International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

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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

status of ratifications

declarations and reservations

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 General comment on its implementation

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 General comment on its implementation

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,

color, 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;

Article 3 General comment on its implementation

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. General comment on its implementation

Article 4 General comment on its implementation

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, color, 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. General comment on its

implementation

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 General comment on its implementation

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 judgment 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 General comment on its implementation

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.

(a) No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labor;

(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to preclude, in countries where imprisonment with hard labor may be

imposed as a punishment for a crime, the performance of hard labor in pursuance of a sentence to such

punishment by a competent court;

(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 General comment on its implementation

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 judgment.

4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order

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 General comment on its implementation

1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human

person.

(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 fulfill a contractual obligation.

Article 12 General comment on its implementation

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 (order 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.

2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to

law.

Article 14 General comment on its implementation

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 (order 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 judgment 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 defense and to communicate with counsel

of his own choosing;

(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 General comment on its implementation

1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to

unlawful attacks on his honor and reputation.

2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 18 General comment on its implementation

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 General comment on its implementation

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 (order public), or of public health or morals.

Article 20 General comment on its implementation

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 (order 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 (order 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 Labor Organization 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 General comment on its implementation

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 General comment on its implementation

1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, color, 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 General comment on its implementation

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;

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, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social

origin, property, birth or other status.

Article 27 General comment on its implementation

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 practice

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