Strengthening the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has recently published her much anticipated report on strengthening the United Nations (UN) human rights treaty system. The latest in a series of initiatives launched by the UN over the years to improve the beleaguered treaty system, the report contains a series of recommendations aimed at improving the impact of the treaty system on rights-holders and duty-bearers at the national level. The proposals in the report are based on years of extensive consultations with key stakeholders in the treaty body system that were designed to intensify awareness of the current challenges facing the system as well as to stimulate suggestions for reform. This article considers in detail the potential of the High Commissioner’s proposals to tackle the problems in the system and their overall feasibility in the current political climate.