UN Treaty Watch

UN Committee, NHRIs Call for Reporting on Disability Rights

March 20, 2018

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) have adopted a joint declaration pushing governments to establish "independent monitoring frameworks" to gather and report on data regarding the rights of persons with disabilities at the global level.
UN Body: Northern Ireland Violates Women's Reproductive Rights

March 09, 2018

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has accused Northern Ireland of violating women's reproductive rights through its abortion laws, asserting that international human rights law compels the UK country to loosen its restrictions on abortion beyond cases in which a woman's life or mental health is at risk.
UN Body: Child Migrant Detention Always Violates Rights

March 06, 2018

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on EU institutions to use their development of a Common European Asylum System as an occasion to issue a blanket ban on any detention of child migrants, "even as a last resort," arguing that such detention always constitutes a human-rights violation.
NGOs Praise Climate Advocacy at UN Treaty Bodies

February 14, 2018

The Center for International Environmental Law and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights have published a "synthesis note" calling for the UN's human rights treaty bodies to play a more active role in pushing governments to focus on fulfilling the global climate change agenda as an element of their obligations under human rights law.
Australian Official Rejects UN Group's Binding Authority

December 07, 2017

The Guardian reports that, at a recent UN Human Rights Committee hearing, Australia's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, John Quinn, responded to the panel's extensive allegations of Australian rights violations, including the alleged failure to enforce the Committee's "authoritative" judgments, by asserting that the Committee's views are not legally binding.
Mother Files Complaint with UN over Right to Welfare

November 28, 2017

The Guardian reports that an Australian mother has filed a complaint with the UN claiming that her country violated the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by reducing welfare payments to parents after their children turn eight years old, arguing that such welfare cuts disproportionately impact single mothers.
UK Faces Pressure to Adopt Global Rights Agenda

November 20, 2017

The Guardian reports on recent pressure on the UK government over refusing to commit to carrying out over 100 "recommendations" of the UN Human Rights Council, including to bring the country's abortion laws in line with "international standards" and to place limits on the amount of time a migrant may be held in detention, as part of the Universal Periodic Review process.
UN Body Pushes for Broad Rights Agenda in Australia

November 15, 2017

A report from the UN Human Rights Committee criticizing Australia on policies ranging from refugee treatment to Indigenous reparations to its referendum on gay marriage demonstrates the breadth of the claimed jurisdiction of the UN body and will encourage the push for a "comprehensive national human rights act" in Australia.
UN Body Releases Guidelines on Expansive Disabilities Treaty

October 25, 2017

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recently adopted a General Comment containing guidelines highlighting the expansive nature of the positive obligations the Committee's animating disabilities treaty places on governments that sign up to its mandates, including the duty to provide a range of residential and community services to disabled persons.
UN Agents Call for Mongolian Anti-torture Monitor

October 20, 2017

Members of the UN Human Rights Council’s Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture urged Mongolian officials to comply with international law by establishing a “fully independent national monitoring body” to protect against human rights violations in places of detention.