International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Adopted
and opened for signature, ratification and accession by
General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI)
of 16 December 1966
entry
into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49
Preamble
The States Parties to the present
Covenant,
Considering that, in accordance
with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the
United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and
of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world,
Recognizing that these rights
derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,
Recognizing that, in accordance
with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political
freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be
achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may
enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his
economic, social and cultural rights,
Considering the obligation of
States under the Charter of the United Nations to
promote universal respect for, and observance of, human
rights and freedoms,
Realizing that the individual,
having duties to other individuals and to the community
to which he belongs, is under a responsibility to strive
for the promotion and observance of the rights
recognized in the present Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
PART I
Article 1
1. All peoples have the right of
self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely
determine their political status and freely pursue their
economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own
ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and
resources without prejudice to any obligations arising
out of international economic co-operation, based upon
the principle of mutual benefit, and international law.
In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of
subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the
present Covenant, including those having responsibility
for the administration of Non-Self-Governing and Trust
Territories, shall promote the realization of the right
of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in
conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the
United Nations.
PART II
Article 2
1. Each State Party to the present
Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all
individuals within its territory and subject to its
jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present
Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status.
2. Where not already provided for
by existing legislative or other measures, each State
Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take the
necessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional
processes and with the provisions of the present
Covenant, to adopt such laws or other measures as may be
necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the
present Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present
Covenant undertakes:
(a) To ensure that any person
whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are
violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding
that the violation has been committed by persons acting
in an official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person
claiming such a remedy shall have his right thereto
determined by competent judicial, administrative or
legislative authorities, or by any other competent
authority provided for by the legal system of the State,
and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent
authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present
Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and
women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights
set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
1 . In time of public emergency
which threatens the life of the nation and the existence
of which is officially proclaimed, the States Parties to
the present Covenant may take measures derogating from
their obligations under the present Covenant to the
extent strictly required by the exigencies of the
situation, provided that such measures are not
inconsistent with their other obligations under
international law and do not involve discrimination
solely on the ground of race, colour, sex, language,
religion or social origin.
2. No derogation from articles 6,
7, 8 (paragraphs I and 2), 11, 15, 16 and 18 may be made
under this provision.
3. Any State Party to the present
Covenant availing itself of the right of derogation
shall immediately inform the other States Parties to the
present Covenant, through the intermediary of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, of the
provisions from which it has derogated and of the
reasons by which it was actuated. A further
communication shall be made, through the same
intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such
derogation.
Article 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant
may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or
person any right to engage in any activity or perform
any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights
and freedoms recognized herein or at their limitation to
a greater extent than is provided for in the present
Covenant.
2. There shall be no restriction
upon or derogation from any of the fundamental human
rights recognized or existing in any State Party to the
present Covenant pursuant to law, conventions,
regulations or custom on the pretext that the present
Covenant does not recognize such rights or that it
recognizes them to a lesser extent.
PART III
Article 6
1. Every human being has the
inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by
law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
2. In countries which have not
abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be
imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance
with the law in force at the time of the commission of
the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the
present Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty
can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement
rendered by a competent court.
3. When deprivation of life
constitutes the crime of genocide, it is understood that
nothing in this article shall authorize any State Party
to the present Covenant to derogate in any way from any
obligation assumed under the provisions of the
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime
of Genocide.
4. Anyone sentenced to death shall
have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the
sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentence
of death may be granted in all cases.
5. Sentence of death shall not be
imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen
years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant
women.
6. Nothing in this article shall
be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of
capital punishment by any State Party to the present
Covenant.
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to
torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected
without his free consent to medical or scientific
experimentation.
Article 8
1. No one shall be held in
slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in all their forms
shall be prohibited.
2. No one shall be held in
servitude.
3.
(a) No one shall be required to
perform forced or compulsory labour;
(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be
held to preclude, in countries where imprisonment with
hard labour may be imposed as a punishment for a crime,
the performance of hard labour in pursuance of a
sentence to such punishment by a competent court;
(c) For the purpose of this
paragraph the term "forced or compulsory labour" shall
not include:
(i) Any work or service, not
referred to in subparagraph (b), normally required of a
person who is under detention in consequence of a lawful
order of a court, or of a person during conditional
release from such detention;
(ii) Any service of a military
character and, in countries where conscientious
objection is recognized, any national service required
by law of conscientious objectors;
(iii) Any service exacted in cases
of emergency or calamity threatening the life or
well-being of the community;
(iv) Any work or service which
forms part of normal civil obligations.
