A/74/44 Annex II Treaty body strengthening process: position of the Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Introduction 1. The Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment subscribes to the statement by the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies in the context of the upcoming 2020 review of the treaty body system (A/73/140, annex III) that the following parameters should serve as guiding principles for the treaty body strengthening process: (a) Strengthened protection of rights holders; (b) Preservation of the integrity of the treaty body system and of the independence of both the committees and their experts; (c) Enhanced implementation recommendations of treaty bodies; of treaty obligations and the related (d) Balance of the need for more aligned procedures and working methods with the specific mandates of each treaty body. 2. The Committee has discussed the draft list of questions and topics on the treaty body strengthening process that was prepared by the Chairs, and wishes to express the following views. Consolidated calendar and reports 3. The Committee appreciates the benefits of a more coordinated approach to the scheduling of State party reviews. Without any coordination, some States parties may face the task of reporting to several treaty bodies within a single calendar year. This is not necessary and can be prevented by using the calendar of treaty body reviews and making individual arrangements with States parties affected, such as by postponing the review by one treaty body by a year. This calendar is available at the following web page: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/MasterCalendar.aspx?Type=Sessi on&Lang=En. 4. However, the Committee is not in favour of a consolidated calendar with a fixed timetable of reviews of States parties by all committees. Such a calendar would be rigid and would lack the capacity to make late- or non-reporting States to report on time. Such rigidity may lead to the calendar’s collapse if a State party fails to bring a delegation to Geneva for scheduled reporting due to circumstances beyond its control. 5. Another obstacle is that not all treaties have the same periodicity of reporting. In the case of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the reporting cycle is four years, and the Committee finds that it would be inappropriate to change this cycle. 6. The Committee is also concerned about logistical issues that may arise with a consolidated calendar. In particular, it is concerned about the availability of office space at the United Nations Office at Geneva to accommodate simultaneous meetings of all treaty bodies, with attendance by large delegations from States parties comprising representatives of both Governments and non-governmental organizations; bureaucratic hurdles that may stand in the way of coordination between multiple stakeholders at the national level when the State party is putting together an amalgamated delegation; and the possible financial burden on both the United Nations and States parties. 17