KEY INTERNATIONAL

HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARD

GROUP 5
 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
STANDARDS

• Human rights are often guaranteed by law, in the forms of

treaties, general principles and other sources of international
law, which lay down obligations of Governments to promote
and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of
individuals or groups. There are other instruments, such as
resolutions, guidelines and principles, which are not binding
(that is, states are not legally obliged to enforce them) but
which are still important tools for calling states to account.
 CONVENTION AGAINST
TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL,
INHUMAN OR
DEGRADINGTREATMENT OR
PUNISHMENT
 CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR
DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
NEW YORK, 10 DECEMBER 1984
• I. The Torture Convention
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the “Torture
Convention”) was adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations on 10 December 1984 (resolution 39/46). The
Convention entered into force on 26 June 1987 after it had
been ratified by 20 States.

The Torture Convention was the result of many years’ work,

initiated soon after the adoption of the Declaration on the
Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(the “Torture Declaration”) by the General Assembly on 9
December 1975 (resolution 3452 (XXX)).
 In fact, the Torture Declaration was intended to be the
starting-point for further work against torture. In a second
resolution, also adopted on 9 December 1975, the General
Assembly requested the Commission on Human Rights to study the
question of torture and any necessary steps for ensuring the
effective observance of the Torture Declaration (resolution 3453
(XXX)). Two years later, on 8 December 1977, the General
Assembly specifically requested the Commission on Human Rights
to draw up a draft convention against torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in the light of the
principles embodied in the Torture Declaration (resolution 32/62).

The Commission on Human Rights began its work on this

subject at its session in February-March 1978. A working group was
set up to deal with this item, and the main basis for the discussions
in the working group was a draft convention presented by
Sweden. During each of the subsequent years until 1984 a similar
working group was set up to continue the work on the draft
convention.

There were a number of issues on which it was initially

difficult to reach agreement. In particular, the following issues
gave rise to long discussions:
 THE DEFINITION OF
TORTURE
• The definition of torture which appeared in the Torture
Declaration was considered not to be precise enough
and was criticized on various points. The discussions
resulted in a more elaborate – and also more complex
– definition which appears in article 1, paragraph 1, of
the Torture Convention
 JURISDICTION
• The discussion centred round the concept of so-called
universal jurisdiction. In other words, the question was
whether each State should undertake, in respect of
torture, to assume jurisdiction not only based on territory
or the offender’s nationality but also over acts of torture
committed outside its territory by persons not being its
nationals. The principle of universal jurisdiction – which
had already been accepted in conventions against
hijacking of aircraft and other terrorist acts – was
eventually accepted and found its place in article 5,
paragraph 2, of the Torture Convention.
 INTERNATIONAL
IMPLEMENTATION
• As the effectiveness of the Torture Convention, like that of many other
human rights conventions, would depend to a large extent on the
supervision system, the implementation at the international level gave
rise to extensive discussions. It was finally decided that a Committee
against Torture would be set up (article 17 of the Torture Convention)
with the following tasks:

(i) To receive, study and comment on periodic reports from the

States parties on the measures they have taken to give effect to their
undertakings under the Convention (article 19);
(ii) To initiate an investigation when there is reliable information
which appears to contain well-founded indications that torture is being
systematically practised in the territory of a State party (article 20);
(iii) To receive and examine complaints by one State party of
violations of the Convention by another State party (article 21); and
(iv) To receive and examine applications by individuals claiming
to be victims of a violation of the Convention by a State party (article 22).
• However, the competences of the Committee against
Torture under (ii), (iii) and (iv) were not made
compulsory but apply with the following modifications:

-A State party may “opt out” and declare that it

does not recognize the Committee’s competence to
initiate investigations under article 20 (article 28);
-The Committee’s competence to examine inter-
State complaints only applies when a State party has
specifically recognized this competence (article 21);
-The Committee’s competence to examine
applications by individuals only applies when a State
party has specifically recognized this competence
(article 22).
 A STATE PARTY’S
UNDERTAKINGS
• Most of the provisions of the Torture Convention deal with the
obligations of the States parties. These obligations may be
summarized as follows:

