The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has released Fact Sheet No. 30, which is an information resource on the United Nations Human Rights Treaty System as a whole. The OHCHR has published similar fact sheets in the past on the individual core human rights treaties. This particular sheet provides a general introduction to the main international human rights treaties and treaty bodies that monitor their implementation at the state level.Separated into three parts, the paper presents the seven core human rights treaties, the work of the seven human rights treaty bodies and State’s parties responsibilities to them, as well as the challenges that confront the current and future United Nations human rights treaty system. In addition to this informative guide, the paper includes a glossary of technical terms and acronyms to help the reader understand the operation of the system.
Taking a general approach, the paper stresses that while the treaties and the treaty bodies function in their capacities independently, they do work together as a holistic and integrated system for the promotion of human rights. As the paper states, all of the treaties covered are “inter-related and mutually re-enforcing, with the result that no rights can be fully enjoyed in isolation, but depend on the enjoyment of other rights.” Please click here to download and read Fact Sheet No. 30 (PDF, 59 pages)
Compiled from: Fact Sheet No. 30 The United Nations Human Rights Treaty System: An introduction to the core human rights treaties and the treaty bodies. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 7 April 2005.