3. Opportunities for You to Engage

This section provides information on the importance of working and coordinating with other NGOs and other relevant actors to maximise the impact of your interaction with Treaty Bodies.

Working in coalitions and collaborating with other NGOs and relevant actors, such as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), UN country teams or National Mechanisms on Reporting and Follow Up (NMRFs), is vital for many human rights mechanisms, but especially for Treaty Bodies.

NGO coalitions can be formed on an ad-hoc basis to coordinate inputs to specific Treaty Body sessions or processes, or they can be permanent. Such coalitions can be local, national, regional or international. They can also be focused on specific themes.

NGO coordination is important to maximise the limited space and time given to NGOs to interact with the Treaty Bodies. It also gives added weight to information submitted by NGOs to Treaty Bodies.

Joint NGO reports and submissions can also be very useful for the Treaty Body members, notably by increasing coverage of a wide range of rights and issues included in the treaties.

Go-to NGOs for your work with a particular Treaty

Those NGOs are mostly part of the TB-net (Treaty Bodies Network), a coalition of civil society organisations who work closely with the UN Treaty Bodies and have specialised expertise on their procedures and substantive work (not so active at the moment, but NGOs members still are).

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

• Child Rights Connect works with over 60 international NGOs to promote the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, coordinate NGO written submissions, and undertake other tasks to assist the work of the Committee.

• Example: Child Rights Connect has developed an online capacity building tool for civil society actors to engage more concretely and effectively with the CRC reporting process, including information on ensuring child participation in national consultations.
• Example: Child Rights Connect provides a confidential and secure online platform for children’s rights defenders to submit written information to the UN CRC session.
• Example: Child Rights Connect provides step-by-step information on both the standard and the simplified reporting cycles of the CRC

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

• IWRAW-Asia Pacific convenes training sessions for NGOs in parallel to the sessions of CEDAW in Geneva and coordinates and supports the submission of NGO reports to the Committee.

• Example: IWRAW-Asia Pacific’s “From Global to Local” programme aimed to train NGOs and women’s groups who wish to participate in the reporting process.

Human Rights Committee (HR Ctte)

• The Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR Centre) assists NGOs in making submissions to the HR Ctte and organises in-country workshops with NGOs to facilitate coordination of stakeholder reports to the Committee.

• Example: The CCPR Centre also supports country visits of members of the CCPR to assist with follow up on national progress, involving meetings with national authorities, national human rights institutions, civil society, and journalists. For example, the follow up visits of the CCPR to Peru in 2024 and Mauritania in 2022.

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)

• The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides support to NGOs engaging with CESCR through identifying opportunities for engagement and assisting with drafting and coordinating submissions.

• Example: The Global Initiative works with national NGOs to prepare joint NGO submissions as part of the CESCR’s periodic review process. For example, during the CESCR’s review of Chile in 2020, the Global Initiative worked with a network of 750 Chilean civil society organisations to submit a Joint Alternative Report.

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

• The International Disability Alliance (IDA) provides support to NGOs engaging with the CRPD through capacity building and supporting submissions.

• Example: The IDA holds workshops with national NGOs to coordinate joint NGO submissions and assist with preparing for in person participation before the Committee.

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

• The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) provides support to NGOs engaging with the CERD at all stages of the review process.

• Example: The IMADR has produced a template to support civil society actors’ preparation of follow up reports which assess the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations at national level. The template provides practical tips, guidance on what should be covered, and how to submit the follow up report.

Committee Against Torture (CAT)

• The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) provides support and assistance to human rights defenders and organisations engaging with the CAT.

  • Example: The OMCT coordinates for a longtime civil society organisations participation (that have submitted written information to the CAT regarding a given State party). You can contact: [email protected] for more information.

The Association for the Prevention of Torture

The NGO Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) works for the global ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and can provide advice on the designation and functioning of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) or country visits by members of the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT).

Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)

• These Treaty Bodies do not benefit from the ongoing support of dedicated NGOs in Geneva, but their OHCHR Secretariat can be contacted by NGOs for information, tips and advice.

• Example: In 2025, CEDI was the co-organisers of the first World Congress on Enforced Disappearances to gather, for the first time ever, all actors committed to the fight against enforced disappearances at the global level : States – parties or not parties to the UN Convention, associations of families of the disappeared and survivors, international organisations, international NGOs, academics and others.

Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers (CMW)

CMW does not benefit from the ongoing support of a dedicated INGO, but their OHCHR Secretariat can be contacted by NGOs for information, tips and advice.