Morning session

In the morning, States and the Chair Rapporteur met for a private informal consultation to prepare the recommendations of the Chair and conclusions of the Working Group.

Afternoon Session

The session reconvened in the afternoon. The Chair thanked all the participants and brought the 9th session of the IGWG to a close with the intention to present the 9th sessional report at the 55th meeting of the Human Rights Council in March 2024.

The draft report will be a summary of the discussions held during the 9th session. It was adopted by consensus without any recommendations or conclusions, with a 13 November 2023 deadline to submit comments. The addendum to the report will contain a text of the draft of the LBI updated with language proposals made by States during the 9th session, which will be published on OHCHR’s 9th IGWG session webpage, along with the complete report.

The Chair acknowledged the success of the 9th Session, recognising that areas where points of view differ were discussed, and that additional space has opened up in which the IGWG can hope to achieve consensus in the future. The Chair expressed hope that the 10th session can achieve significant progress towards the adoption of a LBI.

Member States thanked the Chair Rapporteur and Ecuador for facilitating a constructive discussion around the LBI, with a view to achieving consensus from a maximum number of states for a legally sound and implementable instrument.

Colombia highlighted the need to build “political will and ensure that there are more and more states involved in this process”, while Brazil acknowledged the importance of CSO contributions and stressed the need for a victim-centred and effective remedy approach in the treaty process. Cameroon offered the final contribution from states, supporting the continuation of the process under the presidency of Ecuador.

The recording of the morning session is available on UN TV here.