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 people 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 to 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 take steps,
individually and through international assistance and cooperation,
especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available
resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of
the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means,
including in particular the adoption of legislative measures.
(2) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee
that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without
discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status.
(3) Developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their
national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee the
economic rights recognized in the present Covenant to non-nationals.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal
right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural
rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, in the
enjoyment of those rights provided by the State in conformity with the
present Covenant, the State may subject such rights only to such limitations
as are determined by law only in so far as this may be compatible with the
nature of these rights and solely for the purpose of promoting the general
welfare in a democratic society.
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 to 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) No restriction upon or derogation from any of the fundamental human
rights recognized or existing in any country in virtue of law, conventions,
regulations or custom shall be admitted 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) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to
work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his
living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate
steps to safeguard this right.
(2) The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant to
achieve the full realization of this right shall include technical and
vocational guidance and training programmes, policies and techniques to
achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and
productive employment under conditions safe-guarding fundamental political
and economic freedoms to the individual.
Article 7
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work which
ensure, in particular:
(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:
(i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without
distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of
work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with
the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;
(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an
appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of
seniority and competence;
(d) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic
holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.
Article 8
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure:
(a) The right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union
of his choice, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, for
the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests. No
restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those
prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the
interests of national security or public order or for the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others; (b) The right of trade unions to establish
national federations or confederations and the right of the latter to form
or join international trade-union organizations; (c) The right of trade
unions to function freely subject to no limitations other than those
prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the
interests of national security or public order or for the protection of the
rights and freedoms of others; (d) The right to strike, provided that it is
exercised in conformity with the laws of the particular country.
(2) This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions
on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces or of the
police or of the administration of the State.
(3) Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the
International Labour Organization Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to take legislative
measures which would prejudice, or apply the law in such a manner as would
prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention.
Article 9
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to social security, including social insurance.
Article 10
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that:
(1) The widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to
the family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society,
particularly for its establishment and while it is responsible for the care
and education of dependent children. Marriage must be entered into with the
free consent of the intending spouses.
(2) Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable
period before and after childbirth. During such period working mothers
should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security
benefits.
(3) Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on
behalf of all children and young persons without discrimination for reasons
of parentage or other conditions. Children and young persons should be
protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in work
harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper
their normal development should be punishable by law. States should also set
age limits below which the paid employment of child labour should be
prohibited and punishable by law.
Article 11
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family,
including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous
improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate
steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect
the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent.
(2) The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the
fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take,
individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including
specific programmes, which are needed:
(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of
food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by
disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or
reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient
development and utilization of natural resources; (b) Taking into account
the problems of both food-importing and food- exporting countries, to ensure
the equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.
Article 12
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health.
(2) The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant
to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary
for:
(a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant
mortality and for the healthy development of the child; (b) The improvement
of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene; (c) The prevention,
treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases;
(d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and
medical attention in the event of sickness.
Article 13
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the
full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and
shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They
further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate
effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and
further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(2) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a
view to achieving the full realization of this right:
(a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all; (b)
Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and
vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and
accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the
progressive introduction of free education; (c) Higher education shall be
make equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every
appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free
education; (d) Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as
far as possible for those persons who have not received or completed the
whole period of their primary education; (e) The development of a system of
schools at all levels shall be actively pursued, an adequate fellowship
system shall be established, and the material conditions of teaching staff
shall be continuously improved.
(3) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect
for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose
for their children schools, other than those established by the public
authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards as may be
laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral
education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
(4) No part of this article shall be construed so as to interfere with
the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational
institutions, subject always to the observance of the principles set forth
in paragraph 1 of this article and to the requirement that the education
given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be
laid down by the State.
Article 14
Each State Party to the present Covenant which, at the time of becoming a
Party, has not been able to secure in its metropolitan territory or other
territories under its jurisdiction compulsory primary education, free of
charge, undertakes, within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed plan
of action for the progressive implementation, within a reasonable number of
years, to be fixed in the plan, of the principle of compulsory education
free of charge for all.
Article 15
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone:
(a) To take part in cultural life; (b) To enjoy the benefits of
scientific progress and its applications; (c) To benefit from the protection
of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary
or artistic production of which he is the author.
(2) The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant
to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary
for the conservation, the development and diffusion of science and culture.
(3) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the
freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity.
(4) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits to
be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts
and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields.
PART IV
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to submit in
conformity with this part of the Covenant reports on the measures which they
have adopted and the progress made in achieving the observance of the rights
recognized herein.
