Reporting, Treaty Bodies and Enforcement

In one line

The Covenant obliges States to write reports about themselves, a committee reads them and comments, and that is the whole of the machinery.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: article 16(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides that States Parties undertake to submit reports on the measures which they have adopted and the progress made in achieving the observance of the rights recognized herein; article 16(2)(a) requires them to be submitted to the Secretary-General, who transmits copies to the Economic and Social Council, and 16(2)(b) requires transmission of relevant parts to the specialized agencies; article 17(1) requires reports in stages; and the reports are in practice examined by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which issues concluding observations. There is no court, no judgment and no sanction.

What the Covenant actually provides

Article 16(1). The undertaking is to submit reports on the measures which they have adopted and the progress made in achieving the observance of the rights recognized herein. Two things are reported: what was done, and what progress resulted. So the obligation matches the standard in article 2(1), which is to take steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights.

Article 16(2). Reports go to the Secretary-General, who transmits copies to the Economic and Social Council for consideration, and transmits relevant parts to the specialized agencies where the State is also a member of them and the parts relate to matters within their responsibilities. That second limb is how a report on article 15 reaches UNESCO and how a report on health reaches the World Health Organization.

Article 17(1). Reports are furnished in stages, in accordance with a programme, so a State does not report on everything at once.

And the Committee. The Covenant itself creates no committee; the examination function was given to a body established by the Economic and Social Council, which is why the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights sits differently from the treaty-created committees. Its outputs are concluding observations on a State's report and general comments interpreting the Covenant, the latter taken in [General Comment 25 as the Authoritative Reading].

The reporting cycle, and its four weaknesses

How it works. The State prepares a report, submits it, the Committee poses written questions, a delegation appears, the Committee issues concluding observations identifying positive aspects, concerns and recommendations, and the next report is due after a period.

And here is what is wrong with it, stated fairly because each weakness has an answer.

The State reports on itself. The primary evidence is the account given by the party whose compliance is in question. The answer is that civil society submits parallel reports, and the Committee's questions are informed by them, so the State's account is tested rather than accepted.