The General Assembly,
 
      Recalling its resolution 50/170 of 22 December 1995, as well as other
relevant resolutions,
 
      Recalling also the relevant paragraphs of the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25
June 1993,
 
      Reaffirming that the full and effective implementation of United Nations
human rights instruments is of major importance to the efforts of the
Organization, pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, to promote universal respect for and observance
of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
 
      Considering that the effective functioning of the treaty bodies
established pursuant to United Nations human rights instruments is
indispensable for the full and effective implementation of such instruments,
 
      Conscious of the importance of the coordination of the human rights
promotion and protection activities of the United Nations bodies active in the
field of human rights,
 
      Noting with appreciation the initiatives taken by a number of treaty
bodies to elaborate early-warning measures and urgent procedures, within their
mandates, with a view to preventing the occurrence, or reoccurrence, of
serious human rights violations,
 
      Expressing concern that the underresourcing of the Centre for Human
Rights of the Secretariat is one impediment to the treaty bodies in their
ability to carry out their mandates effectively,
 
      Reaffirming its responsibility to ensure the effective functioning of
treaty bodies, and reaffirming also the importance of:
 
      (a)   Ensuring the effective functioning of the periodic reporting by
States parties to these instruments;
 
      (b)   Securing sufficient financial, human and information resources to
overcome existing difficulties with their effective functioning;
 
      (c)   Promoting greater efficiency and effectiveness through better
coordination of the activities of the United Nations bodies active in the
field of human rights, taking into account the need to avoid unnecessary
duplication and overlapping of their mandates and tasks;
 
      (d)   Addressing questions of both reporting obligations and financial
implications whenever elaborating any further instruments on human rights,
 
      Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,
 
      1.    Welcomes the report of the persons chairing the human rights
treaty bodies on their seventh meeting, held at Geneva from 16 to 20 September
1996, and takes note of their conclusions and recommendations;
 
      2.    Encourages greater efforts to identify measures for more effective
implementation of the United Nations human rights instruments;
 
      3.    Emphasizes the need to ensure financing and adequate staff and
information resources for the operations of the treaty bodies, and with this
in mind: 
 
      (a)   Reiterates its request that the Secretary-General provide adequate
resources in respect of each treaty body;
 
      (b)   Calls upon the Secretary-General to make the most efficient use of
existing resources and to seek the resources necessary to give the treaty
bodies adequate administrative support, access to technical expertise and
access to appropriate databases and on-line information services;
 
      (c)   Requests that the Secretary-General report on this question to the
Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-third session and to the General
Assembly at its fifty-second session;
 
      4.    Welcomes the continuing efforts by the treaty bodies and the
Secretary- General aimed at streamlining, rationalizing, rendering more
transparent and otherwise improving reporting procedures, and urges the treaty
bodies and the meetings of persons chairing the treaty bodies to continue to
examine ways of reducing the duplication of reporting required under the
different instruments, without impairing the quality of reporting, and of
generally reducing the reporting burden on Member States;
 
      5.    Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a detailed analytical
study comparing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, with a view to identifying duplication of reporting required
under these instruments;
 
      6.    Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in
accordance with his mandate, to encourage the independent expert to finalize
his interim report on possible long-term approaches to enhancing the effective
operation of the human rights treaty system in time for the final report to be
considered by the Commission on Human Rights, as requested by the General
Assembly in its resolution 48/120 of 20 December 1993, at its fifty-third
session; 
 
      7.    Urges States parties to contribute, individually and through
meetings of States parties, to identifying and implementing ways of further
streamlining, rationalizing, avoiding duplication in and otherwise improving
reporting procedures;
 
      8.    Expresses concern about the increasing backlog of reports on the
implementation by States parties of United Nations instruments on human rights
and about delays in consideration of reports by the treaty bodies;
 
      9.    Also expresses 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;
 
      10.   Invites States parties that have been unable to comply with the
requirements to submit their initial report to avail themselves of technical
assistance;
 
      11.   Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to
ensure that the revised Manual on Human Rights Reporting is available in all
official languages at the earliest opportunity;
 
      12.   Encourages the efforts of the treaty bodies to examine the
progress made in achieving the fulfilment of human rights treaty undertakings
by all States parties, without exception;
 
      13.   Urges States parties to address, as a matter of priority, at their
next scheduled meetings, the issue of States parties consistently not
complying with their reporting obligations;
 
      14.   Urges all States parties whose reports have been examined by
treaty bodies to provide adequate follow-up to the observations and final
comments of the treaty bodies on their reports;
 
      15.   Encourages the treaty bodies to continue to identify specific
possibilities for technical assistance, to be provided at the request of the
State concerned, in the regular course of their work of reviewing the periodic
reports of States parties;
 
      16.   Welcomes the recommendation by the meeting of persons chairing the
treaty bodies that treaty bodies urge each State party to translate, publish
and make widely available in its territory the full text of the concluding
observations on its reports to the treaty bodies, and requests the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to make every effort to ensure that
recent reports and the summary records of committee discussions pertaining to
them, as well as concluding observations and final comments of the treaty
bodies, are made available in the United Nations information centres in the
countries submitting those reports;
 
      17.   Also welcomes the contribution to the work of the treaty bodies
made by the specialized agencies and other United Nations bodies, and invites
the specialized agencies, other United Nations bodies and the treaty bodies to
continue to pursue further cooperation between them;
 
      18.   Further welcomes the recommendation of the persons chairing the
treaty bodies that efforts continue to be made to enhance coordination and
cooperation between the treaty bodies and the special rapporteurs,
representatives, experts and working groups of the Commission on Human Rights
and the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities;
 
      19.   Recognizes the important role played by non-governmental
organizations in the effective implementation of all human rights instruments,
and encourages the exchange of information between the treaty bodies and such
organizations;
 
      20.   Recalls, with regard to the election of the members of the treaty
bodies, the importance of giving consideration to equitable geographic
distribution of membership and to the representation of the principal legal
systems, and of bearing in mind that the members shall be elected and shall
serve in their personal capacity and be of high moral character and recognized
competence in the field of human rights;
 
      21.   Encourages the Economic and Social Council, as well as its
functional commissions and their subsidiary bodies, and other United Nations
bodies and the specialized agencies to consider the feasibility of
participation by representatives of the treaty bodies in their meetings;
 
      22.   Welcomes the continuing emphasis by the persons chairing the
treaty bodies that the enjoyment of the human rights of women should be
monitored closely by each treaty body within the purview of its mandate, and
in this regard endorses the recommendation by the meeting of the persons
chairing the treaty bodies that each treaty body should continue to consider
how it might most effectively incorporate gender perspectives in its work
practices;
 
      23.   Also welcomes all appropriate measures the treaty bodies may take,
within their mandates, in response to situations of massive human rights
violations, including bringing those violations to the attention of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary-General and the
competent bodies of the United Nations in the field of human rights, and
requests the High Commissioner, acting within his mandate, to coordinate and
consult throughout the United Nations system in this regard;
 
      24.   Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly
at its fifty-second session on measures taken to implement the present
resolution and on obstacles to its implementation;
 
      25.   Decides to continue giving priority consideration, at its
fifty-second session, to the conclusions and recommendations of the meetings
of persons chairing treaty bodies, in the light of the deliberations of the
Commission on Human Rights, under the item entitled "Human rights questions".