Kazakhstan Encyclopedia - User contributions [en]

Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

2017-04-26T15:40:08Z

LilyKitty: about the right to be heard with degree of maturity

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox Treaty
|name = Hague Abduction Convention
|long_name = Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
|image = HagueAbductionConvention RatificationsandAccessions.svg
|caption = State parties to the convention
{{legend|#1312ff|states that signed and ratified the convention)}}
{{legend|#1312ab|states that acceded to the convention}}
{{legend|#9999ee|state that ratified, but convention has not entered into force}}
|type =
|date_drafted =
|date_signed = 25 October 1980
|location_signed = The Netherlands
|date_sealed =
|date_effective = 1 December 1983<ref name=parties/>
|condition_effective =
|date_expiration =
|ratifiers =
|parties = 97 (March 2017)<ref name=parties/>
|depositor = [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands]]
|language =
|languages = French and English
|wikisource = Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
}}
The '''Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction''' or '''Hague Abduction Convention''' is a [[multilateralism|multilateral]] [[treaty]] developed by the [[Hague Conference on Private International Law]] (HCCH) that provides an expeditious method to return a child [[international child abduction|internationally abducted]] by a parent from one member country to another.

The Convention was concluded 25 October 1980 and entered into force between the signatories on 1 December 1983. The Convention was drafted to ensure the prompt return of children who have been abducted from their country of [[habitual residence]] or wrongfully retained in a contracting state not their country of habitual residence.<ref>Hague Convention, Preamble.</ref>

The primary intention of the Convention is to preserve whatever [[status quo]] [[child custody]] arrangement existed immediately before an alleged wrongful removal or retention thereby deterring a [[parent]] from crossing international boundaries in search of a more sympathetic court. The Convention applies only to children under the age of 16.

As of March 2016, 94 states are party to the convention.<ref name=parties>{{cite web|url=http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=24|title=Status table: Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction|publisher=[[Hague Conference on Private International Law]]|accessdate=19 July 2011|date=14 June 2011}}</ref> In 2016, Philippines and Pakistan acceded to the convention<ref name=parties/>

==Procedural nature==
{{Family law}}
The Convention does not alter any [[substantive rights]]. The Convention requires that a court in which a Hague Convention action is filed should not consider the merits of any underlying [[child custody]] dispute, but should determine only that country in which those issues should be heard. Return of the child is to the member country rather than specifically to the left-behind parent.

The Convention requires the return of a child who was a “habitual resident” in a contracting party immediately before an action that constitutes a breach of custody or access rights.<ref>Hague Convention, Article 4.</ref> The Convention provides that all Contracting States, as well as any judicial and administrative bodies of those Contracting States, “shall act expeditiously in all proceedings seeking the return of a children” and that those institutions shall use the most expeditious procedures available to the end that final decision be made within six weeks from the date of commencement of the proceedings.<ref>Hague Convention, Article 11.</ref>

==Wrongful removal or retention==
The Convention provides that the removal or retention of a child is “wrongful” whenever:

"a. It is in breach of rights of custody attributed to a person, an institution or any other body, either jointly or alone, under the law of the State in which the child was habitually resident immediately before the removal or retention; and

"b. at the time of removal or retention those rights were actually exercised, either jointly or alone, or would have been so exercised but for the removal or retention."
These rights of custody may arise by operation of law or by reason of a judicial or administrative decision, or by reason of an agreement having legal effect under the law of the country of habitual residence.<ref>Hague Convention, Article 3.</ref>

"From the Convention's standpoint, the removal of a child by one of the joint holders without the consent of the other, is . . . wrongful, and this wrongfulness derives in this particular case, not from some action in breach of a particular law, but from the fact that such action has disregarded the rights of the other parent which are also protected by law, and has interfered with their normal exercise."<ref>Elisa Perez–Vera, Explanatory Report: Hague Conference on Private International Law, in 3 Acts and Documents of the Fourteenth Session ("Explanatory Report"), 71, at 447–48</ref>

