HRC63 - JST - Treatu Bodies Reform

Human Rights Council - 63rd Session
Item 8: General Debate on the follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
Joint Statement delivered by Switzerland on behalf of a group of countries
29 September 2026

Mister President,

I have the honour to deliver this joint statement on behalf of a group of 80 countries.

The UN human rights treaty body system is a cornerstone of the UN human rights architecture. Today, it stands at a crossroads. The ongoing liquidity crisis has brought to light preexisting structural fragilities while political support for the system has declined over time. In 2025, 45 State party reviews did not take place and the number of reports received was at an all-time low[1].

As State parties, we reaffirm our commitment to an efficient and adequately funded treaty body system. At the same time, we share concerns about aspects of its current functioning. Pragmatic reform, within existing mandates, can and has to address these structural fragilities and reduce overlap without undermining treaty body independence, reopening the treaties, or weakening the protection of rights holders.

We call on the Committees to intensify their ownership of the strengthening process by accelerating harmonization of working methods, presenting pragmatic and innovative solutions to reduce the backlog of reviews, improving consistency and focus of recommendations, and operationalizing the inter-Committee advisory mechanism[2].

We also call on the Office of the High Commissioner to strengthen its ownership of, and support for, this process and encourage the further development and implementation of its working paper[3], including through pilot projects.

We call on all Member States to support adequate, predictable and sustainable funding for the UN Human rights pillar including the treaty body system.

We look forward to continued dialogue among States, Treaty Bodies, OHCHR and civil society for a strong, universal, predictable and fit-for-purpose treaty body system to achieve greater efficiency, coherence, coordination and harmonization.

I thank you.

[1] Impact of UN liquidity situation on the work of treaty bodies (12 June 2026)

[2] Reports of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies on their 34th, 35th and 36th annual meeting, A/77/228, A/78/354, A/79/292.

[3] OHCHR Working paper on enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the UN human rights treaty system (29 May 2026).