Although each Treaty Body focuses on a different treaty or convention, the tools or outputs that are available to the Treaty Bodies are basically the same, with some variations.
This section focuses on the following main output of the Treaty Bodies:
Through early warnings and urgent actions, Treaty Bodies can act to prevent the further deterioration of a human rights situation in a country.
Early warnings are used to prevent the occurrence of an imminent or possible violation of the treaty, and are typically adopted prior to the occurrence of a human rights violation.
Urgent actions are used to remedy an urgent human rights situation or violation of the treaty, and are adopted after the violation has occurred.
Early warnings – CERD and CRPD each have a specific mandate and an established early warning procedure that aims to prevent urgent human rights issues from escalating.
Urgent actions - CERD, CRPD and CED each have a specific mandate and an established urgent action procedure.
Examples of early warnings and urgent actions:
CERD: List of early warnings and urgent actions adopted by the Committee
CED: List of urgent actions registered by the Committee (see 'More resources') (List of disappeared persons with regard to whom CED has requested the State party concerned to take measures to locate and protect them)
CAT and HR Ctte Special Reviews
The CAT and HR Ctte have on rare occasions undertaken ad hoc, special reviews in cases of urgent and widespread violations of human rights, such as torture, arbitrary detentions, and summary executions, including in Israel (CAT, 1998), Syria (CAT, 2012), and Burundi (CAT, 2016).
In November 2022, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) issued a rare and powerful decision under its Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure on the situation of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang region. The Committee found that credible evidence shows grave human rights violations, including torture, forced labour, enforced disappearances and other forms of discrimination against Uyghurs and Turkic peoples — and called on China to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and investigate the abuses. It also urged China to provide information on those disappeared, end intimidation of diaspora communities, review repressive laws, and guarantee effective remedies and reparations for victims. The Committee even referred the situation to the UN Responsibility to Protect framework, underscoring the risk of atrocity-level harm. This decision — and the international follow-up — highlights how UN treaty bodies can spotlight systemic discrimination and call for urgent action, even in contexts where States deny abuses and fail to engage. It also shows the ongoing challenge defenders face in pushing for accountability, transparency and justice for Uyghurs and other affected communities.
Article about the decision (ISHR)
Go to the previous sections and the next section to find out more about other tools and outputs of the Treaty Bodies, including: periodic reviews, individual communications, general comments, inquiries, and follow-up activities.
Or for more information on early warnings and urgent actions, including examples of how human rights defenders use them, you can jump to Chapter 3:
