第40回人権理事会　議題5 特別手続調整委員会議長による報告後の一般討論における西野修一参事官によるステートメント（2019年3月13日）

40th Session of the Human Rights Council (13 March 2019)
General Debate on Item 5
Statement by Mr. Shuichi Nishino
The Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva
Thank you, Madam Vice-President.

The special procedures system has an important function in protecting and promoting human rights in the international community. The system is essential to the international human rights mechanism.

In order for the special procedures to be more effective in improving human rights, however, it is critical that they meet the high expectations of the international community and ensure expertise and quality. Unfortunately, there are certain instances where such high expectations are not met.

In order to strengthen the system, several points need to be addressed. The first is communication. Some special procedures set too short a deadline for member states to faithfully respond to their requests, which often deal with complicated issues and include many questions. They choose, without waiting for responses, to issue press releases with a number of factual errors. So more needs to be done to promote meaningful communication with member states.

The second is the duplication of work. Steps should be taken to avoid overlap of the mandates.

Lastly, it may be worth considering the introduction of a third party assessment process for the special procedures, keeping in mind the importance of upholding their independence.

These issues need to be discussed in the review of the Human Rights Council between 2021 and 2026. Japan will play an active role in making the human rights mechanism more effective and more efficient.

Thank you, Madam Vice-President.