International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
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Adopted and opened for
signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A
(XXI)
of 16 December 1966
entry into force 23 March
1976, in accordance with Article 49
Preamble
The States Parties to the present Covenant,
Considering that, in accordance with the
principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of
the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members
of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the
world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the
inherent dignity of the human person,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings
enjoying civil and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can
only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his
civil and political rights, as well as his economic, social and cultural
rights,
Considering the obligation of States under the
Charter of the United Nations to promote universal respect for, and
observance of, human rights and freedoms,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to
other individuals and to the community to which he belongs, is under a
responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the rights
recognized in the present Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
PART I
Article
1
1. All peoples have the right of
self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their
political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely
dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any
obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon
the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a
people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant,
including those having responsibility for the administration of
Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of
the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in
conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
PART II
Article
2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant
undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory
and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present
Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.
2. Where not already provided for by existing
legislative or other measures, each State Party to the present Covenant
undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its
constitutional processes and with the provisions of the present Covenant,
to adopt such laws or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to
the rights recognized in the present Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present Covenant
undertakes:
(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or
freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy,
notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in
an official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a
remedy shall have his right thereto determined by competent judicial,
administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent
authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the
possibilities of judicial remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent authorities
shall enforce such remedies when granted.
Article
3
The States Parties to the present Covenant
undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of
all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
1 . In time of public emergency which threatens the life
of the nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed, the States
Parties to the present Covenant may take measures derogating from their
obligations under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by
the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not
inconsistent with their other obligations under international law and do
not involve discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex,
language, religion or social origin.
2. No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8
(paragraphs I and 2), 11, 15, 16 and 18 may be made under this provision.
3. Any State Party to the present Covenant
availing itself of the right of derogation shall immediately inform the
other States Parties to the present Covenant, through the intermediary of
the Secretary-General of the United Nations, of the provisions from which
it has derogated and of the reasons by which it was actuated. A further
communication shall be made, through the same intermediary, on the date on
which it terminates such derogation.
Article 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as
implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity
or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and
freedoms recognized herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than
is provided for in the present Covenant.
2. There shall be no restriction upon or
derogation from any of the fundamental human rights recognized or existing
in any State Party to the present Covenant pursuant to law, conventions,
regulations or custom on the pretext that the present Covenant does not
recognize such rights or that it recognizes them to a lesser extent.
PART III
Article
6
1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be
protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
2. In countries which have not abolished the
death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious
crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of
the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present Covenant and to
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered
by a competent court.
3. When deprivation of life constitutes the
crime of genocide, it is understood that nothing in this article shall
authorize any State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way
from any obligation assumed under the provisions of the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the
right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or
commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases.
5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for
crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be
carried out on pregnant women.
6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to
delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party
to the present Covenant.
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall
be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific
experimentation.
Article 8
1. No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the
slave-trade in all their forms shall be prohibited.
2. No one shall be held in servitude.
3.
(a) No one shall be required to perform forced or
compulsory labour;
(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to
preclude, in countries where imprisonment with hard labour may be imposed
as a punishment for a crime, the performance of hard labour in pursuance of
a sentence to such punishment by a competent court;
(c) For the purpose of this paragraph the term
"forced or compulsory labour" shall not include:
(i) Any work or service, not referred to in
subparagraph (b), normally required of a person who is under detention in
consequence of a lawful order of a court, or of a person during conditional
release from such detention;
(ii) Any service of a military character and, in
countries where conscientious objection is recognized, any national service
required by law of conscientious objectors;
(iii) Any service exacted in cases of emergency
or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community;
(iv) Any work or service which forms part of
normal civil obligations.
Article 9
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of
person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one
shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance
with such procedure as are established by law.
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at
the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly
informed of any charges against him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal
charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized
by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a
reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that
persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be
subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the
judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the
judgement.
4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest
or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order
that that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention
and order his release if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful
arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.
Article 10
1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be
treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the
human person.
2.
