The Improvement of the UN Machinery on Human Rights

Abstract

Important progress has taken place in the last thirty years with respect to the protection of human rights, both as far as international legislation is concerned and in the more difficult field of implementation. But the machinery developed for these purposes by the United Nations is creaky and needs to be repaired. The Commission on Human Rights and the Third Committee of the General Assembly are grossly overworked and, in consequence, several important human rights instruments are languishing in them, without a chance of completion. To remedy this, it is suggested that the functions of both the Commission and the Committee be split and assigned to separate bodies: one commission devoted to the codification of human rights law, and one discussing special situations and communications, and supervising other UN human rights activities; one committee dealing exclusively with human rights, and one dealing with other social, humanitarian and cultural matters. The various UN procedures for implementing human rights instruments should also be streamlined. The several periodic reporting systems need to be consolidated, and might all be put in the hands of the Human Rights Committee (functioning under the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but not necessarily limited to supervising reports under it) and a working group on economic and social rights of the Economic and Social Council. As far as violations of human rights are concerned, the General Assembly itself or the Economic and Social Council should directly deal with gross violations of human rights, after a preliminary screening by a working group of five persons, one from each region, and should utilize the glare of publicity to achieve compliance. Some of these steps can be taken through General Assembly decisions. If they appear too drastic, optional protocols might be prepared, through which states could accept the jurisdiction of a designated body of the United Nations to deal with certain problems, reports or complaints.