NGO participation in activities of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights*
A.Written information
1. The Committee reiterates its long-standing invitation to NGOs to submit to it in writing, at any time, information regarding any aspect of its work.
2. In addition to the receipt of written information, a short period of time will be made available at the beginning of each session of the pre-sessional working group to provide NGOs with an opportunity to submit relevant oral information to the members of the working group.
3. Furthermore, the Committee will set aside part of the first afternoon at each of its sessions to enable it to receive oral information provided by NGOs. Such information should: (a) focus specifically on the provisions of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; (b) be of direct relevance to matters under consideration by the Committee; (c) be reliable, and (d) not be abusive. The relevant meeting will be open and will be provided with interpretation services, but will not be covered by summary records. The purposes are: to enable the Committee to inform itself as fully as possible; to probe the accuracy and pertinence of information which would most probably be available to it anyway; and to put the process of receiving NGO information on a more transparent and open basis than is permitted by the current approach.
4. ngos wishing to present oral information should inform the Committee in advance. In cases in which the Committee receives more expressions of interest than can be dealt with in the limited time available, the Chairperson of the Committee, in consultation with the Bureau, shall determine on an objective basis which NGOs will be invited to make an oral presentation.
5. To the extent that information provided to the Committee in writing under these procedures is referred to by any member of the Committee in questions posed to the State party, the relevant information should be available for consultation by the Government concerned and all other interested parties.
6. The Committee requests its Chairperson, in conjunction with the secretariat, to make these procedures as widely known as possible.
---------------------------------- * Procedure adopted at 3rd meeting held on 11 May 1993