Abbreviations and terms used in the text • 1503 Procedure – Named after the number of the Resolution of the UN Economic and Social Council. This procedure allows the confidential consideration of complaints by the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and the UN Commission on Human Rights concerning alleged human rights violations that show a consistent pattern of systematic or gross violations. • CAT – The Committee against Torture is a treaty body, with expert members, set up to monitor compliance with the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment. • CEDAW – The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is a treaty body, with expert members, established under the International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women to monitor compliance with the treaty. • CERD – The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a treaty body, with expert members, established under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to monitor the implementation of the Convention. • CESCR – The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a treaty body, with expert members, set up by ECOSOC to monitor state compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by examining state reports submitted by states that have ratified the Covenant. • CHR – The Commission on Human Rights is the highest placed forum of the UN devoted solely to human rights issues. It is a subsidiary, functional Commission of ECOSOC. • CRC – The Committee on the Rights of the Child is a treaty body, with expert members, established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child with the purpose of monitoring compliance with the Convention. • ECOSOC – The Economic and Social Council is a principal organ of the UN, responsible for the coordination of the economic and social work of the UN and its specialized agencies, including human rights and minority rights. • ECOSOC status – The accreditation that NGOs can receive from the ECOSOC that regulates their participation in UN meetings. • GA – The General Assembly is the highest body in the UN. • Good offices – Term used when the UN SecretaryGeneral or High Commissioner for Human Rights helps resolve a human rights problem. • High Commissioner – The High Commissioner for Human Rights is, next to the Secretary-General, the highest-ranking UN official in the human rights field. The Office of the High Commissioner is based in Geneva, with a liaison office in New York and field offices in a growing number of states. • HRC – The Human Rights Committee is a treaty body, with expert members, established under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to monitor compliance with the Covenant. • ICCPR – The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a treaty that more than 150 states have ratified. • ICEDAW – International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Note: in other texts, you will often see ‘CEDAW’ referring to the Convention and the monitoring body. We have chosen to use ICEDAW in this guide for the Convention and CEDAW for the monitoring body to avoid any possible confusion. • ICERD – The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is a treaty that more than 160 states have ratified. • ICESCR – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a treaty that more than 140 states have ratified. • IE – Independent Expert. • IGO – An inter-governmental organization. • ILO – The International Labour Organization, a specialized agency of the UN based in Geneva, adopts labour standards from which minorities stand to benefit. It has impressive monitoring and technical assistance programmes. • MWC – The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families is a treaty body, set up to monitor the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. • NGO – A non-governmental organization. • OHCHR – The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the secretariat that supports the UN human rights bodies. It is based in Geneva. Information on all the human rights mechanisms can be found on its website. 2 MINORITY RIGHTS: A GUIDE TO UNITED NATIONS PROCEDURES AND INSTITUTIONS