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UN Photo/Yubi Hoffmann
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.
News
Agnes Callamard
Jointly with the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, Dr Agnes Callamard, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Geneva Academy organized an Expert Meeting on a ‘Gender Sensitive Approach to Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings’.
Event
UN Photo/Isaac Billy
This side event, co-organized with Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions will discuss the human rights obligations of armed non-state actors.
Training
Nicolas Axelrod / Ruom
Cette formation en ligne permet d’acquérir une connaissance approfondie des droits économiques, sociaux et culturels (DESC), des obligations des états et des mécanismes chargés de les protéger et de surveiller leur mise en œuvre.
Training
ICRC
This training course provides participants with a deep understanding of the international legal framework for the protection of human rights (HR) and the environment as well as in-depth knowledge of how to promote environmental protection through existing HR mechanisms.
Project
Columbia University
The Geneva Academy is coordinating the academic input to the 2020 review of UN treaty bodies by the UN General Assembly via the creation of an academic network of independent researchers, a call for papers, a series of regional consultations, annual conferences in Geneva, as well as ongoing interactions with key stakeholders.
Project
© ILO/ Joydeep Mukherjee
This project aims to support the UN working group’s consultation process and thus contribute the promotion and protection of human rights and gender equality in relation to the business sector via research on international human rights law and policy related to gender equality guarantees and their application to business activities, and the organization of a global conference in Geneva.
