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The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its twoOptional Protocols.
Human rights had already found expression in the Covenant of the League ofNations, which led, inter alia, to the creation of the International LabourOrganisation. At the 1945 San Francisco Conference, held to draft the Charter ofthe United Nations, a proposal to embody a "Declaration on the Essential Rightsof Man" was put forward but was not examined because it required more detailedconsideration than was possible at the time. The Charter clearly speaks of"promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedomsfor all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion" (Art. 1,para. 3). The idea of promulgating an "international bill of rights" was alsoconsidered by many as basically implicit in the Charter.
The Preparatory Commission of the United Nations, which met immediately afterthe closing session of the San Francisco Conference, recommended that theEconomic and Social Council should, at its first session, establish a commissionfor the promotion of human rights as envisaged in Article 68 of the Charter.Accordingly, the Council established the Commission on Human Rights early in1946.
At its first session, in 1946, the General Assembly considered a draftDeclaration on Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms and transmitted it to theEconomic and Social Council "for reference to the Commission on Human Rights forconsideration . . . in its preparation of an international bill of rights"(resolution 43 (I)). The Commission, at its first session early in 1947,authorized its officers to formulate what it termed "a preliminary draftInternational Bill of Human Rights". Later the work was taken over by a formaldrafting committee, consisting of members of the Commission from eight States,selected with due regard for geographical distribution.
Towards the Universal Declaration
In the beginning, different views were expressed about the form the bill ofrights should take. The Drafting Committee decided to prepare two documents: onein the form of a declaration, which would set forth general principles orstandards of human rights; the other in the form of a convention, which woulddefine specific rights and their limitations. Accordingly, the Committeetransmitted to the Commission on Human Rights draft articles of an internationaldeclaration and an international convention on human rights. At its secondsession, in December 1947, the Commission decided to apply the term"International Bill of Human Rights" to the series of documents in preparationand established three working groups: one on the declaration, one on theconvention (which it renamed "covenant") and one on implementation. TheCommission revised the draft declaration at its third session, in May/June 1948,taking into consideration comments received from Governments. It did not havetime, however, to consider the covenant or the question of implementation. Thedeclaration was therefore submitted through the Economic and Social Council tothe General Assembly, meeting in Paris.
By its resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948, the General Assemblyadopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the first of theseprojected instruments.
Towards the International Covenants
On the same day that it adopted the Universal Declaration, the GeneralAssembly requested the Commission on Human Rights to prepare, as a matter ofpriority, a draft covenant on human rights and draft measures of implementation.The Commission examined the text of the draft covenant in 1949 and the followingyear it revised the first 18 articles, on the basis of comments received fromGovernments. In 1950, the General Assembly declared that "the enjoyment of civicand political freedoms and of economic, social and cultural rights areinterconnected and interdependent" (resolution 421 (V), sect. E). The Assemblythus decided to include in the covenant on human rights economic, social andcultural rights and an explicit recognition of the equality of men and women inrelated rights, as set forth in the Charter. In 1951, the Commission drafted 14articles on economic, social and cultural rights on the basis of proposals madeby Governments and suggestions by specialized agencies. It also formulated 10articles on measures for implementation of those rights under which Statesparties to the covenant would submit periodic reports. After a long debate atits sixth session, in 1951/1952, the General Assembly requested the Commission"to draft two Covenants on Human Rights, . . . one to contain civil andpolitical rights and the other to contain economic, social and cultural rights"(resolution 543 (VI), para. 1). The Assembly specified that the two covenantsshould contain as many similar provisions as possible. It also decided toinclude an article providing that "all peoples shall have the right ofself-determination" (resolution 545 (VI)).