==Habitual residence==
The Convention mandates return of any child who was “habitually resident” in a contracting nation immediately before an action that constitutes a breach of custody or access rights. The Convention does not define the term “habitual residence,” but it is not intended to be a technical term. Instead, courts should broadly read the term in the context of the Convention’s purpose to discourage unilateral removal of a child from that place in which the child lived when removed or retained, which should generally be understood as the child’s “ordinary residence.” The child’s “habitual residence” is not determined after the incident alleged to constitute a wrongful removal or retention. A parent cannot unilaterally create a new habitual residence by wrongfully removing or sequestering a child. Because the determination of “habitual residence” is primarily a “fact based” determination and not one which is encumbered by legal technicalities, the court must look at those facts, the shared intentions of the parties, the history of the children’s location and the settled nature of the family prior to the facts giving rise to the request for return.<ref>Mozes v. Mozes, 239 F.3d 1067, 1073 (US 9th Cir. 2001) [http://www.incadat.com/index.cfm?act=search.detail&cid=301&lng=1&sl=2 Case details on the INCADAT website]</ref>

==Special rules of evidence==
The Convention provides special rules for admission and consideration of evidence independent of the evidentiary standards set by any member nation. Article 30 provides that the Application for Assistance, as well as any documents attached to that application or submitted to or by the Central Authority are admissible in any proceeding for a child's return.<ref>Hague Convention, Article 30</ref> The Convention also provides that no member nation can require legalization or other similar formality of the underlying documents in context of a Convention proceeding.<ref>Hague Convention, Article 23.</ref> Furthermore, the court in which a Convention action is proceeding shall “take notice directly of the law of, and of judicial or administrative decisions, formally recognized or not in the State of habitual residence of the child, without recourse to the specific procedures for the proof of that law or for the recognition of foreign decisions which would otherwise be applicable" when determining whether there is a wrongful removal or retention under the Convention.<ref>Hague Convention, Article 14</ref>

==Limited defenses to return==
The Convention limits the defenses against return of a wrongfully removed or retained child. To defend against the return of the child, the defendant must establish to the degree required by the applicable [[Legal burden of proof|standard of proof]] (generally determined by the [[lex fori]], i.e. the law of the state where the court is located):

(a) that Petitioner was not “actually exercising custody rights at the time of the removal or retention” under Article 13; or

(b) that Petitioner “had consented to or acquiesced in the removal or retention” under Article 13; or

(c) that more than one year has passed from the time of wrongful removal or retention until the date of the commencement of judicial or administrative proceedings, under Article 12; or

(d) that the child is old enough and [[right to be heard|has a sufficient degree of maturity to knowingly object]] to being returned to the Petitioner and that it is appropriate to heed that objection, under Article 13; or

(e) that “there is grave risk that the child’s return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation,” under Article 13(b); or

(f) that return of the child would subject the child to violation of basic [[human rights]] and [[fundamental right|fundamental freedoms]], under Article 20.

==Non-compliance==
[[File:Annual Report on International Parental Abduction (IPCA), 2016.pdf|thumb|2016 US Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction]]

Noncompliance with the terms and spirit of the Hague Convention has been a particularly difficult problem in the practical implementation of the Convention. In 2014, the United States declared [[Brazil]], [[Mexico]], [[Romania]], and [[Ukraine]] as "Countries with Enforcement Concerns."<ref>http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/childabduction/complianceReports/2014.pdf</ref> Additional countries are listed and reference to the most recent report should be made by concerned parties.

The Cuellar Versus Joyce case<ref>see Cuellar v Joyce, --- F.3d ----, 2010 WL 624886 (9th Cir.(Mont.)</ref> was an example of the difficulties facing left behind parents applying to the US Central Authority.

===Interpretation of article 13b: no return in case of "grave risks"===
The principal purpose of the Abduction Convention is to cause the prompt return of a child to his or her "habitual residence." In certain exceptional cases under Article 13b, the court's mandatory return obligation is changed to a discretionary obligation, specifically, "the judicial or administrative authority of the requested State is not bound to order the return of the child if the person, institution or other body which opposes its return establishes that there is a grave risk that his or her return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation." The duty to return a child is however not abrogated by a finding under Art. 13(b) but merely changes from mandatory to discretionary.

In the primary source of interpretation for the Convention, the Explanatory Report, Professor E. Perez–Vera noted the following:

"it would seem necessary to underline the fact that the three types of exception to the rule concerning the return of the child must be applied only so far as they go and no further. This implies above all that they are to be interpreted in a restrictive fashion if the Convention is not to become a dead letter. In fact, the Convention as a whole rests upon the unanimous rejection of this phenomenon of illegal child removals and upon the conviction that the best way to combat them at an international level is to refuse to grant them legal recognition. The practical application of this principle requires that the signatory States be convinced that they belong, despite their differences, to the same legal community within which the authorities of each State acknowledge that the authorities of one of them—those of the child's habitual residence—are in principle best placed to decide upon questions of custody and access. As a result, a systematic invocation of the said exceptions, substituting the forum chosen by the abductor for that of the child's residence, would lead to the collapse of the whole structure of the Convention by depriving it of the spirit of mutual confidence which is its inspiration."{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}

