clarify any additional questions that Committee members might have during the
rest of the Committee session. In this way
you ensure that your priority issues are
not dropped because there is uncertainty
about the specific facts or analysis.
Phase 5 – Work on national
implementation and follow-up
As stated in the beginning, the main objective of the State review procedure is to
promote improvements in the enjoyment
of human rights on the ground in the State
concerned. The main objective of this last
phase of the cycle is thus to make sure that
the recommendations are promptly and effectively implemented and that the State is
held accountable for this.
While State representatives are the most
important stakeholders in this effort, it
may also be relevant to activate Committee members, the Committee secretariat
Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) in general, NHRIs and other
national and international NGOs. National
NGOs can support lobbying on the implementation of the Concluding Observations
and provide technical assistance to the
State; international NGOs can support
such efforts by maintaining international
focus on the situation, activating other
international actors in support of your objectives and providing technical assistance
to the State; the Committee secretariat and
the OHCHR can possibly facilitate support
with technical assistance to the State, and
it can help involve UN country offices where
relevant; and Committee members can participate in the national awareness raising
and promotion of the Concluding Observation and conduct a formal evaluation of
implementation of the recommendations
22
selected for follow up one year after the
review.
The methods that national NGOs use for
collaboration and lobbying is highly context-specific, and it is thus outside the
scope of this guide. However, it is important to reflect on how international and
regional NGOs can be activated to support
these primary efforts. International NGOs
can often be helpful in applying additional
pressure on the Government through letter
writing, country visits and offers for technical assistance with implementing specific
recommendations. It is therefore important
to draw on international partners affiliated
with the different national organisations
involved to ensure that they are active and
coordinated between each other and, more
importantly, with the national organisations. The national advocacy efforts should
always be led by the national organisations
who know the local context best and international NGOs should be involved when
requested by the national organisations.
Country visits by individual committee
members, acting in their own capacity or
as representatives of the Committee, is
a practice that often produces positive results. These visits can either be done
immediately after the review to introduce
the Concluding Observations and discuss
implementation plans with all national
stakeholders, including State representatives and NGOs, or they can be conducted
at a later stage with the objective of an
on-site assessment of the implementation
efforts. International NGOs can often be
helpful in establishing the contact to the
Committee members and facilitating the
visit.
More formally, the Committee will conduct an assessment of the implementation
Engaging with State reviews in the UN Committee against Torture: A practical guide
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