This update provides information about:

The Committee’s 69th Session

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) will open its 69th session on the 15th February 2021. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, this session will be the second to be conducted entirely online. Unlike the previous 68th session in October, however, the Committee will pilot online State reviews.

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Opening and closing of the committee session

The opening and closing of the session will be also be public and webcast. As well as comments from the Committee, the opening will feature interventions from several NGOs.

Online State Reviews

The Committee will consider the State reports of Latvia and Finland and engage in an online dialogue with representatives of both of these States. The temporary introduction of online reviews follows pressure from civil society organisations to ensure that the Treaty Bodies do not allow an accountability gap to develop at this pivotal moment in time for human rights. Both dialogues will be public and webcast here.

Programme of Work

During the session the Committee plans to discuss in private the draft General Comment on Land, which it hopes to publish soon. It will also assess its procedure for follow-up to Concluding Observations and consider the follow-up reports of Argentina, Germany, Niger, Republic of Moldova and Turkmenistan. The draft programme of work for the session may be accessed here.

Annual NGO Meeting

The Committee will also host its annual NGO meeting on the 5th March.

The meeting will take place online, with interpretation in English, French and Spanish. It will feature a brief presentation from Committee members, but is designed primarily as an opportunity for civil society to ask questions, propose suggestions, and discuss the Committee’s working methods and thematic work. The CESCR’s letter of invitation may be accessed here.

Interested NGOs may register for the meeting by sending an email to cescr@ohchr.org no later than the 19 February 2021. As GI-ESCR have been asked to coordinate the meeting, please copy tom@gi-escr.org when registering.

New Committee members

Four new members will be welcomed during the session:

Mr Mohammed Amarti (Morocco), a professor at the Université Mohammed I d’Oujda and member of the National Human Rights Council of Morocco;
Mr Seree Nonthasoot (Thailand), a former Representative of Thailand to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights;
Mr Shen Yongxiang (China), a professor and diplomat who has previously served on the CESCR in 2005-6;
Mr Nadir Adilov (Azerbaijan), a law professor and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Small and Medium Business Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

A new Chair will also be elected, with Mr Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leão (Brazil) stepping down.

All further information on the upcoming session may be accessed here.

Latest ratification and signature of the Optional Protocol

Since the Committee’s last session in October 2020, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR) has been ratified by the Maldives (23 Dec 2020) and signed by Cyprus (29 Jan 2021).

The signature of Cyprus is of particular significance given that it is the first time since 2013 that the OP-ICESCR has been signed by a State.

The Optional Protocol now has a total of 46 signatories and 26 parties.