==State parties==
[[File:AbductionsignatureJapan.jpg|thumb|signature and ratification of Japan in 2014]]

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Table of contracting states as of 2015 with date of entry into force
|-
!scope="col" width="20%" | State !! scope="col" width="13%" |Date of entry into force!!   !! scope="col" width="20%" |State !! scope="col" width="13%" |Date of entry into force!!   !! scope="col" width="20%" |State !! scope="col" width="13%" |Date of entry into force
|-
| Albania || 1 August 2007 || || Gabon || 1 March 2011 || || Peru || 1 August 2001
|-
| || || || || || || Philippines || ''1 April 2016''
|-
| Andorra || 1 July 2011 || || Georgia || 1 October 1997 || || Poland || 1 November 1992
|-
| Argentina || 1 June 1991 || || Germany || 1 December 1990 || || Portugal || 1 December 1983
|-
| Armenia || 1 June 2007 || || Greece || 1 June 1993 || || Romania || 1 February 1993
|-
| Australia || 1 January 1987 || || Guatemala || 1 May 2002 || || Russian Federation || 1 October 2011
|-
| Austria || 1 October 1988 || || Guinea || 1 February 2012|| || Saint Kitts and Nevis || 1 August 1994
|-
| Bahamas || 1 January 1994 || || Honduras || 1 March 1994 || || San Marino || 1 March 2007
|-
| Belarus || 1 April 1998 || || Hungary || 1 July 1986 || || Serbia || 27 April 1992
|-
| Belgium || 1 May 1999 || || Iceland || 1 November 1996 || || Seychelles || 1 August 2008
|-
| Belize || 1 September 1989 || || Iraq || 1 June 2014 || || ||
|-
| Bolivia || 1 October 2016 || || Ireland || 1 October 1991 || || Singapore || 1 March 2011
|-
| Bosnia and Herzegovina || 6 March 1992 || || Israel || 1 December 1991 || || Slovakia || 1 February 2001
|-
| Brazil || 1 January 2000 || || Italy || 1 May 1995 || || Slovenia || 1 June 1994
|-
| || || || Jamaica || 1 May 2017 || || ||
|-
| || || || Japan || 1 April 2014 || || ||
|-
| Bulgaria || 1 August 2003 || || Korea, Republic of || 1 March 2013|| || South Africa || 1 October 1997
|-
| Burkina Faso || 1 August 1992 || || Latvia || 1 February 2002 || || Spain || 1 September 1987
|-
| Canada || 1 December 1983 || || Lesotho || 1 September 2012|| || Sri Lanka || 1 December 2001
|-
| Chile || 1 May 1994 || || Lithuania || 1 September 2002 || || Sweden || 1 June 1989
|-
| China, People's Republic of (Hong-Kong & Macao only, by continuation of UK & Portugal) || || || Luxembourg || 1 January 1987 || || Switzerland || 1 January 1984
|-
| Colombia || 1 March 1996 || || Malta || 1 January 2000 || || Thailand || 1 November 2002
|-
| Costa Rica || 1 February 1999 || || Mauritius || 1 June 1993 || || The Republic of Macedonia || 1 December 1991
|-
| Croatia || 1 December 1991 || || Mexico || 1 September 1991 || || Trinidad and Tobago || 1 September 2000
|-
| Cyprus || 1 February 1995 || || Moldova, Republic of || 1 July 1998 || || Turkey || 1 August 2000
|-
| Czech Republic || 1 March 1998 || || Monaco || 1 February 1993 || || Turkmenistan || 1 March 1998
|-
| Denmark || 1 July 1991 || || Montenegro || 3 June 2006 || || Ukraine || 1 September 2006
|-
| Dominican Republic || 1 November 2004 || || Morocco || 1 June 2010 || || United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland || 1 August 1986
|-
| Ecuador || 1 April 1992 || || Netherlands || 1 September 1990 || || United States of America || 1 July 1988
|-
| El Salvador || 1 May 2001 || || New Zealand || 1 August 1991 || || Uruguay || 1 February 2000
|-
| Estonia || 1 July 2001 || || Nicaragua || 1 March 2001 || || Uzbekistan || 1 August 1999
|-
| Fiji || 1 June 1999 || || Norway || 1 April 1989 || || Venezuela || 1 January 1997
|-
| