Article 28 of the ICCPR states that the Committee is composed of 18 members from states parties to the ICCPR, "who shall be persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights", with consideration "to the usefulness of the participation of some persons having legal experience."
On June 17, 2022, the States parties to the ICCPR met in New York and elected nine members of the Committee, to replace those whose terms would expire at the end of 2022.
Those elected were Yvonne Donders (The Netherlands), Hélène Tigroudja* (France), Bacre Waly Ndiaye (Senegal), Tijana Šurlan (Serbia), Koji Teraya (Japan), Farid Ahmadov (Azerbaijan), Laurence R. Helfer (United States), Rodrigo A. Carazo (Costa Rica), and Hernán Quezada Cabrera* (Chile).
[8] On September 17, 2020 (postponed from June 15, 2020), the States parties to the ICCPR met and elected nine members of the Committee, to replace those whose terms would expire at the end of 2020.
Those elected were Carlos Gómez Martínez (Spain), Changrok Soh (Republic of Korea), Imeru Tamerat Yigezu (Ethiopia), Mahjoub El Haiba (Morocco), José Manuel Santos Pais* (Portugal), Tania María Abdo Rocholl* (Paraguay), Wafaa Ashraf Moharram Bassim (Egypt), Kobauyah Tchamdja Kpatcha (Togo), and Marcia V.J.
David H. Moorre (United States) won an additional, contested "by-election" held on the same date, to elect a member to complete the term ending December 31, 2020, of Ilze Brands Kehris (Latvia), who had resigned effective December 31, 2019, upon her appointment as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.
[10] On June 14, 2018, the States parties to the ICCPR met and elected nine members of the Committee, to replace those whose terms would expire at the end of 2018.
Those elected were Yadh Ben Achour* (Tunisia), Christopher Bulkan (Guyana), Photini Pazartzis* (Greece), Hélène Tigroudja (France), Hernán Quezada Cabrera (Chile), Gentian Zyberi (Albania), Vasilka Sancin (Slovenia), Shuichi Furuya (Japan), and Duncan Muhumuza Laki* (Uganda).
Pierre-Richard Prosper of the United States was not elected, in reportedly "a first-ever defeat of a US candidate for the UN Human Rights Committee.
The categories of its work, outlined below, include state reporting, individual complaints, general comments, and inter-state communications.
Following this dialogue, the Committee drafts and adopts its concluding observations, a document including positive aspects, subjects of concern, and suggestions and recommendations.
[20] In 2019, the Committee decided to make the simplified reporting procedure the default, changing a state's selection of it from an opt-in to an opt-out model.
Though in theory, reports should be an honest appraisal, constructive criticism of perceived failures to adhere to Covenant principles is unlikely.
At that point, the case is transmitted to the State party, which is requested to submit its observations within six months, under Article 4 of the First Optional Protocol.
[31] Information on the process and how to use it, including examples and guidelines for submitting complaints, is available from some NGOs[33][34][18][35] and the United Nations.
Among more recent decisions that attracted press and academic attention, in two October 2018 decisions the Committee concluded that France's ban on the niqab, the full-face Islamic veil, violated human rights guaranteed under the ICCPR, in particular the rights to manifest one's religion or beliefs and to protection against discrimination.
[44] The draft has been criticized for its reliance on decisions of regional, as opposed to global, human rights bodies.
[48] In July 2011, the UN Human Rights Committee adopted a 52-paragraph statement, General Comment 34 on ICCPR Article 19, concerning freedoms of opinion and expression.