(a) Accused persons shall, save in exceptional
circumstances, be segregated from convicted persons and shall be subject to
separate treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons;
(b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated
from adults and brought as speedily as possible for adjudication.
3. The penitentiary system shall comprise
treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their
reformation and social rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be
segregated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to their age
and legal status.
Article 11
No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of
inability to fulfil a contractual obligation.
Article 12
1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State
shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and
freedom to choose his residence.
2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country,
including his own.
3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be
subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are
necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public
health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent
with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant.
4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the
right to enter his own country.
Article 13
An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to
the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a
decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling
reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the
reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be
represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or
persons especially designated by the competent authority.
Article 14
1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and
tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of
his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to
a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial
tribunal established by law. The press and the public may be excluded from
all or part of a trial for reasons of morals, public order (ordre public)
or national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the
private lives of the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly
necessary in the opinion of the court in special circumstances where
publicity would prejudice the interests of justice; but any judgement
rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made public except
where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires or the
proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship of children.
2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence
shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according
to law.
3. In the determination of any criminal charge
against him, everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum
guarantees, in full equality: (a) To be informed promptly and in detail in
a language which he understands of the nature and cause of the charge
against him;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the
preparation of his defence and to communicate with counsel of his own
choosing;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend
himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be
informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have
legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of
justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does
not have sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses
against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on
his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him;
(f) To have the free assistance of an
interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify against
himself or to confess guilt.
4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall
be such as will take account of their age and the desirability of promoting
their rehabilitation.
5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the
right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal
according to law.
6. When a person has by a final decision been
convicted of a criminal offence and when subsequently his conviction has
been reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly
discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of
justice, the person who has suffered punishment as a result of such
conviction shall be compensated according to law, unless it is proved that
the non-disclosure of the unknown fact in time is wholly or partly
attributable to him.
7. No one shall be liable to be tried or
punished again for an offence for which he has already been finally
convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of
each country.
Article 15
1 . No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence
on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal
offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was
applicable at the time when the criminal offence was committed. If,
subsequent to the commission of the offence, provision is made by law for
the imposition of the lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.
2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the
trial and punishment of any person for any act or omission which, at the
time when it was committed, was criminal according to the general
principles of law recognized by the community of nations.
Article 16
Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere
as a person before the law.
Article 17
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
interference with his privacy, family, or correspondence, nor to unlawful
attacks on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of
the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 18
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to
adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually
or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his
religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which
would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his
choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs
may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are
necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the
fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant
undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable,
legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their
children in conformity with their own convictions.
Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold
opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally,
in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of
his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in
paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and
responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but
these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of
others;
(b) For the protection of national security or
of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.
Article 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by
law.
2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious
hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence
shall be prohibited by law.
Article 21
The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No
restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those
imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic
society in the interests of national security or public safety, public
order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
Article 22
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions
for the protection of his interests.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise
of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or
public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health
or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This
article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on members
of the armed forces and of the police in their exercise of this right.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize
States Parties to the International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948
concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize
to take legislative measures which would prejudice, or to apply the law in
such a manner as to prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that
Convention.
Article 23
1. The family is the natural and fundamental
group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the
State.
2. The right of men and women of marriageable
age to marry and to found a family shall be recognized.
3. No marriage shall be entered into without the
free and full consent of the intending spouses.
4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall
take appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of
spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case
of dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection of any
children.
Article
24
1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination
as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin,
property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are required
by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State.
2. Every child shall be registered immediately
after birth and shall have a name.
3. Every child has the right to acquire a
nationality.
Article 25
Every citizen shall have the right and the
opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and
without unreasonable restrictions:
(a) To take part in the conduct of public
affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives;
(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine
periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall
be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of
the electors;
(c) To have access, on general terms of
equality, to public service in his country.
Article
26
All persons are equal before the law and are entitled
without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this
respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all
persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground
such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status. | 
