that representatives from human rights treaty bodies be sent on fact-finding
missions to States parties whenever serious and urgent situations appeared to
justify such actions.
16. Members were also informed of the actions taken at the forty-eighth
session of the Commission on Human Sights and took note of the Commission's
suggestion that priority should be given to the preparation of a general
comment on article 18 of the Covenant.
17. The Committee expressed its great appreciation to Mr. Jan Martenson,
former Under-Secretary-General for Human Sights, for his unfailing interest in
the Committee's work and for the effective support and assistance he had
provided to the Committee to help it to carry out its tasks.
18. The Committee also resumed its discussion on modifications to its methods
of work under article 40, paragraph 4, of the Covenant and decided that
comments of the Committee as a whole would be prepared as soon as the
consideration of each State party report was completed. A rapporteur would be
selected in each case to draft a text in consultation with the Chairman and
Committee members for adoption by the Committee (see para. 45). The Committee
also adopted its general comments on articles 7 and 10 of the Covenant (see
para. 610 and annex V I ) ,
19. The Committee, taking note of recent events in Peru, adopted a special
decision (see para. 41 and annex VII).
Forty-fifth session
20. The Committee was informed by the Under-Secretary-General for Human
Rights, who was addressing the Committee for the first time in that capacity,
that the World Conference on Human Eights, to be convened pursuant to General
Assembly resolution 45/155 of 18 December 1990, would take place in Vienna
from 14 to 25 June 1993, Preparatory activities were under way and human
rights treaty bodies were encouraged to formulate further comments and
suggestions in that regard. The fourth meeting of persons chairing the human
rights treaty bodies, which would meet at Geneva from 12 to 16 October 1992,
would provide a further opportunity to the treaty bodies for coordination
regarding the World Conference.
21. The Under-Secretary-General for Human Rights also informed the Committee
of other significant developments of relevance to its work that had occurred
since the Committee's forty-fourth session, notably the activities of the
Committee against Torture and the preliminary work being undertaken by the
Commission on Human Rights on an optional protocol to the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He
also referred to a number of recent human rights events carried out under the
programme of advisory services and technical assistance in the field of human
rights, including assistance in drafting States parties' reports under
international human rights instruments. He also paid tribute to the valuable
efforts of the Committee to encourage the protection of fundamental civil and
political rights.