The Commission completed preparation of the two drafts at its ninth and tenthsessions, in 1953 and 1954. The General Assembly reviewed those texts at itsninth session, in 1954, and decided to give the drafts the widest possiblepublicity in order that Governments might study them thoroughly and that publicopinion might express itself freely. It recommended that its Third Committeestart an article-by-article discussion of the texts at its tenth session, in1955. Although the article-by-article discussion began as scheduled, it was notuntil 1966 that the preparation of the two covenants was completed.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were adopted by the GeneralAssembly by its resolution 2200 A (XXI) of 16 December 1966. The first OptionalProtocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted bythe same resolution, provided international machinery for dealing withcommunications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any ofthe rights set forth in the Covenant.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted and proclaimed by theGeneral Assembly
as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, tothe end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping thisDeclaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education topromote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures,national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognitionand observance, both among, the peoples of Member States themselves and amongthe peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Forty-eight States voted in favour of the Declaration, none against, witheight abstentions. In a statement following the voting, the President of theGeneral Assembly pointed out that adoption of the Declaration was "a remarkableachievement, a step forward in the great evolutionary process. It was the firstoccasion on which the organized community of nations had made a Declaration ofhuman rights and fundamental freedoms. The instrument was backed by theauthority of the body of opinion of the United Nations as a whole, and millionsof people -men, women and children all over the world- would turn to it forhelp, guidance and inspiration.
The Declaration consists of a preamble and 30 articles, setting forth thehuman rights and fundamental freedoms to which all men and women, everywhere inthe world, are entitled, without any discrimination.
Article 1, which lays down the philosophy on which the Declaration is based,reads:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They areendowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in aspirit of brotherhood.
The article thus defines the basic assumptions of the Declaration: that theright to liberty and equality is man's birthright and cannot be alienated: andthat, because man is a rational and moral being, he is different from othercreatures on earth and therefore entitled to certain rights and freedoms whichother creatures do not enjoy.
Article 2, which sets out the basic principle of equality and nondiscrimination as regards the enjoyment of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms, forbids "distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birthor other status".
Article 3, the first cornerstone of the Declaration, proclaims the right tolife, liberty and security of person -a right essential to the enjoyment of allother rights. This article introduces articles 4 to 21, in which other civil andpolitical rights are set out, including: freedom from slavery and servitude;freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law; the right to aneffective judicial remedy; freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile;the right to a fair trial and public hearing by an independent and impartialtribunal; the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty; freedom fromarbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence; freedom ofmovement and residence; the right of asylum; the right to a nationality; theright to marry and to found a family; the right to own property; freedom ofthought, conscience and religion; freedom of opinion and expression; the rightto peaceful assembly and association; and the right to take part in thegovernment of one's country and to equal access to public service in one'scountry.
Article 22, the second cornerstone of the Declaration, introduces articles 23to 27, in which economic, social and cultural rights -the rights to whicheveryone is entitled "as a member of society" -are set out. The articlecharacterizes these rights as indispensable for human dignity and the freedevelopment of personality, and indicates that they are to be realized "throughnational effort and international cooperation". At the same time, it points outthe limitations of realization, the extent of which depends on the resources ofeach State.
The economic, social and cultural rights recognized in articles 22 to 27include the right to social security; the right to work; the right to equal payfor equal work; the right to rest and leisure; the right to a standard of livingadequate for health and well-being; the right to education; and the right toparticipate in the cultural life of the community.
The concluding articles, articles 28 to 30, recognize that everyone isentitled to a social and international order in which the human rights andfundamental freedoms set forth in the Declaration may be fully realized, andstress the duties and responsibilities which each individual owes to hiscommunity. Article 29 states that "in the exercise of his rights and freedoms,everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by lawsolely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rightsand freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, publicorder and the general welfare in a democratic society". It adds that in no casemay human rights and fundamental freedoms be exercised contrary to the purposesand principles of the United Nations. Article 30 emphasizes that no State, groupor person may claim any right, under the Declaration, "to engage in any activityor to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedomsset forth" in the Declaration.
Importance and influence of the Declaration
Conceived as "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and allnations", the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has become just that: ayardstick by which to measure the degree of respect for, and compliance with,international human rights standards.
Since 1948 it has been and rightly continues to be the most important andfar-reaching of all United Nations declarations, and a fundamental source ofinspiration for national and international efforts to promote and protect humanrights and fundamental freedoms. It has set the direction for all subsequentwork in the field of human rights and has provided the basic philosophy for manylegally binding international instruments designed to protect the rights andfreedoms which it proclaims.
In the Proclamation of Teheran, adopted by the International Conference onHuman Rights held in Iran in 1968, the Conference agreed that "the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights states a common understanding of the peoples of theworld concerning the inalienable and inviolable rights of all members of thehuman family and constitutes an obligation for the members of the internationalcommunity". The Conference affirmed its faith in the principles set forth in theDeclaration, and urged all peoples and Governments "to dedicate themselves to[those] principles . . . and to redouble their efforts to provide for all humanbeings a life consonant with freedom and dignity and conducive to physical,mental, social and spiritual welfare".
In recent years, there has been a growing tendency for United Nations organs,in preparing international instruments in the filed of human rights, to refernot only to the Universal Declaration, but also to other parts of theInternational Bill of Human Rights.
The preambles and articles 1, 3 and 5 of the two International Covenants arealmost identical. The preambles recall the obligation of States under theCharter of the United Nations to promote human rights; remind the individual ofhis responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of those rights;and recognize that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of HumanRights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom andfreedom from fear and want can be achieved only if conditions are createdwhereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as hiseconomic, social and cultural rights.
Article 1of each Covenant states that the right to self-determination isuniversal and calls upon States to promote the realization of that right and torespect it.
The article provides that "All peoples have the right of self-determination"and adds that "By virtue of that right they freely determine their politicalstatus and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development".Article 3, in both cases, reaffirms the equal right of men and women to theenjoyment of all human rights, and enjoins States to make that principle areality. Article 5, in both cases, provides safeguards against the destructionor undue limitation of any human right or fundamental freedom, and againstmisinterpretation of any provision of the Covenants as a means of justifyinginfringement of a right or freedom or its restriction to a greater extent thanprovided for in the Covenants. It also prevents States from limiting rightsalready enjoyed within their territories on the ground that such rights are notrecognized, or recognized to a lesser extent, in the Covenants.
Articles 6 to 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights recognize the rights to work (art. 6); to the enjoyment of justand favourable conditions of work (art. 7); to form and join trade unions (art.8); to social security, including social insurance (art. 9); to the widestpossible protection and assistance for the family, especially mothers, childrenand young persons (art. 10); to an adequate standard of living (art. I 1); tothe enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health(art. 12); to education (arts. 13 and 14); and to take part in cultural life(art. 15).
In its articles 6 to 27, the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights protects the right to life (art. 6) and lays down that no one is to besubjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment(art. 7); that no one is to be held in slavery; that slavery and the slave-tradeare to be prohibited; and that no one is to be held in servitude or required toperform forced or compulsory labour (art. 8); that no one is to be subjected toarbitrary arrest or detention (art. 9); that all persons deprived of theirliberty are to be treated with humanity (art. 10); and that no one is to beimprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation(art. 11).
The Covenant provides for freedom of movement and freedom to choose aresidence (art. 12) and for limitations to be placed on the expulsion of alienslawfully in the territory of a State party (art. 13). It makes provision for theequality of all persons before the courts and tribunals and for guarantees incriminal and civil proceedings (art. 14). It prohibits retroactive criminallegislation (art. 15); lays down the right of everyone to recognition everywhereas a person before the law (art. 16); and calls for the prohibition of arbitraryor unlawful interference with an individual's privacy, family, home orcorrespondence, and of unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation (art. 17).
The Covenant provides for protection of the rights to freedom of thought,conscience and religion (art. 18) and to freedom of opinion and expression (art.19). It calls for the prohibition by law of any propaganda for war and of anyadvocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement todiscrimination, hostility or violence (art. 20). It recognizes the right ofpeaceful assembly (art. 21) and the right to freedom of association (art. 22).It also recognizes the right of men and women of marriageable age to marry andto found a family, and the principle of equality of rights and responsibilitiesof spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution (art. 23). Itlays down measures to protect the rights of children (art. 24), and recognizesthe right of every citizen to take part in the conduct of public affairs, tovote and to be elected, and to have access, on general terms of equality, topublic service in his country (art. 25). It provides that all persons are equalbefore the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law (art. 26). Italso calls for protection of the rights of ethnic, religious and linguisticminorities in the territories of States parties (art. 27).
Finally, article 28 provides for the establishment of a Human RightsCommittee responsible for supervising implementation of the rights set out inthe Covenant.
Conditions
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that the exercise of aperson's rights and freedoms may be subject to certain limitations, which mustbe determined by law, solely for the purpose of securing due recognition of therights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality,public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. Rights may not beexercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, or ifthey are aimed at destroying any of the rights set forth in the Declaration(arts. 29 and 30).
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights statesthat the rights provided for therein may be limited by law, but only in so faras it is compatible with the nature of the rights and solely to promote thegeneral welfare in a democratic society (art. 4).
Unlike the Universal Declaration and the Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightscontains no general provision applicable to all the rights provided for in theCovenant authorizing restrictions on their exercise. However, several articlesin the Covenant provide that the rights being dealt with shall not be subject toany restrictions except those which are prescribed by law and are necessary toprotect national security, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others.
Certain rights, therefore, may never be suspended or limited, even inemergency situations. These are the rights to life, to freedom from torture, tofreedom from enslavement or servitude, to protection from imprisonment for debt,to freedom from retroactive penal laws, to recognition as a person before thelaw, and to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allows a State to limit or suspendthe enjoyment of certain rights in cases of officially proclaimed publicemergencies which threaten the life of the nation. Such limitations orsuspensions are permitted only "to the extent strictly required by theexigencies of the situation" and may never involve discrimination solely on theground of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin (art. 4). Thelimitations or suspensions must also be reported to the United Nations.
First Optional Protocol
The first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights enables the Human Rights Committee, set up under that Covenant,to receive and consider communications from individuals claiming to be victimsof violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant.
Under article I of the Optional Protocol, a State party to the Covenant thatbecomes a party to the Protocol recognizes the competence of the Human RightsCommittee to receive and consider communications from individuals subject to itsjurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation by that State of any of therights set forth in the Covenant. Individuals who make such a claim, and whohave exhausted all available domestic remedies, are entitled to submit a writtencommunication to the Committee (art. 2).
Such communications as are determined to be admissible by the Committee (inaddition to article 2, articles 3 and 5 (2) lay down conditions foradmissibility) are brought to the attention of the State party alleged to beviolating a provision of the Covenant. Within six months, that State must submitto the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter andindicating the remedy, if any, that it may have applied (art. 4).
The Human Rights Committee considers the admissible communications, at closedmeetings, in the light of all written information made available to it by theindividual and the State party concerned. It then forwards its views to theState party and to the individual (art. 5).
A summary of the Committee's activities under the Optional Protocol isincluded in the report which it submits annually to the General Assembly throughthe Economic and Social Council (art. 6).
Second Optional Protocol
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, was adopted bythe General Assembly by its resolution 44/128 of 15 December 1989. Under itsarticle 1, no one within the jurisdiction of a State party to the Protocol maybe executed.
Under article 3 of the Protocol, States parties must include in the reportswhich they submit to the Human Rights Committee information on measures taken togive effect to the Protocol.