Article 9
1. Everyone has the right to
liberty and security of person. No one shall be
subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall
be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in
accordance with such procedure as are established by
law.
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be
informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his
arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges
against him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on
a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a
judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise
judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a
reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the
general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be
detained in custody, but release may be subject to
guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of
the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise,
for execution of the judgement.
4. Anyone who is deprived of his
liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take
proceedings before a court, in order that that court may
decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention
and order his release if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim
of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an
enforceable right to compensation.
Article 10
1. All persons deprived of their
liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect
for the inherent dignity of the human person.
2.
(a) Accused persons shall, save in
exceptional circumstances, be segregated from convicted
persons and shall be subject to separate treatment
appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons;
(b) Accused juvenile persons shall
be separated from adults and brought as speedily as
possible for adjudication.
3. The penitentiary system shall
comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of
which shall be their reformation and social
rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be segregated
from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to
their age and legal status.
Article 11
No one shall be imprisoned merely on
the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual
obligation.
Article 12
1. Everyone lawfully within the
territory of a State shall, within that territory, have
the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose
his residence.
2. Everyone shall be free to leave
any country, including his own.
3. The above-mentioned rights
shall not be subject to any restrictions except those
which are provided by law, are necessary to protect
national security, public order (ordre public), public
health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others,
and are consistent with the other rights recognized in
the present Covenant.
4. No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of the right to enter his own country.
Article 13
An alien lawfully in the territory
of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled
therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in
accordance with law and shall, except where compelling
reasons of national security otherwise require, be
allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and
to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the
purpose before, the competent authority or a person or
persons especially designated by the competent
authority.
Article 14
1. All persons shall be equal
before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of
any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and
obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled
to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent
and impartial tribunal established by law. The press and
the public may be excluded from all or part of a trial
for reasons of morals, public order (ordre public) or
national security in a democratic society, or when the
interest of the private lives of the parties so
requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the
opinion of the court in special circumstances where
publicity would prejudice the interests of justice; but
any judgement rendered in a criminal case or in a suit
at law shall be made public except where the interest of
juvenile persons otherwise requires or the proceedings
concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship of
children.
2. Everyone charged with a
criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed
innocent until proved guilty according to law.
3. In the determination of any
criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled
to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language
which he understands of the nature and cause of the
charge against him;
(b) To have adequate time and
facilities for the preparation of his defence and to
communicate with counsel of his own choosing;
(c) To be tried without undue
delay;
(d) To be tried in his presence,
and to defend himself in person or through legal
assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he
does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to
have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where
the interests of justice so require, and without payment
by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient
means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined,
the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance
and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the
same conditions as witnesses against him;
(f) To have the free assistance of
an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the
language used in court;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify
against himself or to confess guilt.
4. In the case of juvenile persons,
the procedure shall be such as will take account of
their age and the desirability of promoting their
rehabilitation.
5. Everyone convicted of a crime
shall have the right to his conviction and sentence
being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.
6. When a person has by a final
decision been convicted of a criminal offence and when
subsequently his conviction has been reversed or he has
been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly
discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a
miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered
punishment as a result of such conviction shall be
compensated according to law, unless it is proved that
the non-disclosure of the unknown fact in time is wholly
or partly attributable to him.
7. No one shall be liable to be
tried or punished again for an offence for which he has
already been finally convicted or acquitted in
accordance with the law and penal procedure of each
country.
Article 15
1 . No one shall be held guilty of
any criminal offence on account of any act or omission
which did not constitute a criminal offence, under
national or international law, at the time when it was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than
the one that was applicable at the time when the
criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the
commission of the offence, provision is made by law for
the imposition of the lighter penalty, the offender
shall benefit thereby.
2. Nothing in this article shall
prejudice the trial and punishment of any person for any
act or omission which, at the time when it was
committed, was criminal according to the general
principles of law recognized by the community of
nations.
Article 16
Everyone shall have the right to
recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 17
1. No one shall be subjected to
arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy,
family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks
on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the
protection of the law against such interference or
attacks.
