E. Inquiries Five treaty bodies—the Committee against Torture, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (when the relevant optional protocols enter into force)—may initiate inquiries if they receive reliable information containing well-founded indications of serious, grave or systematic violations of the conventions in a State party. Which States may be subject to inquiries? With the exception of inquiries by the Committee on Enforced Disappear­ ances, for which State parties automatically accept the Committee’s competence when they ratify the Convention, inquiries may be undertaken by the other committees only with respect to State parties that have separately and additionally recognized their competence in this regard. At the time of signature, ratification or accession, State parties to the Convention against Torture may opt out by making a declaration under article 28. State parties to the ­Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women may similarly exclude the competence of the Committee by making a declaration under article 10. State parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities may also opt out by making a declaration under article 8 at the time of signature, ratification or accession. Any State which opts out of the procedure in this way may decide to accept it at a later stage. Inquiry procedure The Convention against Torture (art. 20), the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (arts. 8–9), the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (art. 33), the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (arts. 6–7), to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 11) and to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 13) set out the following basic procedure for their committees to undertake urgent inquiries: 1. The procedure may be initiated if a committee receives reliable information indicating that the rights contained in the treaty are being systematically violated by a State party. For inquiries under the Convention against Torture, the information should contain well-founded indications that torture is being systematically practised in the territory of the State 32

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