International Covenants on Human Rights

A/RES/62/147View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 70a Implementation of human rights instruments, published in 2008.

What other versions does this mandate have?

26 versions · 1979–2016

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/70/144

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2016	A/RES/70/144	International Covenants on Human Rights	245	51%Compare
2014	A/RES/68/155	International Covenants on Human Rights	165	76%Compare
2012	A/RES/66/148	International Covenants on Human Rights	140	6%Compare
2010	A/RES/64/152	International Covenants on Human Rights	1,899	76%Compare
2008	A/RES/62/147	International Covenants on Human Rights	2,000	75%Compare

What’s in this document?

25 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the importance of the International Covenants on Human RightsError: Reference source not found as major components of international efforts to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Strongly appeals to all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural RightsError: Reference source not found and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,Error: Reference source not found and to consider as a matter of priority acceding to the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsError: Reference source not found and making the declaration provided for in article 41 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and, while acknowledging that additional States have recently become parties to these instruments, requests the Secretary-General to continue to support the annual treaty event to this end;

Invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to intensify systematic efforts to encourage States to become parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights and, through the programme of advisory services in the field of human rights, to assist such States, at their request, in ratifying or acceding to the Covenants and to the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with a view to achieving universal adherence;

Calls for the strictest compliance by States parties with their obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and, where applicable, the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Emphasizes that States must ensure that any measure to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under relevant international law, including their obligations under the International Covenants on Human Rights, and takes note with appreciation of the reports submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism;⁶

⁶See A/60/370, A/61/267 and A/62/263; A/HRC/4/26 and Add.1–3; and E/CN.4/2006/98 and Add.1 and 2.

Stresses the importance of avoiding the erosion of human rights by derogation, and recalls that certain rights are recognized as non-derogable in any circumstances, underlines the exceptional and temporary nature of any such derogations, and that they must be in accordance with the conditions and procedures stipulated under article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, bearing in mind the need for States parties to provide the fullest possible information during states of emergency so that the justification for the appropriateness of measures taken in those circumstances can be assessed, and in this regard takes note of General Comment No. 29 adopted by the Human Rights Committee;⁷

⁷Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/56/40), vol. I, annex VI.

Encourages States parties to consider limiting the extent of any reservations that they lodge to the International Covenants on Human Rights and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to formulate any reservations as precisely and narrowly as possible and to regularly review such reservations with a view to withdrawing them so as to ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the relevant treaty;

Welcomes the annual reports of the Human Rights Committee submitted to the General Assembly at its sixty-first⁸ and sixty-second⁹ sessions, and takes note of the General Comments adopted by the Committee, including the most recent, General Comment No. 32 on the right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial;¹⁰

⁸Ibid., Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 40 and corrigendum (A/61/40 (Vols. I and II) and A/61/40 (Vol. I)/Corr.1).

⁹Ibid., Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/62/40).

¹⁰Ibid., vol. I, annex VI.

Also welcomes the reports of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth sessions¹¹ and on its thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh sessions,¹² and takes note of the General Comments adopted by the Committee, including the most recent, General Comment No. 17 on the right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author,¹³ and General Comment No. 18 on the right to work;¹⁴

¹¹Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2006, Supplement No. 2 (E/2006/22).

¹²Ibid., 2007, Supplement No. 2 (E/2007/22).

¹³Ibid., 2006, Supplement No. 2 (E/2006/22), annex IX.

¹⁴Ibid., annex X.

Expresses regret at the number of States parties that have failed to fulfil their reporting obligations under the International Covenants on Human Rights, urges States parties to fulfil their reporting obligations on time, invites them to make use of the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, including guidelines on a common core document and treaty-specific documents,¹⁵ when submitting reports, and urges States to attend and participate in the consideration of the reports by the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights when so requested;

¹⁵HRI/GEN/2/Rev.4, chap. I.

Urges States parties to make use in their reports of sex-disaggregated data, and stresses the importance of integrating a gender perspective in the implementation of the International Covenants on Human Rights at the national level, including in the national reports of States parties and in the work of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Strongly encourages States parties that have not yet submitted core documents to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to do so, invites them to make use of the harmonized guidelines on reporting, and also invites all States parties regularly to review and update their core documents while bearing in mind the current discussion on the elaboration of an expanded core document;

Urges States parties to take duly into account, in implementing the provisions of the International Covenants on Human Rights, the recommendations and observations made during the consideration of their reports by the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the views adopted by the Human Rights Committee under the first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;Error: Reference source not found

Urges all States to publish the texts of the International Covenants on Human Rights and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in as many local languages as possible and to distribute them and make them known as widely as possible to all individuals within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction;

Urges each State party to give particular attention to the dissemination at the national level of their reports submitted to the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and, further, to translate, publish and make available as widely as possible to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction by appropriate means the full text of the recommendations and observations made by the Committees after the examination of those reports;

Reiterates that States parties should take into account, in their nomination of members to the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, that the Committees shall be composed of 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, and to equal representation of women and men, and that members serve in their personal capacity, and also reiterates that, in the elections of the Committees, 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;

Invites the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, when considering the reports of States parties, to continue to identify specific needs that might be addressed by United Nations departments, funds and programmes and the specialized agencies, including through the programme of advisory services and technical cooperation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

Stresses the need for improved coordination among relevant United Nations mechanisms and bodies in supporting States parties, upon their request, in implementing the International Covenants on Human Rights and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and encourages continued efforts in this direction;

Expresses its appreciation for the efforts made so far by the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to improve the efficiency of their working methods, encourages the Committees to pursue their efforts, welcomes in this regard the meetings held by the Committees and States parties to exchange ideas on how to render the working methods of the Committees more efficient, and encourages all States parties to continue to contribute to the dialogue with practical and concrete proposals and ideas on ways to improve the effective functioning of the Committees;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Working Group on the Harmonization of Working Methods of Treaty Bodies,¹⁶ and looks forward to further deliberations in this regard;

¹⁶HRI/MC/2007/2 and Add.1.

Also takes note with appreciation of the report of the Open-ended Working Group on an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its fourth session,¹⁷ and encourages all parties to participate actively in the fifth session;

¹⁷A/HRC/6/8.

Encourages the specialized agencies that have not yet done so to submit their reports on the progress made in achieving the observance of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in accordance with article 18 of the Covenant, and expresses its appreciation to those that have done so;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to assist States parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights in the timely preparation of their reports, including by convening seminars or workshops at the national level for the training of government officials engaged in the preparation of such reports and by exploring other possibilities at the request of States, such as the programme of advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights effectively assists the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the implementation of their respective mandates by providing, inter alia, adequate Secretariat staff resources and conference and other relevant support services;

Also requests the Secretary-General to keep the General Assembly informed of the status of the International Covenants on Human Rights and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including all reservations and declarations, through the United Nations websites.

International Covenants on Human Rights

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