The report of the State party

1. The report of the State party OHCHR Treaty Body Capacity Building Programme

2. Outline What constitutes the report of the State party? Common Core Document 42,400 words Annexes Treaty-specific Report Initial (31,800 words) Periodic (21,200 words) Annexes

3. Two key points about the content of reports • Information about the situation “in law” and “in practice” • Inclusion of statistical data information, to the extent possible disaggregated by sex, age, population group, and allow for comparison over time

4. The Common Core Document Information to be included 1. General information about the reporting State (demographic, economic, social, constitutional, political and legal structure) 2. General framework for the protection of human rights • Acceptance of international norms • Legal framework for the protection at the national level • Framework within which human rights are promoted at the national level • Reporting process at the national level 3. Non-discrimination and equality and effective remedies

5. Updating of the CCD • Submitted as a separate document, not part of the SP report • And does not need to be submitted every time a SP report is submitted, but rather every 3 to 5 years • Unless changes to the previous CCD are major, the update will be issued as an addendum to the existing CCD (one or two pages only) • Track changes are helpful

6. Treaty-specific reports • Initial reports Focus on protection of each of the rights covered in the Treaty: • How is the right protected in national legislation? • What policies are in place to implement the rights? • What mechanisms are in place to monitor the status of implementation of the right? • etc. …

7. Treaty-specific reports • Periodic reports • Information on implementation of previous recommendations • Information on progress/new developments since the last reports (new laws, policies, programmes)

8. Substance and format Two sections • General information on the national human rights situation, including new measures and developments relating to the implementation of the Treaty • Questions organized according to clusters of provisions, highlighting specific issues depending on the situation of the concerned State party and the information available to the Committee

9. Key elements to remember • CCD  submitted only once and updated as needed by the State party • 42,400words • Treaty-specific  submitted periodically to the relevant Treaty Body • 31,800 words for initial reports • 21,200 words for periodic reports (and under SRP) • Make most use of the CCD to include information relevant to ALL TBs (Replies to LoIs:no real limit but advice given is 10,700 words)

10. More format related issues • On word limits: keep 100 words for cover page • Reports should be submitted electronically (in Word) and in hard copy in one of the official six languages of the United Nations • A4-size paper, with 1.5 line spacing and text set in 12 point Times New Roman type

11. Key elements to remember about the ANNEXES • Are not translated  information is not necessarily read/understood by ALL members of a TB • Are supporting documents  should not contain new / key information • Reference annexes in the report (e.g., table X is contained in annex 1) • Do not forget to submit annexes which you have referenced in the report • Limit their length (e.g., include the relevant excerpt of a law rather than the full text)