GENEVA (21 September 2023) - The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will hold its upcoming session from 25 September to 13 October. During the session, the Committee will examine Chad, the State of Palestine, Brazil, France, Qatar and Armenia. The six countries are among the 171 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. They are required to undergo regular reviews by the Committee of 18 independent international experts on how they are implementing the Covenant. The Committee, which has received the respective country reports and other submissions from non-governmental organisations, will discuss a range of issues with the six delegations on the following dates at Geneva time. Chad 25 September 15:00 – 18:00 26 September 15:00 – 18:00 State of Palestine 27 September 10:00 – 13:00 28 September 10:00 – 13:00 Brazil 28 September 15:00 – 18:00 29 September 15:00 – 18:00 France 2 October 10:00 – 13:00 3 October 10:00 – 13:00 Qatar 2 October 15:00 – 18:00 3 October 15:00 – 18:00 Armenia 4 October 10:00 – 13:00 5 October 10:00 – 13:00 The above public dialogues will be held in the Ground Floor Conference Room, Palais Wilson, Geneva. All public meetings are open to accredited press and livecast on UN Web TV. More information about the session, including reports submitted by the States and the full schedule of meetings, is available on the session webpage. ENDS For media accreditation: Please apply online or contact press_geneva@un.org Journalists attending public meetings at Palais Wilson, please register with: Vivian Kwok at vivian.kwok@un.org or UN Human Rights Office Media Section at ohchr-media@un.org Background The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights monitors States parties’ adherence to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which ensures the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to education, fair and just conditions of work, adequate standard of living, highest attainable standard of health, and social security. To date, 171 States parties have ratified the Covenant. The Committee, according to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR), is also mandated to receive and examine complaints by individuals or groups of individuals who claim their rights under the Covenant have been violated. To date, 27 States parties have ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol. The Committee is made up of 18 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. Learn more with our videos on the Treaty Body system and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Follow the UN Treaty Bodies on social media! We are on Twitter @UNTreatyBodies