(i) Each State party shall take effective legislative,

administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of
torture. The prohibition against torture shall be absolute and
shall be upheld also in a state of war and in other exceptional
circumstances (article 2);
(ii) No State party may expel or extradite a person to a
State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he
would be in danger of being subjected to torture (article 3);
(iii) Each State party shall ensure that acts of torture are
serious criminal offences within its legal system (article 4);
 (iv) Each State party shall, on certain conditions, take a
person suspected of the offence of torture into custody and
make a preliminary inquiry into the facts (article 6);
(v) Each State party shall either extradite a person
suspected of the offence of torture or submit the case to its
own authorities for prosecution (article 7);
(vi) Each State party shall ensure that its authorities
make investigations when there is reasonable ground to
believe that an act of torture has been committed (article 12);
(vii) Each State party shall ensure that an individual who
alleges that he has been subjected to torture will have his case
examined by the competent authorities (article 13);
(viii) Each State party shall ensure to victims of torture
an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation
(article 14).
 II. THE OPTIONAL
PROTOCOL
• An Optional Protocol to the Torture Convention was
adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on 18 December 2002 (resolution 57/199). The
Optional Protocol, which entered into force on 22 June
2006, establishes a system of regular visits by
international and national bodies to places of
detention in order to prevent torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. A
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
has been set up to carry out such visits and to support
States parties and national institutions in performing
similar functions at the national level.
 III. THE COMMITTEE
AGAINST TORTURE
• The Committee against Torture holds two annual sessions. At
each session, the Committee examines reports from a number
of States parties. Each report is examined orally in the presence
of one or more representatives of the State concerned. Each
State whose report is to be examined at a session is informed in
advance of the main questions the Committee wishes to be
discussed. After the examination of each report the Committee
adopts its conclusions and recommendations. The Committee
may also adopt general comments on specific provisions of the
Convention or issues related to their implementation.

• The Committee against Torture has also set up a working group

to prepare the examination of individual communications
received under article 22 of the Torture Convention. The working
group examines the admissibility and merits of the
communications and makes recommendations to the
Committee.
 RELATED MATERIALS

A. Legal Instruments

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture

and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, New York, 18 December 2002, General Assembly
resolution 57/199.

B. Doctrine

J. Herman Burgers and H. Danelius, The United Nations

Convention against Torture. A Handbook on the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, Dordrecht, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers,
1988.
 CONVENTION ON THE
ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS
OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
WOMEN
 CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL
FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
WOMEN

