GI-ESCR, along with the other members of the NGO Network on UN Treaty Bodies (TB-Net), the International Service for Human Rights and Amnesty International, has made a joint submission towards the UN Secretary General for his Report on the Status of the Human Rights Treaty Body System.

The submission highlights the importance of the UN Treaty Body system and its independence, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treaty bodies and our concerns about civil society participation throughout the planning and implementation of the treaty body sessions. However, we are deeply concerned by the fact that the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) Petitions and Urgent Action Section continues to be under-resourced, leaving the massive backlogs caused by the Pandemic unaddressed. Finally, the submission addresses the upcoming nominations and elections of different treaty body members, including the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and calls on States to give due consideration to equitable geographical distribution, the representation of the different forms of civilization and the principal legal systems, balanced gender representation and the participation of experts with disabilities.