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by almost half. The Committee points out, however, that this measure was made
possible only by the existence of summary records of its proceedings, which
would allow States and interested observers to trace how the Committee arrived
at its concluding observations on States parties’ reports. For this reason,
the Committee insists that such summary records must continue to be produced
by the Secretariat.
370. With regard to the size of reports submitted by States parties to the
Covenant, the Committee realizes that the costs of translating these reports
into all official languages of the United Nations constitute a major component
of the overall expenditure required for monitoring the implementation of the
Covenant. The Committee maintains that in each case a careful balance should
be struck between the imperatives of comprehensiveness, on the one hand, and
the necessity to reduce costs, on the other. It considers that, aside from
exceptional instances (such as complicated federal structures within a State
party), especially in the case of consecutive reports and in view of the
practice of submitting identical core documents to all human rights treaty
bodies, a report of around 100 pages should be sufficient, if prepared in
accordance with the Committee’s revised guidelines, to give a concise picture
of the state of the implementation of the Covenant in the country concerned.
On the more practical side, the editorial work to be performed by the
Secretariat would be greatly facilitated if States submitted the manuscripts
of their reports double-spaced and, where such reports were produced on
computers, if they supplied the Secretariat with a computer diskette.
Consideration of States parties’ reports
371. The Committee noted with appreciation that, for the first time, all
States parties whose reports were considered during the thirteenth session
complied with the Committee’s recommendation to submit written replies to the
lists of issues made available to the States parties concerned well in advance
of each session. This allowed the Committee to have a more constructive
dialogue with reporting States and to concentrate on the most important issues
in the course of the consideration of the reports. It also facilitated the
task of States parties’ delegations in presenting their reports before the
Committee. The Committee therefore reiterated its recommendation to States
parties to comply with this procedure.
Economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development
372. For many years, the Committee has followed with interest activities
within the United Nations system related to the Declaration on the Right to
Development, particularly those carried out by the Working Group on the Right
to Development of the Commission on Human Rights. During its ninth session
(December 1993), the Committee met with Mr. Mohamed Ennaceur,
Chairman-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Right to Development, who
emphasized the significance which the Working Group attached to the promotion
of economic, social and cultural rights within the comprehensive framework
laid down by the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development. The Committee,
for its part, expressed its wish to collaborate closely with the Working Group
on the Right to Development.
373. At its thirteenth session, the Committee considered the report of the
Working Group on the Right to Development on its fifth session, paying