• The Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN
General Assembly
• is often described as an international bill of
rights for women.
• Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it
defines what constitutes discrimination
against women and sets up an agenda for
national action to end such discrimination.
The Convention defines discrimination
against women as "...any distinction,
exclusion or restriction made on the basis of
sex which has the effect or purpose of
impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise by women,
irrespective of their marital status, on a basis
of equality of men and women, of human
rights and fundamental freedoms in the
political, economic, social, cultural, civil or
any other field."
• By accepting the Convention, States commit
themselves to undertake a series of measures to end
discrimination against women in all forms, including:
• to incorporate the principle of equality of men and
women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory
laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting
discrimination against women;
• to establish tribunals and other public institutions to
ensure the effective protection of women against
discrimination; and
• to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination
against women by persons, organizations or
enterprises.
• The Convention provides the basis for
realizing equality between women and
men through ensuring women's equal
access to, and equal opportunities in,
political and public life -- including the right
to vote and to stand for election -- as well
as education, health and
employment. States parties agree to take
all appropriate measures, including
legislation and temporary special
measures, so that women can enjoy all
their human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
• The Convention is the only human rights treaty which
affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets
culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender
roles and family relations. It affirms women's rights to
acquire, change or retain their nationality and the
nationality of their children. States parties also agree to
take appropriate measures against all forms of traffic in
women and exploitation of women.
CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS
OF PERSONS WITH
DISABILITIES AND OPTIONAL
PROTOCOL
 WHAT IS THE CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES?
• The Convention is an international treaty that
articulates the rights of persons with disabilities.
Specifically, States that become parties to the
Convention agree to promote, protect and ensure the
full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities,
and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
 WHAT IS THE CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES?
• The Convention is a paradigm shift in approaches to
disability, moving from a model where persons with
disabilities are treated as objects of medical treatment,
charity and social protection to a model where persons
with disabilities are recognized as subjects of human
rights, active in the decisions that affect their lives and
empowered to claim their rights. This approach views
the societal barriers – such as physical obstacles and
negative attitudes – confronting persons with disabilities
as the main obstacles to the full enjoyment of human
rights.
 WHY IS IT NEEDED?
Though all of the international human rights treaties extend to
persons with disabilities, this large group of persons continues
to suffer from discrimination and often does not enjoy
respect for their human rights on an equal basis with others.
This Convention:
• Explicitly defines and applies existing human rights
principles to persons with disabilities;
• Provides an authoritative, internationally agreed basis for the
development of domestic law and policy;
• Establishes national and international mechanisms for more
effective monitoring of the rights of persons with disabilities,
including periodic reporting on the Convention’s
implementation and Conferences of States parties;
• Recognizes the especially vulnerable circumstances of
children and women with disabilities
 WHAT RIGHTS ARE
INCLUDED?
• The Convention is comprehensive, and States parties are
obliged to ensure and promote the full realization of all civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights of persons with
disabilities.
• CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS are rights that an individual can
exercise in his/her role as a citizen, such as the right to vote,
the right to participate in Government decision-making, the
right to a fair trial and the right to equal protection of the
law.
• CULTURAL RIGHTS protect a person’s enjoyment of his/her
own culture.
• SOCIAL RIGHTS protect and promote the person in society,
such as the right to education and the right to health.
• ECONOMIC RIGHTS protect and promote the economic
security and independence of a person, such as the right to
work.
 WHAT IS THE OPTIONAL
PROTOCOL?
• The Optional Protocol gives the Committee on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities the power to address
individual complaints of violations of all rights in the
Convention, if the individual has exhausted avenues at
the national level. States parties to the Convention
must separately sign and ratify the Optional Protocol,
and they must be parties to the Convention in order to
become parties to the Optional Protocol. As noted
above, by 1 July 2008, there were 18 States parties to
the Optional Protocol, which entered into force on 3
May 2008.
 WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT
ABOUT THE CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES?
• International human rights instruments promote and protect
the human rights of all persons, including persons with
disabilities, yet persons with disabilities are routinely denied
basic rights and fundamental freedoms. The Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities does not establish new
human rights, but rather clarifies the legal obligations of
States to respect and ensure the equal enjoyment of all
human rights by persons with disabilities. It identifies areas,
such as accessibility, inclusion, participation and
nondiscrimination, as they apply in the context of persons
with disabilities, to ensure that they can enjoy their human
rights. Terminology such as reasonable accommodation and
universal design are employed to further clarify how
particular obligations are to be implemented.
 WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT
ABOUT THE CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES?
• The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
improves upon existing international human rights treaty
monitoring mechanisms by creating not only the
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to
monitor implementation and review periodic reports
from States parties, but also calling for regular meetings
of States parties to review implementation. The
Convention also prescribes the actions States parties
must take to implement and monitor compliance with
the Convention at the national level, and recognizes
the importance of international cooperation and
assistance in support of national efforts.
CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS
OF THE CHILD
 WHAT IS THE CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF THE
CHILD?
• Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and
accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20
November 1989. Entry into force 2 September 1990, in
accordance with article 49.
 THE PREAMBLE:
• recalls the basic principles of the United Nations and
