The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will hold its 118th session from August 10 to 25, 2026, in Geneva, Switzerland. During the session, the Committee will consider periodic reports from Finland, Honduras, India, and Kuwait. It will also adopt a list of issues prior to reporting for Eritrea and consider follow-up reports concerning Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Kenya, Monaco, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. The programme of work, NGO information note, NHRI information note, and registration information are available on the Committee’s session page.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will hold its 35th session from August 12 to 27, 2026. During the session, the Committee will consider periodic reports from Chile, Lithuania, Qatar, Slovakia, and Sri Lanka. It will also adopt lists of issues for Burundi, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, and Romania; lists of issues prior to reporting for Gabon and San Marino; and a list of issues in the absence of a report for Guinea. The programme of work and an information note for stakeholders are available on the Committee’s session page.

In August, three of the UN Human Rights Council’s special procedures have country visits scheduled. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides a list of forthcoming country visits of the special procedures, including those scheduled beyond August.

• The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism is scheduled to visit Mozambique from August 4 to 14.
• The UN Working Group on business and human rights is scheduled to visit Guatemala from August 18 to 28.
• The UN Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt is scheduled to visit Tajikistan from August 18 to 28.

One of the UN Human Rights Council’s special procedures will be in session this month:

• The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is scheduled to hold its 106th session in Geneva, Switzerland from August 31 to September 4.

Please note that some of the UN special procedures have recently had to cancel or postpone country visits or sessions due to the ongoing liquidity crisis at the UN.

The Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by its States parties. In preparation for its 146th session, the Human Rights Committee is accepting written contributions from NGOs and other civil society actors to inform the Committee’s adoption of lists of issues prior to reporting (LOIPR) for Bahrain, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, and Romania. The session page includes guidance on how to submit information to the Committee. Deadline August 24.

Also in preparation for its 146th session, the Human Rights Committee is accepting written contributions from NGOs and other civil society actors to inform the Committee’s consideration of State reports from Austria, Cameroon, Jamaica, and Rwanda. The session page includes guidance on how to submit such information to the Committee. Deadline September 21.

In preparation for its 80th session, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is accepting written contributions from NGOs and other civil society actors to inform the Committee’s adoption of a list of issues for Burkina Faso, Estonia, Slovakia, and Zambia. An information note on how to participate in the session and submit information to the Committee is available on the session page. Deadline September 3.

In preparation for its 93rd session, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) is accepting written contributions from NGOs and other civil society actors to inform the Committee’s review of state reports from Angola, Cabo Verde, Cook Islands, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, and Togo; as well as to inform its formulation of lists of issues for Bangladesh and Russian Federation, and lists of issues prior to reporting (LOIPR) for Barbados, Burundi, Guinea, Haiti, Jordan, Mali, Micronesia, and Nigeria. An information note on how to participate in the session and submit information to the Committee is available on the session page. Deadline September 4.

At its 101st session, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is scheduled to review Burkina Faso, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, the United Republic of Tanzania, and, subject to confirmation, Uganda. NGOs may submit additional information concerning these reviews by the new deadline of August 1. Submissions must be made through the new platform for alternative reports.

In preparation for its 103rd pre-sessional working group, the CRC is accepting alternative reports and written inputs from civil society actors. Under the traditional reporting procedure, submissions may concern South Sudan under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, Belize, and China, including Hong Kong and Macao. Under the simplified reporting procedure, submissions may concern Sierra Leone. Civil society organizations may also submit alternative reports to inform the adoption of lists of issues prior to reporting for Australia, Barbados, Lebanon, and Trinidad and Tobago. Deadline August 1.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has issued a call for input on a Draft General Comment on article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, concerning the right of persons with disabilities to participation in political and public life; Draft Guidelines on identifying and addressing intersectional discrimination against women and girls with disabilities; and Draft Guidelines on identifying and addressing disability-based violence. Deadline August 3.

The CRPD has also issued a second call for input to inform its work on two Draft General Comments related to article 11: one on the obligation of States parties in situations of risk; and another on addressing the impact of situations of risk. Deadline August 3.

• The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has issued a call for input to inform her preparations for her official visit to the Marshall Islands in September 2026. Deadline August 7.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change has issued a call for input to inform her preparations for her official visit to Mozambique in September-October 2026. Deadline August 14.
• The UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) will be holding its 140th session in September. Those interested in meeting with the experts of the Working Group during the session should notify the Secretariat at the UN OHCHR via e-mail: [email protected]. Deadline August 15.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment has issued a call for input to inform a thematic report on the situation of environmental human rights defenders. Deadline August 21.
• The UN Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity has issued a call for input to inform her upcoming visit to Finland in November 2026. Deadline September 1.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has issued a call for inputs to inform a thematic report on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of human rights defenders. Deadline September 5.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls has issued a call for input to inform her upcoming visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in November 2026. Deadline September 15.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing has issued a call for input to inform a thematic report that aims to examine the role of local (and, when relevant, regional) authorities in realizing the right to adequate housing and to also identify the opportunities and restrictions affecting community-led initiatives and non-for-profit housing providers. Deadline September 21.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change has issued a call for input on technologies related to climate change and their impacts on human rights. Inputs will inform the Special Rapporteur’s report to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Deadline September 30.

• The UN Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development (EMRTD) has issued a call for input from diverse stakeholders regarding the role of peace and security as conditions for the full enjoyment of human rights and the right to development. Deadline September 15. The deadline for this call for input was originally in April 2026, but has now been extended.
• The Fact-Finding Mission on the situation in North and South Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (OFFMK) has issued a call for submissions of information related to alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in the context of the latest and ongoing escalation of hostilities in January 2025 in the provinces of North and South Kivu. No deadline specified.
• The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (COI-OPT/Israel) has issued a broad call for submissions of information concerning acts of killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm committed by any State or non-State actor since October 7, 2023. No deadline is specified, but this information will be used for a report that will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026 and to the UN General Assembly during its 81st Session in October 2026.
• The UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has issued a press release calling for all those who witnessed or have direct information about an airstrike on a boarding school complex in Thayat Tabin village, Kyauktaw Township in Rakhine State, on September 12, 2025 to please share their evidence. The press release contains further instructions on how to share information with the Mechanism. No deadline specified.
• The UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has issued a call for information calling for anyone who witnessed or has direct knowledge of the airstrike on Mrauk U General Hospital in Rakhine State on December 10, 2025 to please share their knowledge of the incident. The call for information contains instructions on how to share information with the Mechanism. No deadline specified.