(2) (a) All reports shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, who shall transmit copies to the Economic and Social Council
for consideration in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant.
(b) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall also transmit to
the specialized agencies copies of the reports, or any relevant parts
therefrom, from States Parties to the present Covenant which are also
members of these specialized agencies in so far as these reports, or parts
therefrom, relate to any matters which fall within the responsibilities of
the said agencies in accordance with their constitutional instruments.
Article 17
(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant shall furnish their
reports in stages, in accordance with a programme to be established by the
Economic and Social Council within one year of the entry into force of the
present Covenant after consultation with the States Parties and the
specialized agencies concerned.
(2) Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of
fulfillment of obligations under the present Covenant.
(3) Where relevant information has previously been furnished to the
United Nations or to any specialized agency by any State Party to the
present Covenant, it will not be necessary to reproduce that information,
but a precise reference to the information so furnished will suffice.
Article 18
Pursuant to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations
in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the Economic and
Social Council may make arrangements with the specialized agencies in
respect of their reporting to it on the progress made in achieving the
observance of the provisions of the present Covenant falling within the
scope of their activities. These reports may include particulars of
decisions and recommendations on such implementation adopted by their
competent organs.
Article 19
The Economic and Social Council may transmit to the Commission on Human
Rights for study and general recommendation or, as appropriate, for
information the reports concerning human rights submitted by States in
accordance with articles 16 and 17, and those concerning human rights
submitted by the specialized agencies in accordance with article 18.
Article 20
The States Parties to the present Covenant and the specialized agencies
concerned may submit comments to the Economic and Social Council on any
general recommendation under Article 19 or reference to such general
recommendation in any report of the Commission on Human Rights or any
documentation referred to therein.
Article 21
The Economic and Social Council may submit from time to time to the
General Assembly reports with recommendations of a general nature and a
summary of the information received from the States Parties to the present
Covenant and the specialized agencies on the measures taken and the progress
made in achieving general observance of the rights recognized in the present
Covenant.
Article 22
The Economic and Social Council may bring to the attention of other
organs of the United Nations, their subsidiary organs and specialized
agencies concerned with furnishing technical assistance any matters arising
out of the reports referred to in this part of the present Covenant which
may assist such bodies in deciding, each within its field of competence, on
the advisability of international measures likely to contribute to the
effective progressive implementation of the present Covenant.
Article 23
The States Parties to the present Covenant agree that international
action for the achievement of the rights recognized in the present Covenant
includes such methods as the conclusion of conventions, the adoption of
recommendations, the furnishing of technical assistance and the holding of
regional meetings and technical meetings for the purpose of consultation and
study organized in conjunction with the Governments concerned.
Article 24
Nothing in the present Convention shall be interpreted as impairing the
provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and of the constitutions of
the specialized agencies which define the respective responsibilities of the
various organs of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies in
regard to the matters dealt with in the present Covenant.
Article 25
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the
inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their
natural wealth and resources.
PART V
Article 26
(1) The present Covenant is open for signature by any State Member of the
United Nations or member of any of its specialized agencies, by any State
Party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and by any State
which has been invited by the General Assembly of the United Nations to
become a party to the present Covenant.
(2) The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
(3) The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any State referred
to in Paragraph 1 of this article.
(4) Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of
accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
(5) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States
which have signed the present Covenant or acceded to it of the deposit of
each instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
Article 27
(1) The present Covenant shall enter into force three months after the
date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the
thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
(2) For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to it after
the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of accession, the
present Covenant shall enter into force three months after the date of the
deposit of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
Article 28
The provisions of the present Covenant shall extend to all parts of
federal States without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 29
(1) Any State Party to the present Covenant may propose an amendment and
file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The
Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate any proposed amendment to the
States Parties to the present Covenant with a request that they notify him
whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of
considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that at least one
third of the States Parties favours such a conference, the Secretary-General
shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any
amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting at
the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United
Nations for approval.
(2) Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by the
General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two thirds majority
of the States Parties to the present Covenant in accordance with their
respective constitutional processes.
(3) When amendments come into force they shall be binding on those States
Parties which have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound by
the provisions of the present Covenant and any earlier amendment which they
have accepted.
Article 30
Irrespective of the notifications made under Article 26, paragraph 5, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States referred to
in paragraph 1 of the same article of the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under Article 26;
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Covenant under
article 27 and the date of entry into force of any amendments under article
29.
Article 31
(1) The present Covenant, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian
and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives
of the United Nations.
(2) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified
copies of the present Covenant to all States referred to in article 26. |