specific provisions to certain relevant human rights
treaties and proclamations such as the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights;
• reaffirms the fact that children, because of their
vulnerability, need special care and protection; and,
• places special emphasis on the primary caring and
protective responsibility of the family, the need for legal
and other protection of the child, the importance of
respect for the cultural values of the child’s community,
and the vital role of international co-operation in
achieving the realization of children’s rights.
• Article 1: Definition of a child
Children are defined as all people under 18 years of
age.
• Article 2: Non-discrimination
All rights in the Convention apply to all children without
exception, and the State has an obligation to protect children
from any and all forms of discrimination including that resulting
from their parents or guardian’s status.
• Article 3: Best interests of the child
All actions concerning the child must be based on his
or her best interests.
• Article 4: Implementation of rights
The State has an obligation to translate the rights of the
Convention into reality.
• Article 5: Parental guidance and the child’s evolving
capacities as he or she grows
The State has a duty to respect the rights and
responsibilities of parents and the wider family or others
involved in the upbringing of the child in a manner appropriate
to the child’s evolving capacities.
• Article 6: Survival and development
The child has an inherent right to life, and the State has
an obligation to ensure to the maximum extent possible the
survival and development of the child.
• Article 7: Name and nationality
The child has the right to be registered, to have a name
from birth and to be granted a nationality. In addition, the
child has the right to know and be cared for his or her parents.
• Article 8: Preservation of identity
The State has an obligation to protect and, if
necessary, re-establish the basic aspects of the child’s identity
(name, nationality and family relations).
• Article 9: Separation from parents
The child has the right to live with his or her parents
unless it is not deemed to be in his or her best interests;
the child has the right to maintain contact with both
parents if separated from one or both.
• Article 10: Family reunification
The State has an obligation to foster and enable
family reunification where children and parents live in
separate countries; the child whose parents live in a
different state has the right to maintain personal relations
and direct contact with both parents.
• Article 11: Illicit transfer and non-return of children from
abroad
The State has an obligation to try to prevent and
to remedy the illicit transfer and non-return of children
abroad by a parent or third party.
• Article 12: The child’s opinion
The child has the right to express an opinion, and to
have that opinion taken into account, in any matter or
procedure affecting the child, in accordance with his or her
age and maturity.
• Article 13: Freedom of expression
The child has the right to obtain and make known
information, and to express his or her own views, unless this
would violate the rights of others.
• Article 14: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
The child has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion, subject to appropriate parental
guidance and national law.
• Article 15: Freedom of association
The child has the right to meet with others and to join or
set up associations, unless doing so would violate the rights of
others.
• Article 16: Protection of privacy
The child has the right to protection from interference with
privacy, family, home and correspondence, and from libel or
slander.
• Article 17: Access to appropriate information
The State has an obligation to ensure that the child has
access to information and material from a diversity of media
sources and to take measures to protect children from harmful
materials.
• Article 18: Parental responsibilities
The State has an obligation to recognise and promote the
principle that both parents or legal guardians have common
responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child;
the State shall support parents or legal guardians in this task
through the provision of appropriate assistance.
• Article 19: Protection from abuse and neglect
The State has an obligation to protect children from all
forms of abuse and neglect, to provide support to those who
have been abused and to investigate instances of abuse.
• Article 20: Protection of children without families
The State has an obligation to provide special protection for children
without families and to ensure that appropriate alternative family care or
institutional placement is made available to them, taking into account the child’s
cultural background.
• Article 21: Adoption
In countries where adoption is recognized and/or allowed, it shall only be
carried out in the best interests of the child, with all necessary safeguards for the
child and under the authorization of competent authorities.
• Article 22: Refugee children
Special protection is to be granted to children who are refugees or
seeking refugee status, and the State has an obligation to co-operate with
competent organizations providing such protection and assistance.
• Article 23: Children with a disability
Children with a mental or physical disability have the right to special care,
education and training designed to help them to achieve the greatest possible self-
reliance and to lead a full active life in society.
• Article 24: Health and health services
The child has the right to the enjoyment of the highest
possible standard of health and to have access to healthcare
and medical services. In its provision of health services, the
State shall place special emphasis on primary and
preventative health care and public health education.
• Article 25: Periodic review of placement in care settings
The child who has been placed in a care setting by the
State for reasons of care, protection or treatment has the right
to have all aspects of that placement reviewed and
evaluated regularly.
• Article 26: Social security
The child has the right to benefit from social security.
• Article 27: Growing up free from poverty
The child has the right to an adequate standard of living;
parents have the primary responsibility to provide this, and the
State has a duty to assist parents, where necessary, in fulfilling
this right.
• Article 28: Education
The child has the right to education; the State has a
duty to make primary education compulsory and free to all; to
take measures to develop different forms of secondary
education and to make this accessible to all children. School
discipline should be administered in a manner consistent with
the child’s human dignity.
• Article 29: Aims of education
Education should be directed at developing the child’s
personality and talents; preparing the child for active life as an
adult; fostering respect for basic human rights; developing
respect for the child’s own cultural and national values and
those of others; and developing respect for the natural
environment.
• Article 30: Children of minorities or indigenous peoples
Children of minority communities and indigenous
peoples have the right to enjoy their own culture, to practice
their own religion and to use their own language.
• Article 31: Leisure, recreation and cultural activities
The child has the right to rest and to engage in leisure,
play and recreational activities and to participate in cultural
and artistic activities.
• Article 32: Child labor
The State has an obligation to protect children from
