last revised: 25 March 2005
The Sub-Commission each year adopts its agenda on the first day of the session. The order of items may change in the final version.
| No. | Agenda Item |
|---|---|
| 1. | Organization of work |
| 2. | Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including policies of racial discrimination and segregation, in all countries, with particular reference to colonial and other dependent countries and territories: report of the Sub-Commission under Commission on Human Rights resolution 8 (XXIII) [Note: this item is also commonly referred to as "country situations"] |
| 3. | Administration of justice, rule of law and democracy |
| 4. | Economic, social and cultural rights |
| 5. | Prevention of discrimination: a. Racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia; b. Prevention of discrimination and protection of indigenous peoples; c. Prevention of discrimnation and protection of minorities |
| 6. | Specific human rights issues: a. Women and human rights; b. Contemporary forms of slavery; c. New priorities, in particular terrorism and counter-terrorism. |
| 7. | Draft provisional agenda and adoption of the report: a. Draft provisional agenda for the fifty-eighth session of the Sub-Commission; b. Adoption of the report on the fifty-seventh session. |
Typically item 1 is completed on the first day and item 2 during the first week. The order of items 3 through 7 was varied in the last two years, with item 6 being heard at the beginning of the 2nd week in 2003 and item 5 being heard at the beginning of the 2nd week in 2004. The remainder of the items each year were then heard sequentially through the final week.
The precise schedule is difficult to predict, since deliberations tend to run a little behind schedule. A rough workplan of which agenda item will be considered on each day is usually issued by the Bureau of the Sub-Commission after the first day. The order of items above is the official list used for reference purposes from year to year, so that documents and other materials can be keyed numerically to the right agenda item before being filed.