A Conference in Oslo to Discuss the Future of United Nations Treaty Bodies

9 November 2018

On 17–18 October 2018, the two coordinators of the Geneva Human Rights Platform, Felix Kirchmeier and Kamelia Kemileva, participated in Oslo in a conference on the role that domestic human rights actors play towards the 2020 review of United Nations (UN) treaty bodies (TBs) by the UN General Assembly and how to build a more effective TB system for all stakeholders.

Co-organized by the Geneva Academy and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights of the University of Oslo, the conference brought together ministerial representatives, independent state institutions (National Human Rights Institutions and Ombudspersons), acting and former TBs members, and representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human (OHCHR) and civil society organizations.

Dissemination of the Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020’s Conclusions

The expert part of the conference focused on testing the proposals entailed in our publication ‘Optimizing the UN Treaty Bodies System’ against the backdrop of participants’ experience in working with TBs from a domestic point of view.

The public part of the conference, moderated by Orest Nowosad, Chief of Section at OHCHR and Felix Kirchmeier, discussed in the importance and impact of TBs at the national level.

‘This meeting forms part of the ongoing dissemination of the conclusions of the Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020, a three-year consultative process which aimed at providing academic inputs into the 2020 Review by the General Assembly’ underlines Felix Kirchmeier.

‘Participants reacted very positively to the proposals entailed in our report’ underlines Kamelia Kemileva. ‘As the recommendations imply a long reporting cycle, they suggested, a more structured and robust follow-up, which would ensure the necessary engagement of national stakeholders with the TB system’ she adds.

About the Geneva Human Rights Platform

The Academic Platform on Treaty Body Review 2020 forms part of the Geneva Human Rights Platform (HRP).

The HRP provides a neutral and dynamic forum of interaction in Geneva for all stakeholders in the field of human rights – experts, practitioners, diplomats and civil society – to discuss and debate topical issues and challenges. Relying on academic research and findings, it works to enable various actors to be better connected, break silos, and, hence, advance human rights.