engaging in work that negatively impacts their health,
education or development; to set a minimum age for
employment; and to regulate conditions of employment.
• Article 33: Drug abuse
The child has a right to protection from illicit use of
narcotic and psychotropic drugs and from being involved in
their production and distribution.
• Article 34: Sexual exploitation
The child has the right to protection from all forms of
sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, including prostitution
and involvement in pornography.1
• Article 35: Sale, trafficking and abduction
The State has an obligation to prevent any form of
abduction of children or sale of or traffic in children.
• Article 36: Other forms of exploitation
The child has the right to protection from all other forms
of exploitation prejudicial to their welfare.
• Article 37: Torture and deprivation of liberty
The State has an obligation to ensure that no child is
subject to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, capital punishment, life imprisonment, and
unlawful arrest or deprivation of liberty. A child who is deprived
of liberty must be treated with humanity and respect and in a
manner that is appropriate to his or her age. Children who are
detained should be separated from adults, have the right to
contact with family, and access to legal and other assistance.
• Article 38: Armed conflicts
The State has an obligation to respect, and to
ensure respect for humanitarian law as it applies to
children in situations of armed conflict. States must ensure
that no child under the age of fifteen can take direct
part in hostilities or be recruited into the armed forces.
States must take all feasible measures to ensure
protection and care of children who are affected by
armed conflict.
• Article 39: Rehabilitative care
The State has an obligation to take all appropriate
measures to promote the physical and psychological
recovery and social integration of children who have
been victims of any form of neglect, exploitation or
abuse, torture or degrading treatment or of armed
conflict.
• Article 40: Administration of juvenile justice
Children accused of, or recognised as having
committed an offence have the right to respect for their
human rights and in particular to benefit from all aspects
of the due process of law, including legal or other
assistance in preparing and presenting their defence.
States have an obligation to promote alternative
procedures and measures so as to ensure that recourse
to judicial proceedings and institutional placements can
be avoided wherever possible and appropriate.
• Article 41: Respect for existing standards
If standards set in the national law of a country
which has ratified the Convention, or in other applicable
international instruments, are higher than those in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is the higher
standard that will apply.
 ARTICLES 42-45 DEFINE HOW
COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONVENTION IS
TO BE MONITORED AND
FOSTERED.
• Article 42
The State has an obligation to make the rights
contained in the Convention widely known to adults and
children alike.
• Article 43 and Article 44
States which ratify the Convention must submit a report
on implementation two years after ratification and every five
years thereafter. This report is submitted to the UN Committee
on the Rights of the Child which consists of eighteen child rights
experts elected by State Parties for the purposes of examining
progress made by State Parties in implementing the
Convention. State Parties are required to make their reports
widely available to the general public in their own country.
• Article 45
In order to “foster the effective implementation of
the Convention and to encourage international
cooperation”, the specialized agencies of the UN (such
as the ILO, WHO, UNHCR, UNESCO and UNICEF3) are
involved in the process of considering international
reports. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) may
also submit relevant information to the UN Committee on
the Rights of the Child. The Committee may invite the UN
specialized agencies and NGOs to advise on the optimal
implementation of the Convention.
• Articles 46 – 54
Articles 46-54 define the conditions under which
the Convention comes into force.
INTERNATIONAL COVENANT
ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL
RIGHTS
 WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL
COVENANT ON CIVIL AND
POLITICAL RIGHTS?
• This Covenant was adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly on 16 December 1966 and entered
into force on 23 March 1976. By the end of 2001, the
Covenant had been ratified by 147 states.
• The Covenant elaborates further the civil and political
rights and freedoms listed in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
• Under Article 1 of the Covenant, the states commit
themselves to promote the right to self-determination
and to respect that right. It also recognizes the rights of
peoples to freely own, trade and dispose of their
natural wealth and resources.
 PURPOSE:
• The ICCPR recognizes the inherent dignity of each
individual and undertakes to promote conditions within
states to allow the enjoyment of civil and political rights.
Countries that have ratified the Covenant are
obligated “to protect and preserve basic human
rights… [and] “compel[ed] to take administrative,
judicial, and legislative measures in order to protect the
rights enshrined in the treaty and to provide an
effective remedy.” There are currently 74 signatories
and 168 parties to the ICCPR.
 CONTENT:
• The unifying themes and values of the ICCPR are found
in Articles 2 and 3 and are based on the notion of non-
discrimination. Article 2 ensures that rights recognized in
the ICCPR will be respected and be available to
everyone within the territory of those states who have
ratified the Covenant (State Party). Article 3 ensures the
equal right of both men and women to the enjoyment
of all civil and political rights set out in the ICCPR.
 AMONG THE RIGHTS OF
INDIVIDUALS GUARANTEED
BY THE COVENANT ARE:
• Article 2
The right to legal recourse when their rights have been
violated, even if the violator was acting in an official capacity.
• Article 3
The right to equality between men and women in the
enjoyment of their civil and political rights.
• Article 6
The right to life and survival.
• Article 7
The freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
• Article 8
The freedom from slavery and servitude.
• Article 9
The right to liberty and security of the person and
freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention.
• Article 11
The freedom from prison due to debt.
• Article 12
The right to liberty and freedom of movement.
• Article 14
The right to equality before the law; the right to be
presumed innocent until proven guilty and to have a fair
and public hearing by an impartial tribunal.
• Article 16
The right to be recognised as a person before the
law.
• Article 17
The right privacy and its protection by the law.
• Article 18
The freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
• Article 19
The freedom of opinion and expression.
• Article 20
Prohibition of propaganda advocating war or
national, racial or religious hatred.
• Article 21
The right to peaceful assembly.
• Article 22
The right to freedom of association.
• Article 23
The right to marry and found a family
• Article 24
The rights for children (status as minors, nationality,
registration and name).
• Article 25
The right to participate in the conduct of public
affairs, to vote and to be elected and access to public
service.
• Article 26
The right to equality before the law and equal
protection.

