New Paper Delves into Reporting Practices under International Treaties

13 November 2023

First introduced in 1919 by the League of Nations and the International Labour Organization (ILO), state reporting procedures have been developed to assist state parties in complying with their obligations under many international and regional treaties. This new working paper by our Geneva Human Rights Platform International Treaty-Based Reporting Practices Review Report provides an overview of more than 30 reporting practices, their specificities and good practices in this ever-growing field.

Written by Claire Callejon, Felix Kirchmeier and Domenico Zipoli, the paper digs into the current international and regional reporting systems in the fields of human rights, labour, environment, education, culture, health and crime/security.

‘This paper was produced in the context of our cooperation with the ILO secretariat and as a follow-up to our involvement in the 2020 Review of the UN treaty body system, This review is still underway at the UN General Assembly where states, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN treaty bodies struggle to implement its recommendations, including those related to reporting’ explains Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director of the Geneva Human Right Platform.

Key Findings

The paper highlights that most reporting systems do face similar problems like under-reporting, backlog, as well as lack of visibility and consistency. Some enjoy excellent compliance, but this seems to come at the cost of lowered expert scrutiny.

The paper also identifies some good practices like combined reviews in the field of human rights reporting, regional approaches and prioritization at UNESCO and most notably the use of electronic systems to facilitate the flow of information both ways. These include enhanced visibility of review mechanisms’ outputs that encourage good practices, and diligence in reporting and facilitate engagement of stakeholders, as well as simplified online submission of information via secure portals.

‘State representatives in Geneva and New York are struggling to find the best ways to implement the recommendations of the 2020 TB Review report’ says Felix Kirchmeier

‘Our findings – which do not provide specific recommendations for any particular reporting system – allow for very valuable comparisons and to identify replicable good practices. They can thus help diplomats and staff of these reporting systems’ secretariats to look beyond the human rights field, see how and why other mechanisms function better and recognize shared shortcomings’ he adds.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

web of information News

New Research Brief Examines the Relationship Between Digital Technologies and Their Misuse in Surveillance, Cyberattacks, and Disinformation Campaigns

21 February 2025

Our new research brief examines the complex relationship between digital technologies and their misuse in surveillance, cyberattacks, and disinformation campaigns.

Read more

GHRP EU News News

Bridging Geneva and Europe: advancing human rights in the digital age

2 June 2025

The Geneva Human Rights Platform has taken its work on strengthening the international human rights system to the heart of European policymaking.

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

Local Government Event

Enhancing National Reporting and Implementation of Human Rights through Coordinated Engagement at the Local and Regional Levels: The Role of NMIRFs

23 July 2025, 10:00-17:00

This seminar explores how national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up can better integrate the capacities, data, and experiences of local and regional governments in advancing human rights implementation and reporting.

Read more

Open dump Training

Protecting Human Rights and the Environment

15-19 September 2025

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.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

First annual conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform Project

The Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform

Started in June 2019

Read more

View of a session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

Human Rights Conversations

Started in January 2020

A series of events aimed at discussing contemporary issues and challenges related to the promotion and protection of human rights in Geneva and beyond.

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more