges raised by artificial intelligence, this project will target two emerging and under-researched areas: digital military technologies and neurotechnology.
Adobe
This initiative wishes to contribute to better and more coordinated implementation, reporting and follow-up of international human rights recommendations through a global study on digital human rights tracking tools and databases.