Improving Implementation and Follow-Up: Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures, and the Universal Periodic Review

Too often the verdicts of international human rights bodies don't find their way into practice. In November 2010, the Open Society Justice Initiative, the Brookings Institution, and UPR-Watch hosted a conference in Geneva to consider strategies for how best to close the implementation gap.

At a time of renewed interest in treaty body strengthening, discussions on the five-year review of the Human Rights Council, as well as the upcoming second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, the conference provided an important opportunity to reflect on these common challenges and consider strategies for how best to close the implementation gap.

The report summarizes the presentations of the speakers at the conference. A compendium of recommendations is included at the end of the report.