Article 5 of the Second Optional Protocol provides that, with respect to anyState party to the first Optional Protocol, the competence of the Human RightsCommittee to receive and consider communications from individuals subject tothat State's jurisdiction shall extend to the provisions of the Second OptionalProtocol, unless the State party concerned has made a statement to the contraryat the moment of ratification or accession.
Under article 6, the provisions of the Second Optional Protocol apply asadditional provisions to the Covenant.
Entry into force of the Covenants and the Optional Protocols
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enteredinto force on 3 January 1976, three months after the date of deposit with theSecretary-General of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or accession,as provided in article 27. As at 30 September 1995, the Covenant had beenratified or acceded to by 132 States:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde,Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côted'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador,Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia,Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel,Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho,Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta,Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands,New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania,Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino,Senegal, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan,Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, The former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, UnitedKingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay,Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights entered into forceon 23 March 1976, three months after the date of deposit with theSecretary-General of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or accession,as provided in article 49. As at 30 September 1995, the Covenant had beenratified or acceded to by 132 States:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia andHerzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde,Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côted'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador,Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia,Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India,Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico,Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand,Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland,Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation,Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles,Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden,Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, UnitedRepublic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela,Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
As at the same date, 44 States parties to the International Covenant on Civiland Political Rights had made the declaration under its article 41, recognizingthe competence of the Human Rights Committee "to receive and considercommunications to the effect that a State Party claims that another State Partyis not fulfilling its obligations" under the Covenant. The provisions of article41 entered into force on 28 March 1979 in accordance with paragraph 2 of thatarticle.
The first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights entered into force simultaneously with the Covenant, havingreceived the minimum 10 ratifications or accessions required. As at 30 September1995, 85 States parties to the Covenant had also become parties to the firstOptional Protocol:
Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus,Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada,Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cyprus,Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, EquatorialGuinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Guinea, Guyana,Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Libyan ArabJamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Mongolia,Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Panama,Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania,Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal,Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, The formerYugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Uruguay,Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Zaire and Zambia.
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, entered intoforce on 11 July 1991, having received the minimum 10 ratifications oraccessions required. As at 30 September 1995, the Protocol had been ratified oracceded to by 28 States:
Australia, Austria, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland,Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, NewZealand, Norway, Panama, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay and Venezuela.
From 1948, when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted andproclaimed, until 1976, when the International Covenants on Human Rights enteredinto force, the Declaration was the only completed portion of the InternationalBill of Human Rights. The Declaration, and at a later stage the Covenants,exercised a profound influence on the thoughts and actions of individuals andtheir Governments in all parts of the world.
The International Conference on Human Rights, which met at Teheran from 22April to 13 May 1968 to review the progress made in the 20 years since theadoption of the Universal Declaration and to formulate a programme for thefuture, solemnly declared in the Proclamation of Teheran:
1 . It is imperative that the members of the international communityfulfil their solemn obligations to promote and encourage respect for humanrights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinctions of any kind such asrace, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions;
2. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states a commonunderstanding, of the peoples of the world concerning the inalienable andinviolable rights of all members of the human family and constitutes anobligation for the members of the international community;
3. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Declarationon the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, theInternational Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of RacialDiscrimination as well as other conventions and declarations in the field ofhuman rights adopted under the auspices of the United Nations, the specializedagencies and the regional intergovernmental organizations, have created newstandards and obligations to which States should conform;
...
Thus, for more than 25 years, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights stoodalone as an international "standard of achievement for all peoples and allnations". It became known and was accepted as authoritative both in States whichbecame parties to one or both of the Covenants and in those which did not ratifyor accede to either. Its provisions were cited as the basis and justificationfor many important decisions taken by United Nations bodies; they inspired thepreparation of a number of international human rights instruments, both withinand outside the United Nations system; they exercised a significant influence ona number of multilateral and bilateral treaties; and they had a strong impact asthe basis for the preparation of many new national constitutions and nationallaws.
The Universal Declaration came to be recognized as a historic documentarticulating a common definition of human dignity and values. The Declaration isa yardstick by which to measure the degree of respect for, and compliance with,international human rights standards everywhere on earth.