Article 18
1. Everyone shall have the right
to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This
right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a
religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either
individually or in community with others and in public
or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
worship, observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to
coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to
adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's
religion or beliefs may be subject only to such
limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary
to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or
the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the
present Covenant undertake to have respect for the
liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians
to ensure the religious and moral education of their
children in conformity with their own convictions.
Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right
to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right
to freedom of expression; this right shall include
freedom to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either
orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights
provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with
it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore
be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only
be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or
reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national
security or of public order (ordre public), or of public
health or morals.
Article 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be
prohibited by law.
2. Any advocacy of national,
racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement
to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be
prohibited by law.
Article 21
The right of peaceful assembly
shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on
the exercise of this right other than those imposed in
conformity with the law and which are necessary in a
democratic society in the interests of national security
or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
protection of public health or morals or the protection
of the rights and freedoms of others.
Article 22
1. Everyone shall have the right
to freedom of association with others, including the
right to form and join trade unions for the protection
of his interests.
2. No restrictions may be placed
on the exercise of this right other than those which are
prescribed by law and which are necessary in a
democratic society in the interests of national security
or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
protection of public health or morals or the protection
of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall
not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on
members of the armed forces and of the police in their
exercise of this right.
3. Nothing in this article shall
authorize States Parties to the International Labour
Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to
take legislative measures which would prejudice, or to
apply the law in such a manner as to prejudice, the
guarantees provided for in that Convention.
Article 23
1. The family is the natural and
fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the State.
2. The right of men and women of
marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be
recognized.
3. No marriage shall be entered
into without the free and full consent of the intending
spouses.
4. States Parties to the present
Covenant shall take appropriate steps to ensure equality
of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the
case of dissolution, provision shall be made for the
necessary protection of any children.
Article 24
1. Every child shall have, without
any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language,
religion, national or social origin, property or birth,
the right to such measures of protection as are required
by his status as a minor, on the part of his family,
society and the State.
2. Every child shall be registered
immediately after birth and shall have a name.
3. Every child has the right to
acquire a nationality.
Article 25
Every citizen shall have the right
and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions
mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable
restrictions:
(a) To take part in the conduct of
public affairs, directly or through freely chosen
representatives;
(b) To vote and to be elected at
genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal
and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot,
guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the
electors;
(c) To have access, on general
terms of equality, to public service in his country.
Article 26
All persons are equal before the
law and are entitled without any discrimination to the
equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law
shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all
persons equal and effective protection against
discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national
or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Article 27
In those States in which ethnic,
religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons
belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the
right, in community with the other members of their
group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and
practise their own religion, or to use their own
language.
PART IV
Article 28
1. There shall be established a
Human Rights Committee (hereafter referred to in the
present Covenant as the Committee). It shall consist of
eighteen members and shall carry out the functions
hereinafter provided.
2. The Committee shall be composed
of nationals of the States Parties to the present
Covenant who shall be persons of high moral character
and recognized competence in the field of human rights,
consideration being given to the usefulness of the
participation of some persons having legal experience.
3. The members of the Committee
shall be elected and shall serve in their personal
capacity.
Article 29
1. The members of the Committee
shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of persons
possessing the qualifications prescribed in article 28
and nominated for the purpose by the States Parties to
the present Covenant.
2. Each State Party to the present
Covenant may nominate not more than two persons. These
persons shall be nationals of the nominating State.
3. A person shall be eligible for
renomination.
Article 30
1. The initial election shall be
held no later than six months after the date of the
entry into force of the present Covenant.
2. At least four months before the
date of each election to the Committee, other than an
election to fill a vacancy declared in accordance with
article 34, the Secretary-General of the United Nations
shall address a written invitation to the States Parties
to the present Covenant to submit their nominations for
membership of the Committee within three months.
3. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall prepare a list in alphabetical
order of all the persons thus nominated, with an
indication of the States Parties which have nominated
them, and shall submit it to the States Parties to the
present Covenant no later than one month before the date
of each election.
4. Elections of the members of the
Committee shall be held at a meeting of the States
Parties to the present Covenant convened by the
Secretary General of the United Nations at the
Headquarters of the United Nations. At that meeting, for
which two thirds of the States Parties to the present
Covenant shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected
to the Committee shall be those nominees who obtain the
largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the
votes of the representatives of States Parties present
and voting.
