Shadow reports Cover page – include the name of the country the report address- able sources said ...’ statements; in shadow reports you need to es, the committee session that it has been prepared for and the specify who those ‘reliable sources’ are. Committees (except the NGO(s) that prepared it. CESCR) do not routinely give the state information submitted to it Contents – a table of contents will ensure the committee mem- by NGOs; however, you should be aware that they do not always bers are clear about the issues raised in the report and can find respect requests for confidentiality, so shadow reports should be specific information easily. written in a way that will not endanger sources should the state Introduction – briefly outline the NGO(s) that prepared the party see the information. A variety of information can be used to report, including their mandate and any information that will support your arguments, including: enhance credibility in the eyes of the committee members. • official government documents; Main section – comprehensive shadow reports usually follow • court cases; the structure of the state report and deal with each Article of the • UN documents (for example, other treaty bodies or Special convention in sequence. If you decide not to follow this format Rapporteurs); you can present the issues thematically but you should ensure • UN agency documents (for example, ILO, UNICEF, UNHCR, etc); that you closely relate your arguments to the Articles of the Con- • national human rights institutions; vention because this is what the committee will be looking for. The • regional bodies (for example, African Commission, Council of committee’s General Comments can provide you with useful infor- Europe, Inter-American Commission); mation on how the committee interprets the treaty Articles. Under • academic research; and each Article (or theme), outline the issue, raising any gaps or • cases reported in newspapers (ensure the newspaper sources inconsistencies in the state report. You can also link this with pre- are reliable). vious Concluding Observations of the committee, highlighting whether or not they have been implemented. You may include For all of these different types of information, and particularly for questions that you would like the committee members to take up statistical information, you should make sure you clearly state with the state; however, be careful of the tone you use, committee where, when, how and by whom it was collected or produced. members will decide which questions to ask so a demanding tone may be counter-productive. Ensure that you back up your arguments using reliable sources, (see below). Conclusions – this should briefly summarize the main issues Reservations – remember to check whether your government has made any reservations to the treaty. Language – NGO shadow reports will be circulated in the language in which they are received. Most committee members have addressed in the report and can include recommendations for the English as a working language so it is advisable to produce your government. The committee may take up some of these recom- report in English. However, if you can translate the report into mendations to include in the Concluding Observations. other UN languages, this will be highly appreciated by committee Sources – it is vital to refer to reliable sources to illustrate your arguments. Specific cases of violations that your organization is members who do not use English. Length – committee members receive huge amounts of informa- aware of can be useful as long as you provide sufficient informa- tion. A concise document setting out crucial issues will be better tion to enable your allegations to be crosschecked with the received than a longer, detailed report. A former committee secre- source. Never make allegations without firm evidence. Avoid ‘reli- tary suggested shadow reports should be no more than 20 pages. the start of the session; however, they receive a lot of information each session and may not have time to read your report if you do not send it in advance. NGO reports are not made available on the OHCHR website. The NGO Group for the CRC collects shadow reports to the CRC and they are available on the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) website at: www.crin.org. NGOs that do not have the time or resources to prepare a complete shadow report can still submit useful information to the committee. This could take the form of a brief overview document that addresses a selection of Articles of the Convention or a few issues of concern. The guidelines above on shadow reports are also useful for shorter NGO submissions. MINORITY RIGHTS: A GUIDE TO UNITED NATIONS PROCEDURES AND INSTITUTIONS Committee sessions During examination of the state report, the state delegation will appear before the committee to present its report. Committee members will ask questions to the delegation who will usually answer the following day so that they have time to consult with the national government. Committee members are not restricted to asking questions on the list of issues, so additional NGO information received after the list of issues was drawn up or during meetings with NGOs can be incorporated into the questions. NGO participation in the committee sessions varies. The CEDAW, CESCR and CRC have a specific time where the whole committee meets with NGOs who can raise issues relating to all the state reports being considered 13