Information on the UN Committies` concluding observations
Currently, 8 UN treaty bodies (committees) may receive and consider individual complaints or communications from individuals (Human Rights Committee, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Committee against Torture, Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Committee on Enforced Disappearances, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Committee on the Rights of the Child).
Committees consist of independent experts, which are selected by State parties to the relevant treaty. Their functions include monitoring of the implementation in States parties of the rights enshrined in treaties and making concluding observations on complaints against these States that are of a recommendatory nature.
Kazakhstan recognized the competence of 4 out of 8 UN Committees to receive individual complaints from citizens about violation of their rights: the Committee against Torture (CPT), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the Committee on Human Rights (HRC).
The Committee against Torture (CAT) may consider individual complaints alleging violations of the rights set out in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by States parties who have made the necessary declaration under article 22 of the Convention.
The Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) may consider individual communications alleging violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) may consider individual petitions alleging violations of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by States parties who have made the necessary declaration under article 14 of the Convention.
The Human Rights Committee (CCPR) may consider individual communications alleging violations of the rights set forth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by States parties to the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
A complaint can only be filed against a state that meets two conditions:
Complaints about violations of rights under the relevant treaties are accepted subject to the exhaustion of domestic remedies.
In any case, there are two main stages called “admissibility review” and “merits review”.
The “admissibility” of a case refers to the formal requirements that must be met in filing a complaint before the relevant committee can consider the merits.
The “merits” of the case are the content on the basis of which the committee decides whether the alleged victim's rights under the treaty have been violated.
When the committee has accepted a concluding observation on the case, it is simultaneously sent to the applicant and the respondent State. One or more committee members may attach a dissenting opinion to the concluding observation if their conclusion differs from that of the majority.
The Committee's views cannot be appealed and are usually final.
The UN committees assign a time limit for each case, usually 180 days, within which the state must provide information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations.
In accordance with the current practice in Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan sends the materials received from the UN Committees on individual complaints for consideration to the state bodies within the competence of which they relate. The state bodies study these documents and send the summary information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which the foreign policy department sends to the UN Committees and coordinates further actions to protect and represent the interests of the state.