Module 6

Reforming the UN human rights treaty bodies

Reading

Egan, Suzanne "Strengthening the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System", Human Rights Law Review, 13:2 (2013) 

Video: Reforming the UN treaty bodies

Watch the following video lecture by the Professor – "Reforming the UN treaty bodies".

Video transcript (.pdf, 104 kb).

If you are having trouble viewing the video on the page, watch the lecture on YouTube.

As noted in the video lecture, the effort to strengthen the treaty bodies largely failed. A final General Assembly resolution made only modest changes to the existing system. Some additional resources were made available to allow the treaty bodies to clear their backlogs, but states showed no willingness to change any rules that might enhance the treaty bodies prestige and impact.