Sessions cancelled, reviews delayed, rights undermined

One of the most immediate and tangible consequences of the budget crisis is the reduction and cancellation of sessions. The Committee usually meets three times a year in Geneva. During these sessions, it prepares a List of Issues Prior to Reporting, conducts dialogues with States, holds briefings with UN agencies, NHRIs, and NGOs, and issues decisions on individual complaints. The sessions also include discussions on follow-up actions and the drafting or adoption of General Comments. Recently, the Committee was forced to cancel its third session for 2025 altogether, meaning that several country reviews, planned for years, are now postponed. This disruption has negative consequences for the principle of regular reviews – which is at the heart of the ICCPR framework. If governments that submitted their reports in good faith must wait years for them to be examined, the process loses credibility. Political momentum is lost, and government actors change, making dialogues on those reports as well as follow-up nearly impossible.

Furthermore, it sends the wrong message: if the international system cannot regularly review reports, States have no incentive to respect reporting deadlines.

Massive cuts to Committee functions

The cancellation of sessions is only the tip of the iceberg. Significant internal adjustments have been made to the Committee’s functioning to cope with the budgetary shortfall, all of them negatively influencing the system:

• Shortened session lengths mean that the Committee can examine fewer country situations per year.
• Fewer Lists of Issues Prior to Reporting are adopted, depriving States and civil society of the structured guidance needed to prepare high - quality reports.
• Delays in processing individual communications have increased dramatically. These communications, submitted by victims of human rights violations, often represent their only avenue for international justice. The backlog is growing, many applications now remain unresolved for years and the Committee cannot adopt interim measures to protect the victims.

This gradual hollowing out of the Committee’s functions does not only hinder operations; it directly affects individuals and communities who rely on the Committee to speak on their behalf.

Civil society participation at breaking point

The impact on civil society in the work and sessions of the Committee cannot be overstated. Participation in treaty body reviews has always been a challenge, especially for grassroots actors from the Global South. The process of in-person participation involves securing funding, applying for visas to Switzerland (which are not facilitated by the UN), booking travel, translating documents, and navigating strict timelines and very short speaking slots. The effort and cost are enormous, and the current budget crisis makes things worse.

The sudden cancellation of sessions at short notice, as occurred now with the October 2025 session (communicated only in July), renders months of planning by international and national CSOs – who like to participate in the Committee`s work – useless, as many CSO had already obtained grants, submitted visa applications, and booked travel. Several international CSOs, such as the CCPR Center, play an important role in supporting civil society participation, especially actors who travel to Geneva from abroad. However, such planning typically takes place at least a year in advance, often tied to specific treaty body sessions and review dates.

Last-minute changes or cancellations, like session suspensions announced only months or weeks prior, pose serious challenges. These organizations often rely on earmarked funding and cannot easily adapt to sudden shifts in the UN calendar, leaving advocacy efforts disrupted and financial resources potentially lost.

For human rights defenders, the inability to present their work at the UN due to budget constraints is more than an inconvenience – it is a threat to protection, advocacy, and credibility.

Conclusion: a call for urgent action

The Committee – and the treaty body system as a whole – is at a crossroads. The current budget crisis is not just a temporary inconvenience. It represents a structural attack on the mechanisms that uphold international law and provide oversight on some of the most fundamental rights we all share.

The international community must urgently restore and increase funding for:

• Full-length Committee sessions;
• Civil society engagement and support for participation;
• Timely follow-up on concluding observations and individual complaints.

At the heart of this crisis lie two core responsibilities. First, States must fulfil their financial obligations to the United Nations and pay their regular contributions on time. The integrity and sustainability of the system depend on predictable and sufficient funding. Second, States that actively engage in the treaty body process have a crucial role in encouraging others to do the same. This includes using diplomatic channels and multilateral fora to promote broader commitment, reminding peers that the effectiveness of the human rights system is a collective responsibility that requires shared investment and participation.

It is now part of our responsibility as the CCPR Centre – as well as that of our partner NGOs – to consistently raise awareness among States and within the UN system about the concrete impact these limitations have on civil society engagement. When sessions are cancelled or reduced due to budgetary constraints, it is often the most marginalized voices that are silenced first. We will continue to advocate to ensure that treaty body sessions are not postponed or cancelled, and that meaningful participation is safeguarded.

The cost of inaction is high. If the treaty body system collapses under the weight of budget cuts, it will be the world’s most vulnerable who pay the price.

Without functioning oversight, human rights violations go unchallenged. Without credible mechanisms, international law becomes meaningless. And without participation, the UN becomes an exclusive forum, disconnected from those it was designed to serve.