The coming into force of the Covenants, by which States parties accepted alegal as well as a moral obligation to promote and protect human rights andfundamental freedoms, did not in any way diminish the widespread influence ofthe Universal Declaration. On the contrary, the very existence of the Covenants,and the fact that they contain the measures of implementation required to ensurethe realization of the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration, givesgreater strength to the Declaration.
Moreover, the Universal Declaration is truly universal in scope, as itpreserves its validity for every member of the human family, everywhere,regardless of whether or not Governments have formally accepted its principlesor ratified the Covenants. On the other hand, the Covenants, by their nature asmultilateral conventions, are legally binding only on those States which haveaccepted them by ratification or accession.
In many important resolutions and decisions adopted by United Nations bodies,including the General Assembly and the Security Council, the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and one or both Covenants have been cited as thebasis for action.
Nearly all the international human rights instruments adopted by UnitedNations bodies since 1948 elaborate principles set out in the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights. The International Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights states in its preamble that it developed out of recognition ofthe fact that
in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal offree human beings enjoyin freedom from fear and want can only be achieved ifconditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social andcultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights.
A similar statement is made in the preamble to the International Covenant onCivil and Political Rights.
The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected toTorture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adoptedby the General Assembly in 1975 (resolution 3452 (XXX)), spells out the meaningof article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 7 of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide thatno one may be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentor punishment. This prohibition was further reinforced by the adoption in 1984of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or DegradingTreatment or Punishment (General Assembly resolution 39/46). Similarly, theDeclaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of DiscriminationBased on Religion or Belief, proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1981(resolution 36/55); clearly defines the nature and scope of the principles ofnon discrimination and equality before the law and the right to freedom ofthought, conscience, religion and belief contained in the Universal Declarationand the International Covenants.
A similar situation prevails as regards international human rightsinstruments adopted outside the United Nations system. For example, the preambleto the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,adopted by the Council of Europe at Rome in 1950, concludes with the followingwords:
Being resolved, as the Governments of European countries which arelike-minded and have a common heritage of political traditions, ideals, freedomand the rule of law, to take the first steps for the collective enforcement ofcertain of the rights stated in the Universal Declaration;
Article II of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity, adopted atAddis Ababa in 1963, provides that one of the purposes of the Organization is"to promote international cooperation, having due regard to the Charter of theUnited Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights". The AmericanConvention on Human Rights, signed at San José, Costa Rica, in 1969, states inits preamble that the principles to which it gives effect are those set forth inthe Charter of the Organization of American States, in the American Declarationof the Rights and Duties of Man, and in the Universal Declaration of HumanRights.
Judges of the International Court of Justice have occasionally invokedprinciples contained in the International Bill of Human Rights as a basis fortheir decisions.
National and local tribunals have frequently cited principles set out in theInternational Bill of Human Rights in their decisions. Moreover, in recentyears, national constitutional and legislative texts have increasingly providedmeasures of legal protection for those principles; indeed, many recent nationaland local laws are clearly modelled on provisions set forth in the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants, which remain abeacon for all present and future efforts in the field of human rights, bothnationally and internationally.
Finally, the World Conference on Human Rights, held at Vienna in June 1993,adopted by acclamation the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, in whichit welcomed the progress made in the codification of human rights instrumentsand urged the universal ratification of human rights treaties. In addition, allStates were encouraged to avoid, as far as possible, the resort to reservations(part 1, para. 26).
Thus the International Bill of Human Rights represents a milestone in thehistory of human rights, a veritable Magna Carta marking mankind's arrival at avitally important phase: the conscious acquisition of human dignity and worth.
Printed at United Nations, Geneva June 1996
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. "FactSheet No.2 (Rev.1), The International Bill of Human Rights".
The Human Rights Fact Sheet Series is published by the Officeof the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/sheets.htm