The United Nations Human Rights System 1 TABLE 2 TREATY BODIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES Treaty Body Founding treaty Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966)* Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD, 1965) Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) Committee against Torture (CAT) Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT, 1984) Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989) Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW, 1990) Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2006) Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED, 2006) The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture (OPCAT, 2002) * The Committee was established by ECOSOC Resolution 1985/17 of 28 May 1985 to carry out the functions set out in particular in articles 21 and 22 of the ICESCR. The Resolution is available at the following: http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/docs.shtml 1.3.1. Members10 The criteria for being elected a committee member are in general terms established in each treaty. Members should be nationals of a State party to the human rights treaty in question. Typical criteria include high moral standing and the recognized competence in the field of human rights or the subject-matter of the respective treaty. Due consideration should be given to equitable geographical representation, to appropriate representation of different legal systems, and to balanced gender representation. The treaties also stipulate that members should serve in their individual capacities. They should be independent and impartial. They should act in accordance with their conscience, with the terms of the treaty, and in the interests of the Treaty Body; and they should not act on behalf of other stakeholders. The Treaty Bodies also endorsed the self-regulatory Guidelines on the independence 10 For more information, please refer to the Handbook for human rights Treaty Body Members, OHCHR, 2015, org/Documents/Publications/HR_PUB_15_2_TB%20Handbook_EN.pdf http://www.ohchr. 9