The committees’ decisions represent an authoritative interpretation of the respective treaties. They contain recommendations to the State party in question but they are not legally binding on it. All committees have developed procedures to monitor whether State parties have implemented their recommendations (so-called follow-up procedures), since they consider that, by accepting the complaint procedures, State parties have also accepted to respect the committees’ findings. If a committee concludes that a violation of a treaty has taken place, the State is invited to provide information, within 180 days, on the steps it has taken to implement the recommendations. The State’s response is then transmitted to the complainant for comment. If the State party fails to take appropriate action, the committee keeps the case under consideration under the follow-up procedure. A dialogue is thus pursued with the State party and the case remains open until satisfactory measures are taken. Information related to follow-up to the committees’ views and recommendations is not confidential and the meetings during which this information is discussed are public. 11