Article 31
1. The Committee may not include
more than one national of the same State.
2. In the election of the
Committee, consideration shall be given to equitable
geographical distribution of membership and to the
representation of the different forms of civilization
and of the principal legal systems.
Article 32
1. The members of the Committee shall
be elected for a term of four years. They shall be
eligible for re-election if renominated. However, the
terms of nine of the members elected at the first
election shall expire at the end of two years;
immediately after the first election, the names of these
nine members shall be chosen by lot by the Chairman of
the meeting referred to in article 30, paragraph 4.
2. Elections at the expiry of
office shall be held in accordance with the preceding
articles of this part of the present Covenant.
Article 33
1. If, in the unanimous opinion of
the other members, a member of the Committee has ceased
to carry out his functions for any cause other than
absence of a temporary character, the Chairman of the
Committee shall notify the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, who shall then declare the seat of that
member to be vacant.
2. In the event of the death or
the resignation of a member of the Committee, the
Chairman shall immediately notify the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, who shall declare the seat vacant
from the date of death or the date on which the
resignation takes effect.
Article 34
1. When a vacancy is declared in
accordance with article 33 and if the term of office of
the member to be replaced does not expire within six
months of the declaration of the vacancy, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify
each of the States Parties to the present Covenant,
which may within two months submit nominations in
accordance with article 29 for the purpose of filling
the vacancy.
2. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall prepare a list in alphabetical
order of the persons thus nominated and shall submit it
to the States Parties to the present Covenant. The
election to fill the vacancy shall then take place in
accordance with the relevant provisions of this part of
the present Covenant.
3. A member of the Committee
elected to fill a vacancy declared in accordance with
article 33 shall hold office for the remainder of the
term of the member who vacated the seat on the Committee
under the provisions of that article.
Article 35
The members of the Committee
shall, with the approval of the General Assembly of the
United Nations, receive emoluments from United Nations
resources on such terms and conditions as the General
Assembly may decide, having regard to the importance of
the Committee's responsibilities.
Article 36
The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall provide the necessary staff and
facilities for the effective performance of the
functions of the Committee under the present Covenant.
Article 37
1. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall convene the initial meeting of the
Committee at the Headquarters of the United Nations.
2. After its initial meeting, the
Committee shall meet at such times as shall be provided
in its rules of procedure.
3. The Committee shall normally
meet at the Headquarters of the United Nations or at the
United Nations Office at Geneva.
Article 38
Every member of the Committee
shall, before taking up his duties, make a solemn
declaration in open committee that he will perform his
functions impartially and conscientiously.
Article 39
1. The Committee shall elect its
officers for a term of two years. They may be
re-elected.
2. The Committee shall establish
its own rules of procedure, but these rules shall
provide, inter alia, that:
(a) Twelve members shall
constitute a quorum;
(b) Decisions of the Committee
shall be made by a majority vote of the members present.
Article 40
1. The States Parties to the
present Covenant undertake to submit reports on the
measures they have adopted which give effect to the
rights recognized herein and on the progress made in the
enjoyment of those rights: (a) Within one year of the
entry into force of the present Covenant for the States
Parties concerned;
(b) Thereafter whenever the
Committee so requests.
2. All reports shall be submitted
to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who
shall transmit them to the Committee for consideration.
Reports shall indicate the factors and difficulties, if
any, affecting the implementation of the present
Covenant.
3. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations may, after consultation with the
Committee, transmit to the specialized agencies
concerned copies of such parts of the reports as may
fall within their field of competence.
4. The Committee shall study the
reports submitted by the States Parties to the present
Covenant. It shall transmit its reports, and such
general comments as it may consider appropriate, to the
States Parties. The Committee may also transmit to the
Economic and Social Council these comments along with
the copies of the reports it has received from States
Parties to the present Covenant.
5. The States Parties to the
present Covenant may submit to the Committee
observations on any comments that may be made in
accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.
Article 41
1. A State Party to the present
Covenant may at any time declare under this article that
it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive
and consider communications to the effect that a State
Party claims that another State Party is not fulfilling
its obligations under the present Covenant.
