Official responses
State replies to UN human rights bodies
Short answer
- ICCPR individual complaint
- Six months for written explanations 1
- CAT individual complaint
- Six months 2
- ICESCR follow-up to views
- Written response within six months 3
- Special procedures, 2024
- 665 communications, 124 states addressed 4
- Substantive reply rate, 2024
- 46.62 per cent 4
- UPR
- Recommendations accepted or noted 5
Individual complaints to treaty bodies
Article 4 of the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, adopted on 16 December 1966, says the Human Rights Committee brings each communication to the attention of the state. Within six months the state submits written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and any remedy 1.
Article 22 of the Convention against Torture, adopted on 10 December 1984, uses the same six-month rule for states that have accepted individual complaints 2. Article 6 of the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, adopted on 10 December 2008, brings communications to the state confidentially and sets the same six months 3.
Responding to findings
The ICESCR Protocol goes further than the older texts. Under Article 9 the state must give due consideration to the committee's views and submit a written response within six months, including information on action taken 3. After an inquiry, the state has six months to submit observations on the findings, and the committee may then ask what measures it took 3.
| Instrument | Stage | State deadline |
|---|---|---|
| ICCPR Optional Protocol, Art. 4 | Individual communication | Six months 1 |
| CAT, Art. 22 | Individual communication | Six months 2 |
| CAT, Art. 21 | State-to-state communication | Three months to explain to the other state 2 |
| ICESCR Optional Protocol, Art. 6 | Individual communication | Six months 3 |
| ICESCR Optional Protocol, Art. 9 | Views of the committee | Six months 3 |
| ICESCR Optional Protocol, Art. 11 | Inquiry findings | Six months 3 |
Inquiries and state-to-state complaints
Under Article 20 of the Convention against Torture, if the committee receives reliable information that torture is being practised systematically in a state, it invites that state to cooperate and submit observations 2. A state may declare at ratification that it does not recognise this inquiry power 2.
State-to-state complaints follow a shorter clock. Under Article 21 of the Convention against Torture and the inter-state article of the ICESCR Protocol, the receiving state must give the complaining state a written explanation within three months 2,3. If the matter is not settled within six months, either state may refer it to the committee 2,3.
Special procedures letters
Special rapporteurs and working groups write to governments and other actors about alleged violations. Report A/HRC/58/70, dated 11 April 2025, covers calendar year 2024 4. Special procedures sent 665 communications, of which 596 were sent jointly, to 124 states and 145 non-state actors. They concerned 1,265 individuals, 414 identified as female 4.
In 2024 the mandates received 463 replies, 417 of them substantive. Of these, 349 answered 2024 communications, and 308 of those were substantive. The substantive reply rate was 46.62 per cent 4. Communications are made public after 60 days. Letters about draft or existing laws, policies or practices are made public after 48 hours 4. The report counts 57 country visits to 44 states 4.
Universal Periodic Review
In the UPR other UN member states question the state under review and make recommendations in an interactive dialogue 5. The outcome report records the questions, comments and recommendations, and the reviewed state's responses 5.
The report is adopted no sooner than 48 hours after the review, and the state may then choose to accept or note each recommendation 5. States can make editorial changes to their own statements within two weeks. At the Human Rights Council plenary the state can reply to issues not fully addressed 5. At the next review the state is expected to report what it has done on earlier recommendations 5.
Common questions
How long does a state have to answer a UN individual complaint?
Six months under the ICCPR Optional Protocol, the Convention against Torture and the ICESCR Protocol 1,23.
Are replies to UN special rapporteurs published?
Communications are made public after 60 days, and law and policy letters after 48 hours 4.
What share of special procedures letters got a substantive reply in 2024?
46.62 per cent 4.
What does it mean when a state notes a UPR recommendation?
The state chooses to accept or note each recommendation, and both appear in the report 5.
How many special procedures communications were sent jointly in 2024?
596 of the 665 communications were joint 4.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@responseofrecord.com.
Sources
- OHCHR: Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (adopted 16 December 1966)
- OHCHR: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (adopted 10 December 1984)
- OHCHR: Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (adopted 10 December 2008)
- UN Human Rights Council: A/HRC/58/70, Activities of special rapporteurs, independent experts and working groups of the special procedures (11 April 2025)
- OHCHR: Basic facts about the UPR
Related
- Responses to ombudsman findings and recommendations
How bodies reply to ombudsman findings in the EU, UK, Scotland and Ireland: comment rights, three-month opinions and special reports to parliament.
- How governments respond to parliamentary committee reports
Deadlines and forms for government replies to committee reports in the UK, Canada, Australia, India, the EU and the US, from standing orders and laws.
- How governments answer written parliamentary questions
Answer deadlines for written parliamentary questions in the UK, Canada, Australia and British Columbia, and what happens when a minister does not reply.
- What 'declined to comment' means
What 'declined to comment', 'did not respond' and 'chose not to appear' mean under broadcast codes and editorial standards, and how silence is reported.