At its 37th meeting, on 3 April 1997, the Commission on Human Rights, reaffirming its resolution 1996/22 of 19 April 1996 and taking note of General Assembly resolution 51/87 of 12 December 1996, welcomed the report of the Secretary-General on effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, including reporting obligations under international instruments on human rights (E/CN.4/1997/73), the note by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the inventory of all international human rights standard-setting activities (E/CN.4/1997/75), the note by the Secretary-General transmitting the final report of the independent expert on enhancing the long-term effectiveness of the United Nations human rights treaty system (E/CN.4/1997/74), and the report of the seventh meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies (A/51/482, annex).

The Commission decided, without a vote:

(a) To invite the Secretary-General to solicit the views of United Nations bodies, Governments, specialized agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and interested persons on the report of the independent expert and to submit a report thereon, including the Secretary-General's own views on the legal, administrative and other implications of the report's recommendations, to the Commission at its fifty-fourth session;

(b) To consider at its fifty-fourth session all reports relevant to this subject, including those of the Secretary-General, the seventh and eighth meetings of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies and the independent expert, as well as the Secretary-General's detailed analytical study requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 51/87, if it was available;

(c) To consider the question of the effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, including reporting obligations under international instruments on human rights, at its fifty-fourth session under the agenda item entitled "Effective functioning of bodies established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments".

[See chap. XV.]