There are several opportunities for civil society to get involved, outlined below.

Prepare a report based on your own findings and views on the national implementation of the relevant treaty.[4] NGO reports do not have to be comprehensive; they can be brief and highlight a few key issues, while suggesting questions and recommendations that the committee should use in its review of the State.
Attend the treaty body session: NGOs are generally allowed to attend Treaty Body sessions. Attendance at the session allows NGOs to brief committee members either during formal or informal moments, as well as to interact with members of the expert committees. A number of Treaty Body sessions are also webcast at www.treatybodywebcast.org.
Participate in briefings that take place either before or during the Treaty Body sessions.
Monitor government implementation of a Treaty Body’s concluding observations.
Lobby for implementation of recommendations in the concluding observations.
Disseminate and publicise information on recommendations as well as reporting back to the Treaty Body.

It is highly advisable to check the relevant guidelines of the different committees, as the opportunities and methods for NGOs to engage in the work of the Treaty Bodies can vary from one Treaty Body to another. A link to each of the Treaty Body web pages is available via the OHCHR website here.

The nine core UN human rights treaties along with the possibilities for NGO engagement are summarised in the table below. A calendar of country reviews by Treaty Body is available here.

Table 1: The nine core UN human rights treaties along with the possibilities for NGO engagement.

TREATY (Acronym)	TREATY BODY (Acronym)	PERIODICITY: Initial Report	PERIODICITY: Periodic Reports	DEADLINES FOR SUBMITTING INFORMATION
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)	Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)	1 year	Every 2 years (but in practice generally every 4 years as two combined periodic reports)	For country reviews: at any time, but preferably 2 weeks prior to the relevant session
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)	Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)	2 years	Every 5 years	For country reviews: 1.5 months prior to Committee's session; For the list of issues: 2 months before the pre-sessional working group
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)	Human Rights Committee (HRC)	1 year	Generally every 4 years, but the HRC varies the periodicity in accordance with its follow-up procedure	For country reviews: 3 weeks prior to Committee's session; For the LOIPR: 10 weeks before the session; For the list of issues: 10 weeks before the session
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)	Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)	1 year	Every 4 years, or whenever requested by CEDAW	For country reviews: 2 weeks before the Committee’s session; For the list of issues: 5 weeks prior to the pre-sessional working group
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)	Committee Against Torture (CAT)	1 year	Every 4 years, but varies due date for next periodic report	For country reviews: 2 weeks before the Committee’s session; For the LOIPR: 10 weeks before the session; For the list of issues: 10 weeks before the session
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)	Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)	2 years	Every 5 years	For country reviews: 3 months before the relevant pre-sessional working group; For the list of issues: 3 months before the relevant pre-sessional working group
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW)	Committee on the Protection of Migrant Workers (CMW)	1 year	Every 5 years, and whenever requested by CMW	For country reviews: 2 weeks before the Committee’s session; For the LOIPR: 2 weeks before the session; For the list of issues: 2 weeks before the session
Convention on the Rights of Persons With Dsabilities (CRPD)	Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)	2 years	Every 4 years	For country reviews: 1 month before the Committee’s session; For the list of issues: 1 month before the session
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances	Committee on Enforced Dissapearances (CED)	2 years	No provision made	For country reviews: 4 weeks before the Committee’s session; For the list of issues: 10 weeks before the session

Table 1 (continued)

Treaty	Examination of State reports	Concluding Observations	Individual Communications	General Comments or General Recommendations	Follow-up Procedure
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)	Through consultations regarding preparation of State reports; Through submission of NGO reports both in relation to the adoption of list of issues and the actual examination	Through providing draft recommendations to treaty body members and the secretariats	By assisting victims to submit a complaint; By submitting complaint on behalf of a victim	By raising relevant issues during general days of discussion; By submitting information and comments for the drafting process	By providing information on progress of implementaiton and follow-up; Supporting and monitoring State implementaiton of recommendations of treaty body
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW)
Convention on the Rights of Persons With Dsabilities (CRPD)
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances

Treaties: International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW), Convention on the Rights of Persons With Dsabilities (CRPD), International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances

Examination of State reports: Through consultations regarding preparation of State reports; Through submission of NGO reports both in relation to the adoption of list of issues and the actual examination

Concluding Observations: Through providing draft recommendations to treaty body members and the secretariats

Individual Communications: By assisting victims to submit a complaint; By submitting complaint on behalf of a victim

General Comments or General Recommendations: By raising relevant issues during general days of discussion; By submitting information and comments for the drafting process

Follow-up Procedure: By providing information on progress of implementaiton and follow-up; Supporting and monitoring State implementaiton of recommendations of treaty body

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