Communications under this article may be received and
considered only if submitted by a State Party which has
made a declaration recognizing in regard to itself the
competence of the Committee. No communication shall be
received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party
which has not made such a declaration. Communications
received under this article shall be dealt with in
accordance with the following procedure:
(a) If a State Party to the
present Covenant considers that another State Party is
not giving effect to the provisions of the present
Covenant, it may, by written communication, bring the
matter to the attention of that State Party. Within
three months after the receipt of the communication the
receiving State shall afford the State which sent the
communication an explanation, or any other statement in
writing clarifying the matter which should include, to
the extent possible and pertinent, reference to domestic
procedures and remedies taken, pending, or available in
the matter;
(b) If the matter is not adjusted
to the satisfaction of both States Parties concerned
within six months after the receipt by the receiving
State of the initial communication, either State shall
have the right to refer the matter to the Committee, by
notice given to the Committee and to the other State;
(c) The Committee shall deal with
a matter referred to it only after it has ascertained
that all available domestic remedies have been invoked
and exhausted in the matter, in conformity with the
generally recognized principles of international law.
This shall not be the rule where the application of the
remedies is unreasonably prolonged;
(d) The Committee shall hold
closed meetings when examining communications under this
article;
(e) Subject to the provisions of
subparagraph (c), the Committee shall make available its
good offices to the States Parties concerned with a view
to a friendly solution of the matter on the basis of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as
recognized in the present Covenant;
(f) In any matter referred to it,
the Committee may call upon the States Parties
concerned, referred to in subparagraph (b), to supply
any relevant information;
(g) The States Parties concerned,
referred to in subparagraph (b), shall have the right to
be represented when the matter is being considered in
the Committee and to make submissions orally and/or in
writing;
(h) The Committee shall, within
twelve months after the date of receipt of notice under
subparagraph (b), submit a report:
(i) If a solution within the terms
of subparagraph (e) is reached, the Committee shall
confine its report to a brief statement of the facts and
of the solution reached;
(ii) If a solution within the
terms of subparagraph (e) is not reached, the Committee
shall confine its report to a brief statement of the
facts; the written submissions and record of the oral
submissions made by the States Parties concerned shall
be attached to the report. In every matter, the report
shall be communicated to the States Parties concerned.
2. The provisions of this article
shall come into force when ten States Parties to the
present Covenant have made declarations under paragraph
I of this article. Such declarations shall be deposited
by the States Parties with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, who shall transmit copies thereof to the
other States Parties. A declaration may be withdrawn at
any time by notification to the Secretary-General. Such
a withdrawal shall not prejudice the consideration of
any matter which is the subject of a communication
already transmitted under this article; no further
communication by any State Party shall be received after
the notification of withdrawal of the declaration has
been received by the Secretary-General, unless the State
Party concerned has made a new declaration.
Article 42
1.
(a) If a matter referred to the
Committee in accordance with article 41 is not resolved
to the satisfaction of the States Parties concerned, the
Committee may, with the prior consent of the States
Parties concerned, appoint an ad hoc Conciliation
Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission).
The good offices of the Commission shall be made
available to the States Parties concerned with a view to
an amicable solution of the matter on the basis of
respect for the present Covenant;
(b) The Commission shall consist
of five persons acceptable to the States Parties
concerned. If the States Parties concerned fail to reach
agreement within three months on all or part of the
composition of the Commission, the members of the
Commission concerning whom no agreement has been reached
shall be elected by secret ballot by a two-thirds
majority vote of the Committee from among its members.
2. The members of the Commission
shall serve in their personal capacity. They shall not
be nationals of the States Parties concerned, or of a
State not Party to the present Covenant, or of a State
Party which has not made a declaration under article 41.
3. The Commission shall elect its
own Chairman and adopt its own rules of procedure.
4. The meetings of the Commission
shall normally be held at the Headquarters of the United
Nations or at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
However, they may be held at such other convenient
places as the Commission may determine in consultation
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the
States Parties concerned.
5. The secretariat provided in
accordance with article 36 shall also service the
commissions appointed under this article.
6. The information received and
collated by the Committee shall be made available to the
Commission and the Commission may call upon the States
Parties concerned to supply any other relevant
information.
