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Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in theCharter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and ofthe equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is thefoundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the humanperson,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of HumanRights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedomand freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions arecreated whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as wellas his economic, social and cultural rights,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the UnitedNations to promote universal respect for and observance of, human rightsand freedoms,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and tothe community to which he belongs, is under a responsibility to strive forthe promotion and observance of the rights recognized in the presentCovenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their naturalwealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out ofinternational economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutualbenefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of itits own means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those havingresponsibility for the administration of Non-Self-Governing and TrustTerritories, shall promote the realization of the right ofself-determination, and shall respect that right, in conformity with theprovisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or othermeasures, each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take thenecessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional processes and withthe provisions of the present Covenant, to adopt such legislative or othermeasures as may be necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in thepresent Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:
(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.
2. No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs 1 and 2), 11 ,15, 16 and18 may be made under this provision.
3. Any State Party to the present Covenant availing itself of the right ofderogation shall immediately inform the other States Parties to the presentCovenant, through the intermediary of the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations, of the provisions from which it has derogated and of the reasonsby which it was actuated. A further communication shall be made, throughthe same intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such derogation.
2. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of thefundamental human rights recognized or existing in any State Party to thepresent Covenant pursuant to law, conventions, regulations or custom on thepretext that the present Covenant does not recognize such rights or that itrecognizes them to a lesser extent.
2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence ofdeath may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance withthe law in force at the time of the commission of the crime and notcontrary to the provisions of the present Covenant and to the Convention onthe Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty canonly be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competentcourt.
3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide, it isunderstood that nothing in this article shall authorize any State Party tothe present Covenant to derogate in any way from any obligation assumedunder the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment ofthe Crime of Genocide.
4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon orcommutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentenceof death may be granted in all cases.
5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by personsbelow 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 theabolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant.
2. No one shall be held in servitude.
3.
(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:
(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.
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of thereasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any chargesagainst him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be broughtpromptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercisejudicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time orto release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trialshall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees toappear 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 beentitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that that court maydecide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order hisrelease if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shallhave an enforceable right to compensation.
2.
(b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults and brought as speedily as possible for adjudication.
2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.
3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictionsexcept those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect nationalsecurity, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or therights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rightsrecognized in the present Covenant.
4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his owncountry.
2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to bepresumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shallbe entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(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.
5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction andsentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.
6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminaloffence and when subsequently his conviction has been reversed or he hasbeen pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact showsconclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person whohas suffered punishment as a result of such conviction shall be compensatedaccording to law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of theunknown 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 forwhich he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance withthe law and penal procedure of each country.
2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and punishment of anyperson for any act or omission which, at the time when it was committed.was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by thecommunity of nations.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against suchinterference or attacks.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom tohave or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only tosuch limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protectpublic safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights andfreedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect forthe liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure thereligious and moral education of their children in conformity with theirown convictions.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shallinclude freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of allkinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, inthe form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this articlecarries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore besubject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as areprovided by law and are necessary:
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.
2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutesincitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited bylaw.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other thanthose which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democraticsociety in the interests of national security or public safety, publicorder (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or theprotection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall notprevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armedforces and of the police in their exercise of this right.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to theInternational Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom ofAssociation and Protection of the Right to Organize to take legislativemeasures which would prejudice, or to apply the law in such a manner as toprejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention.
2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found afamily shall be recognized.
3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent ofthe intending spouses.
4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take appropriate steps toensure 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.
2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have aname.
3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
(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.
2. The Committee shall be composed of nationals of the States Parties tothe present Covenant who shall be persons of high moral character andrecognized competence in the field of human rights, consideration beinggiven to the usefulness of the participation of some persons having legalexperience.
3. The members of the Committee shall be elected and shall serve in theirpersonal capacity.
2. Each State Party to the present Covenant may nominate not more than twopersons. These persons shall be nationals of the nominating State.
3. A person shall be eligible for renomination.
2. At least four months before the date of each election to the Committeeother than an election to fill a vacancy declared in accordance witharticle 34, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address awritten invitation to the States Parties to the present Covenant to submittheir nominations for membership of the Committee within three months.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall prepare a list inalphabetical order of all the persons thus nominated, with an indication ofthe States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to theStates Parties to the present Covenant no later than one month before thedate of each election.
4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be held at a meeting ofthe States Parties to the present Covenant convened by theSecretary-General of the United Nations at the Headquarters of the UnitedNations. At that meeting, for which two thirds of the States Parties to thepresent Covenant shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to theCommittee shall be those nominees who obtain the largest number of votesand an absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of StatesParties present and voting.