• Article 27
The right, for members of religious, ethnic or
linguistic minorities, to enjoy their culture, practice their
religion and use their language.
INTERNATIONAL COVENANT
ON ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS (ICESCR)
 WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL
COVENANT ONECONOMIC,
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
(ICESCR)?
• Cultural Rights (1966), together with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights(1948) and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(1966), make up the International Bill of Human Rights.
In accordance with the Universal Declaration, the
Covenants Òrecognize that “... the ideal of free human
beings enjoying civil and political freedom and
freedom from fear and want can be achieved only if
conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy
his civil and political rights, as well as his economic,
social and cultural rights.”
 AMONG THE RIGHTS OF
INDIVIDUALS GUARANTEED
BY THE COVENANT ARE:
• Article 1
All peoples have the right of selfdetermination,
including the right to determine their political status and
freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.
• Article 2
Each State Party undertakes to take steps to the
maximum of its available resources to achieve
progressively the full realization of the rights in this treaty.
Everyone is entitled to the same rights without
discrimination of any kind.
• Article 3
The States undertake to ensure the equal right of
men and women to the enjoyment of all rights in this
treaty.
• Article 4
Limitations may be placed on these rights only if
compatible with the nature of these rights and solely for
the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a
democratic society.
• Article 5
No person, group or government has the right to
destroy any of these rights.
• Article 6
Everyone has the right to work, including the right
to gain one's living at work that is freely chosen and
accepted.
• Article 7
Everyone has the right to just conditions of work;
fair wages ensuring a decent living for himself and his
family; equal pay for equal work; safe and healthy
working conditions; equal opportunity for everyone to be
promoted; rest and leisure.
• Article 8
Everyone has the right to form and join trade
unions, the right to strike.
• Article 9
Everyone has the right to social security, including
social insurance.

• Article 10
Protection and assistance should be accorded to
the family. Marriage must be entered into with the free
consent of both spouses. Special protection should be
provided to mothers. Special measures should be taken
on behalf of children, without discrimination. Children
and youth should be protected from economic
exploitation. Their employment in dangerous or harmful
work should be prohibited. There should be age limits
below which child labor should be prohibited.
• Article 11
Everyone has the right to an adequate standard
of living for himself and his family, including adequate
food, clothing and housing. Everyone has the right to be
free from hunger.
• Article 12
Everyone has the right to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health.
• Article 13
Everyone has the right to education. Primary
education should be compulsory and free to all.
• Article 14
Those States where compulsory, free primary
education is not available to all should work out a plan to
provide such education.

• Article 15
Everyone has the right to take part in cultural life;
enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.
THANK YOU!
 MEMBERS:

Meg Andrea M. Martinez

Dianne Mae S. Catampongan
Jason Rafael A. San Andres
Christen Mary R. Espiloy
Jenny May C. Duran
Nicole Vyie A. Taduran