"Considering that the Committee’s present methods of work do not give
it the required flexibility to deal expeditiously with the processing of
new communications, particularly in the inter-sessional period,
"Decides:
"1. That any member of the Committee may act as a special rapporteur
for a new communication, with the following mandate:
"(a) To examine the communication received by the Committee and to
take whatever action might be necessary pursuant to rule 108, paragraphs 1,
5 and 8, of the Committee’s roles of procedure;
"(b) To issue requests under rule 108, paragraph 9, of the rules of
procedure;
"2. That, at the beginning of each session, members having acted as
special rapporteur shall inform the Committee concerning action taken under
rule 108."
15. Pursuant to this decision, the Committee also amended rules 106 and 108 of
its rules of procedure, as indicated in chapter VII, paragraph 202. The text of
rules 106 and 108, as amended, appears in annex VI to the present report.
H.
16.
Staff resources
The Committee discussed this issue at its 225th meeting, on 4 May 1995.
17. The Committee was of the view that the greater complexity of its work and
more intensive pace of its operations - resulting from the increase in the
number of States parties to the Convention, the new cycle of periodic reports
submitted by States parties, the increasing amount of information received under
the inquiry procedure and the growing number of communications submitted under
the individual communication procedure - had added significantly to the workload
of the Secretariat providing substantive servicing to the Committee.
18. The Committee recalled that, in accordance with article 18, paragraph 3, of
the Convention, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the
necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of
the Committee.
19. The Committee underlined that recommendations concerning the provision of
adequate Secretariat resources for human rights treaty bodies had already been
made by the persons chairing such bodies in the "Vienna statement of the
international human rights treaty bodies" of June 1993 1/ and, most recently, in
the report of their fifth meeting, held at the United Nations Office at Geneva
from 19 to 23 September 1994. 2/
20. The Committee therefore requests the Secretary-General to take the
necessary steps to ensure a substantial increase in the staff assigned to
service the Committee in order to enable it to perform effectively the functions
entrusted to it under the Convention.
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