International Covenants on Human Rights

A/RES/54/157View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 116a Implementation of human rights instruments, published in 2000.

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 subjects does this mandate have?

19 subjects

Advisory Services Civil and Political Rights Coordination Within UN System Derogation Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Gender Mainstreaming Human Rights Advancement Information Dissemination Meeting Records Publications Reporting Procedures Reservations and Declarations Signatures, Accessions, Ratifications Standards State of Emergency Technical Cooperation Training Programmes Treaties Treaty-Monitoring Bodies

What’s in this document?

22 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the importance of the International Covenants on Human Rights as major parts of international efforts to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Appeals strongly to all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as to accede to the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to make the declaration provided for in article 41 of the Covenant;

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;

Emphasizes the importance of 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;

Stresses the importance of avoiding the erosion of human rights by derogation, and underlines the necessity of strict observance of the agreed conditions and procedures for derogation 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;

Encourages States parties to consider limiting the extent of any reservations they lodge to the International Covenants on Human Rights, to formulate any reservations as precisely and narrowly as possible and to ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the relevant treaty or otherwise incompatible with international treaty law;

Also encourages States parties to review regularly any reservations made in respect of the provisions of the International Covenants on Human Rights and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with a view to withdrawing them;

Takes note with appreciation of the annual report of the Human Rights Committee submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session,⁷ and takes note of General Comments Nos. 25⁸ and 26⁹ adopted by the Committee;

⁷Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/54/40).

⁸Ibid., Fifty-first Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/51/40), vol. I, annex V.

⁹Ibid., Fifty-third Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/53/40), vol. I, annex VII.

Also takes note with appreciation of the reports of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its sixteenth and seventeenth sessions¹⁰ and eighteenth and nineteenth sessions,¹¹ and takes note of General Comments Nos. 8,¹² 9,¹³ 10,¹⁴ 11¹⁵ and 12¹⁶ adopted by the Committee;

¹⁰Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1998, Supplement No. 2 (E/1998/22).

¹¹Ibid., 1999, Supplement No. 2 (E/1999/22).

¹²Ibid., 1998, Supplement No. 2 (E/1998/22), annex V.

¹³Ibid., 1999, Supplement No. 2 (E/1999/22), annex IV.

¹⁴Ibid., annex V.

¹⁵E/C.12/1999/4.

¹⁶E/C.12/1999/5.

Urges States parties to fulfil in good time such reporting obligations under the International Covenants on Human Rights as may be requested and in their reports to make use of gender-disaggregated data;

Stresses the importance of taking fully into account 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;

Urges States parties to take duly into account, in implementing the provisions of the International Covenants on Human Rights, the observations made at the conclusion of the consideration of their reports by the Human Rights Committee and by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the views adopted by the Human Rights Committee under the first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Invites States parties to give particular attention to the dissemination at the national level of the reports they have submitted to the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the summary records relating to the examination of those reports by the Committees and the observations made by the Committees at the conclusion of the consideration of the reports;

Once again encourages all Governments to publish the texts of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political 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 in their territories;

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 advisory services and technical assistance programme of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;

Stresses the need for improved coordination between 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;

Invites States to continue to contribute, with practical proposals and ideas, to the dialogue on ways of improving the functioning of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Welcomes the continuing efforts of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to strive for uniform standards in the implementation of the provisions of the International Covenants on Human Rights, and appeals to other bodies dealing with similar human rights questions to respect those uniform standards, as expressed in the general comments of the Committees;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to assist States parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights in the preparation of their reports, including by convening seminars or workshops at the national level for the purpose of training government officials engaged in the preparation of such reports, and by exploring other possibilities available under the regular programme of advisory services 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, including by the provision of adequate Secretariat staff resources;

Welcomes the initiative by the Secretary-General, taking into account the suggestions of the Human Rights Committee, to take determined steps, in particular through the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat, to give more publicity to the work of that Committee and, similarly, to the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session, under the item entitled “Human rights questions”, a report on the status of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including all reservations and declarations.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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