2. In the election of the Committee, consideration shall be given toequitable geographical distribution of membership and to the representationof the different forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems.
2. Elections at the expiry of office shall be held in accordance with thepreceding articles of this part of the present Covenant.
2. In the event of the death or the resignation of a member of theCommittee, the Chairman shall immediately notify the Secretary-General ofthe United Nations, who shall declare the seat vacant from the date ofdeath or the date on which the resignation takes effect.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall prepare a list inalphabetical order of the persons thus nominated and shall submit it to theStates Parties to the present Covenant. The election to fill the vacancyshall then take place in accordance with the relevant provisions of thispart of the present Covenant.
3. A member of the Committee elected to fill a vacancy declared inaccordance with Article 33 shall hold office for the remainder of the termof the member who vacated the seat on the Committee under the provisions ofthat article.
2. After its initial meeting, the Committee shall meet at such times asshall be provided in its rules of procedure.
3. The Committee shall normally meet at the Headquarters of the UnitedNations or at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
2. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure, but theserules shall provide, inter alia, that:
(b) Decisions of the Committee shall be made by a majority vote of the members present.
(b) Thereafter whenever the Committee so requests.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations may, after consultation withthe Committee, transmit to the specialized agencies concerned copies ofsuch parts of the reports as may fall within their field of competence.
4. The Committee shall study the reports submitted by the States Parties tothe present Covenant. It shall transmit its reports, and such generalcomments as it may consider appropriate, to the States Parties. TheCommittee may also transmit to the Economic and Social Council thesecomments along with the copies of the reports it has received from StatesParties to the present Covenant.
5. The States Parties to the present Covenant may submit to the Committeeobservations on any comments that may be made in accordance with paragraph4 of this article.
(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 sub-paragraph (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 sub-paragraph (b), to supply any relevant information.
(g) The States Parties concerned, referred to in sub-paragraph (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 sub-paragraph (b), submit a report:
(ii) If a solution within the terms of sub-paragraph (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.
2. The provisions of this article shall come into force when ten StatesParties to the present Covenant have made declarations under paragraph 1 ofthis article. Such declarations shall be deposited by the States Partieswith the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit copiesthereof to the other States Parties. A declaration may be withdrawn at anytime by notification to the Secretary-General. Such a withdrawal shall notprejudice the consideration of any matter which is the subject of acommunication already transmitted under this article; no furthercommunication by any State Party shall be received after the notificationof withdrawal of the declaration has been received by theSecretary-General, unless the State Party concerned had made a newdeclaration.
(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.
3. The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its own rules ofprocedure.
4. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at theHeadquarters of the United Nations or at the United Nations Office atGeneva. However, they may be held at such other convenient places as theCommission may determine in consultation with the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations and the States Parties concerned.
5. The secretariat provided in accordance with article 36 shall alsoservice the commissions appointed under this article.
6. The information received and collated by the Committee shall be madeavailable to the Commission and the Commission may call upon the StatesParties concerned to supply any other relevant information.
7. When the Commission has fully considered the matter, but in any eventnot later than twelve months after having been seized of the matter, itshall submit to the Chairman of the Committee a report for communication tothe States Parties concerned:
(b) If an amicable solution to the matter on the 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 sub-paragraph (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 sub-paragraph (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.
9. The States Parties concerned shall share equally all the expenses of themembers of the Commission in accordance with estimates to be provided bythe Secretary-General of the United Nations .
10. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be empowered to paythe expenses of the members of the Commission, if necessary, beforereimbursement by the States Parties concerned, in accordance with paragraph9 of this article.
2. The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments ofratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations.
3. The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any State referred toin paragraph 1 of this article.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accessionwith the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all Stateswhich have signed this Covenant or acceded to it of the deposit of eachinstrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to it afterthe deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument ofaccession, the present Covenant shall enter into force three months afterthe date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or instrumentof accession.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirdsmajority of the States Parties to the present Covenant in accordance withtheir respective constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into force, they shall be binding on those StatesParties which have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound bythe provisions of the present Covenant and any earlier amendment which theyhave accepted.
(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.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certifiedcopies of the present Covenant to all States referred to in article 48.
IN FAITH WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by theirrespective Governments, have signed the present Covenant, opened forsignature at New York, on the nineteenth day of December, one thousand ninehundred and sixty-six.
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