International Bill of Human Rights

The International Bill of Human Rights was the name given to UN General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) and two international treaties established by the United Nations. It consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) with its two Optional Protocols and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). The two covenants entered into force in 1976, after a sufficient number of countries had ratified them.

In the beginning, different views were expressed about the form the bill of rights should take. In 1948, General Assembly planned the bill to include UDHR, one Covenant and measures of implementation. The Drafting Committee decided to prepare two documents: one in the form of a declaration, which would set forth general principles or standards of human rights; the other in the form of a convention, which would define specific rights and their limitations. Accordingly, the Committee transmitted to the Commission on Human Rights draft articles of an international declaration and an international convention on human rights. At its second session, in December 1947, the Commission decided to apply the term "International Bill of Human Rights" to the series of documents in preparation and established three working groups: one on the declaration, one on the convention (which it renamed "covenant") and one on implementation. The Commission revised the draft declaration at its third session, in May/June 1948, taking into consideration comments received from Governments. It did not have time, however, to consider the covenant or the question of implementation. The declaration was therefore submitted through the United Nations Economic and Social Council to the General Assembly, meeting in Paris.

Later the draft covenant was divided in two (decided by the General Assembly in 1952^[1]), differing with both catalogue of rights and degree of obligations - for example, the ICESCR refers to the "progressive realisation" of the rights it contains. In 1998 it was hailed as "A Magna Carta for all humanity".^[2]

References

External links

Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

General principles

Article 1: Freedom, Egalitarianism, Dignity and Brotherhood Article 2: Universality of rights

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Articles 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination
Article 3: Right to life, liberty and security of person
Article 4: Freedom from slavery
Article 5: Freedom from torture or cruel and unusual punishment
Article 6: Right to personhood
Article 7: Equality before the law
Article 8: Right to effective remedy from the law
Article 9: Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile
Article 10: Right to a fair trial
Article 11.1: Presumption of innocence
Article 11.2: Prohibition of retrospective law
Article 12: Right to privacy
Article 13.1: Freedom of movement
Article 13.2: Right of return
Article 14: Right of asylum
Article 15: Right to a nationality
Article 16: Right to marriage and family life
Article 17: Right to property
Article 18: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Article 19: Freedom of opinion and expression and information
Article 20.1: Freedom of assembly
Article 20.2: Freedom of association
Article 21.1: Right to participation in government
Article 21.2: Right of equal access to public office
Article 21.3: Right to universal suffrage

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 22: Right to social security
Article 23.1: Right to work
Article 23.2: Right to equal pay for equal work
Article 23.3: Right to just remuneration
Article 23.4: Right to join a trade union
Article 24: Right to rest and leisure
Article 25.1: Right to an adequate standard of living
Article 25.2: Right to special care and assistance for mothers and children
Article 26.1: Right to education
Article 26.2: Human rights education
Article 26.3: Right to choice of education
Article 27: Right to science and culture

Context, limitations and duties

Article 28: Social order Article 29.1: Social responsibility Article 29.2: Limitations of human rights Article 29.3: The supremacy of the purposes and principles of the United Nations

Article 30:	Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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