1 I. From Burden to Opportunity The last decade has seen the human rights protection framework evolve and expand significantly. New treaties and protocols have entered into force, strengthening the protection of individuals’ human rights and creating new avenues for preventive action and for the seeking of redress. For States engaging with the United Nations human rights Treaty Bodies, this welcome development has also created opportunities for self-assessment, review and evaluation to ensure compliance of their legislation, policy and practice with their human rights obligations. At the same time States face increasing demands for implementing their treaty obligations, including reporting to the Treaty Bodies and following up on the Treaty Bodies’ recommendations and decisions. Many States continue to have increasing obligations under the regional human rights protection systems. Recognizing these challenges, States, through General Assembly resolution 68/268, established a Treaty Body Capacity-Building Programme, based in my Office, to help State parties meet their treaty obligations. This Training Guide on Reporting to the United Nations Treaty Bodies has been developed under the Programme as a resource for equipping potential trainers with the knowledge and tools they need to increase the capacity of State parties to fulfil their treaty reporting obligations. The Guide also informs State parties on how they can engage with the Treaty Bodies in a sustainable and meaningful way and on the important role other stakeholders – including other United Nations programmes and agencies, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations – can play in this regard. I hope the information and exercises included in this Guide will help increase State parties’ understanding of their respective treaty obligations. I also hope the Guide will change the common perception of treaty reporting from that of being a burden to one of being an opportunity, and also from being a one-off engagement every few years to an on-going, cyclical assessment, improving the human rights situation in each country. Together with the Practical Guide on National Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow-up, recently launched by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), this Guide provides practical ideas and tips on improving human rights reporting performance. It is my hope that the Guide will prove a helpful tool for improving human rights compliance across all countries and regions. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights v