International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

June 23, 2009

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

[source: wikipedia]

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a United Nations treaty based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created in 1966 and entered into force on 23 March 1976.

GENESIS

The ICESCR and the ICCPR have their roots in the same process that led to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As the UDHR was not expected to impose binding obligations, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights began drafting a pair of binding Covenants on human rights intended to impose concrete obligations on their parties. Due to disagreements between member states on the relative importance of negative Civil and Political versus positive Economic, Social and Cultural rights, two separate Covenants were created. These were presented to the UN General Assembly in 1954, and adopted in 1976.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has been signed by 174 states, 8 of which have yet to ratify the treaty. A country-by-country list of declarations and reservations made upon ratification, accession or succession can be seen at this link click HERE.

CONVENTION PROVISIONS

Five categories

Protection on individual's physical integrity (against things such as execution, torture, and arbitrary arrest).
Procedural fairness in law (rule of law, rights upon arrest, trial, basic conditions must be met when imprisoned, rights to a lawyer, impartial process in trial).
Protection based on gender, religious, racial or other forms of discrimination.
Individual freedom of belief, speech, association, freedom of press, right to hold assembly.
Right to political participation (organise a political party, vote, voice contempt for current political authority).

Two optional protocols

Mechanism by which individuals can launch complaints against member states.
Abolition of the death penalty.

States not members of the Covenant

The majority of states in the world are parties to the ICCPR. As of April 2009 the following 30 states have either not yet signed the convention, or have signed but have not yet ratified the convention.

Signed but not ratified