7. When the Commission has fully
considered the matter, but in any event not later than
twelve months after having been seized of the matter, it
shall submit to the Chairman of the Committee a report
for communication to the States Parties concerned:
(a) If the Commission is unable to
complete its consideration of the matter within twelve
months, it shall confine its report to a brief statement
of the status of its consideration of the matter;
(b) If an amicable solution to the
matter on tie basis of respect for human rights as
recognized in the present Covenant is reached, the
Commission shall confine its report to a brief statement
of the facts and of the solution reached;
(c) If a solution within the terms
of subparagraph (b) is not reached, the Commission's
report shall embody its findings on all questions of
fact relevant to the issues between the States Parties
concerned, and its views on the possibilities of an
amicable solution of the matter. This report shall also
contain the written submissions and a record of the oral
submissions made by the States Parties concerned;
(d) If the Commission's report is
submitted under subparagraph (c), the States Parties
concerned shall, within three months of the receipt of
the report, notify the Chairman of the Committee whether
or not they accept the contents of the report of the
Commission.
8. The provisions of this article
are without prejudice to the responsibilities of the
Committee under article 41.
9. The States Parties concerned
shall share equally all the expenses of the members of
the Commission in accordance with estimates to be
provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
10. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall be empowered to pay the expenses of
the members of the Commission, if necessary, before
reimbursement by the States Parties concerned, in
accordance with paragraph 9 of this article.
Article 43
The members of the Committee, and
of the ad hoc conciliation commissions which may be
appointed under article 42, shall be entitled to the
facilities, privileges and immunities of experts on
mission for the United Nations as laid down in the
relevant sections of the Convention on the Privileges
and Immunities of the United Nations.
Article 44
The provisions for the
implementation of the present Covenant shall apply
without prejudice to the procedures prescribed in the
field of human rights by or under the constituent
instruments and the conventions of the United Nations
and of the specialized agencies and shall not prevent
the States Parties to the present Covenant from having
recourse to other procedures for settling a dispute in
accordance with general or special international
agreements in force between them.
Article 45
The Committee shall submit to the
General Assembly of the United Nations, through the
Economic and Social Council, an annual report on its
activities.
PART V
Article 46
Nothing in the present Covenant
shall be interpreted as impairing the provisions of the
Charter of the United Nations and of the constitutions
of the specialized agencies which define the respective
responsibilities of the various organs of the United
Nations and of the specialized agencies in regard to the
matters dealt with in the present Covenant.
Article 47
Nothing in the present Covenant
shall be interpreted as impairing the inherent right of
all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their
natural wealth and resources.
PART VI
Article 48
1. The present Covenant is open
for signature by any State Member of the United Nations
or member of any of its specialized agencies, by any
State Party to the Statute of the International Court of
Justice, and by any other State which has been invited
by the General Assembly of the United Nations to become
a Party to the present Covenant.
2. The present Covenant is subject
to ratification. Instruments of ratification shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
3. The present Covenant shall be
open to accession by any State referred to in paragraph
1 of this article.
4. Accession shall be effected by
the deposit of an instrument of accession with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall inform all States which have signed
this Covenant or acceded to it of the deposit of each
instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 49
1. The present Covenant shall
enter into force three months after the date of the
deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations
of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or
instrument of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the
present Covenant or acceding to it after the deposit of
the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or
instrument of accession, the present Covenant shall
enter into force three months after the date of the
deposit of its own instrument of ratification or
instrument of accession.
Article 50
The provisions of the present
Covenant shall extend to all parts of federal States
without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 51
1. Any State Party to the present
Covenant may propose an amendment and file it with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall thereupon
communicate any proposed amendments to the States
Parties to the present Covenant with a request that they
notify him whether they favour a conference of States
Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon
the proposals. In the event that at least one third of
the States Parties favours such a conference, the
Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the
auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by
a majority of the States Parties present and voting at
the conference shall be submitted to the General
Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into
force when they have been approved by the General
Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a
two-thirds majority of the States Parties to the present
Covenant in accordance with their respective
constitutional processes. 3. When amendments come into
force, they shall be binding on those States Parties
which have accepted them, other States Parties still
being bound by the provisions of the present Covenant
and any earlier amendment which they have accepted.
Article 52
1. Irrespective of the
notifications made under article 48, paragraph 5, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all
States referred to in paragraph I of the same article of
the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and
accessions under article 48;
(b) The date of the entry into
force of the present Covenant under article 49 and the
date of the entry into force of any amendments under
article 51.
Article 53
1. The present Covenant, of which
the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts
are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the
archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall transmit certified copies of the
present Covenant to all States referred to in article
48. |