Treaty Bodies

Side event at the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council, credit: Right Livelihood.

We facilitate change-makers’ engagement with experts to improve the implementation of human rights treaties.

Human rights are most often enshrined in international treaties under UN-auspices. All core human rights treaties – there are nine of them – require States Parties to take the appropriate measures to ensure that all those under their jurisdiction can enjoy the rights laid out in the treaty. Treaty bodies are committees of independent experts who are in charge of monitoring such implementation. States are, therefore, reviewed on a cyclical basis. After each session, the committees formulate “concluding observations,” which are recommendations to improve the implementation of the treaty at hand, which the state will have to follow up on before their next review.

We assist Laureates whose causes or situations are covered by a treaty in addressing the relevant committee. We provide technical assistance by drafting submissions and directly engaging with committee experts.