Center for Reproductive Rights Statement on the postponement of human rights treaty bodies

In a recent letter to treaty body chairs, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced that due to financial shortfall, sessions of six human rights treaty bodies, including the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, originally scheduled for late 2019, have been postponed.  

“We are deeply concerned by the decision of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to postpone and therefore de-prioritize the work of the human rights treaty bodies at a time of global push-back on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls,” said Rebecca Brown Senior Director for Global Advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights. 

“The United Nations human rights treaty bodies, are the only international forum for monitoring and evaluating States’ compliance with their human rights obligations, therefore, this decision could negatively impact access to justice for victims of human rights violations and sends the wrong signal at a critical juncture for the international human rights framework.  

“We urge the High Commissioner to reconsider the reduction of resources to the human rights treaty bodies and ensure that they have sufficient resources to fulfil their vital role in ensuring accountability for the violations of human rights.”