A/RES/52/118
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9. Takes note with appreciation, in this regard, of the efforts of the persons chairing the human
rights treaty bodies, at their eighth meeting, to develop appropriate reforms of the reporting system, with
a view to, inter alia, reducing the reporting burden on States parties while maintaining the quality of
reporting, and encourages them to continue these efforts, including through the continued examination of
the benefits of reports focused on a limited range of issues and of opportunities for harmonizing the
general guidelines regarding the form and content of reports, the timing of consideration of reports and
the methods of work of the treaty bodies;
10. Calls upon the Secretary-General to complete as soon as possible the detailed analytical study
comparing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,8 the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,8 the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination,9 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women,10 the Convention on the Rights of the Child7 and the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,11 which is being prepared with a view to
identifying duplication of reporting required under those instruments;
11. Urges States parties to contribute, individually and through meetings of States parties, to the
identification and implementation of ways of further streamlining, rationalizing, avoiding duplication of
and otherwise improving reporting procedures;
12. Welcomes the publication of the revised Manual on Human Rights Reporting;
13. Requests the Secretary-General to compile in a single volume all the general guidelines regarding
the form and content of reports to be submitted by States parties that have been issued by the Human
Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee against Torture;
14. Reiterates its concern about the increasing backlog of reports on the implementation by States
parties of certain United Nations instruments on human rights and about delays in consideration of reports
by the treaty bodies;
15. Also reiterates its concern about the large number of overdue reports under the United Nations
instruments on human rights, and again urges States parties to make every effort to meet their reporting
obligations;
16. Invites States parties that have been unable to comply with the requirements to submit their
initial report to avail themselves of technical assistance;
17. Urges all States parties whose reports have been examined by human rights treaty bodies to
provide adequate follow-up to the observations and final comments of the treaty bodies on their reports;
9
Resolution 2106 A (XX), annex.
10
Resolution 34/180, annex.
11
Resolution 39/46, annex.
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