The Reporting Procedure
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a) The State party’s delegation
State parties are encouraged to have their delegations led by a senior State official with
responsibility for implementation of the respective treaty, and also to include in their delegations,
as far as possible, representatives with relevant technical expertise from key executive and other
authorities responsible for implementation of the treaty concerned, with due regard to expertise.
The delegation should have a gender balance in its composition. The State party may also wish to
consider including in its delegation representatives of other relevant institutions or entities.
b) Country rapporteurs and country task forces of Treaty Bodies
Treaty Bodies may appoint members to serve as country rapporteurs, who may act as focal points
for introducing and coordinating the constructive dialogue with the State party delegation. Treaty
Bodies may also decide to mandate a broader group of members (usually called a “Country Task
Force”) to act in this capacity. Country rapporteurs (or their equivalent within groups established
for this purpose) will usually exercise primary responsibility for the preparation of the constructive
dialogue with a State party. This includes prior consultation and coordination on any priority areas
or issues to be considered, with a view to encouraging members of the Committee to avoid both
repetition and gaps during the dialogue. Supplementary questions may be posed by any Treaty
Body member as necessary.
Before the constructive dialogue between the State party’s delegation and the members of the
Treaty Body takes place, it is nowadays common practice for the UN system, national human
rights institutions (NHRIs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) to submit written information to the
committees and brief a country rapporteur, a country task force or the entire committee on issues of
particular concern to them (see Chapters 5 and 6).
c) Format of the constructive dialogue
The constructive dialogue with State parties is conducted in public, usually in two sessions of
up to three hours and will usually take place over two consecutive working days. An additional
session of up to a further three hours may be held exceptionally when the Committee considers it
appropriate and feasible. Observers, such as representatives of the United Nations System, national
human rights institutions and of civil society organizations, may attend the constructive dialogue
(see Chapters 5 and 6).
Webcasting
As of September 2016 all public sessions of Treaty Bodies are available on UN WEB TV, can
be watched live online and retrospectively at http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/treatybodies/. The webcasting provides an opportunity for the State party delegation to prepare
for a constructive dialogue through observing other dialogues. It also allows the authorities,
stakeholders and all interested parties to follow the dialogue (directly or subsequently) without
travelling to Geneva.
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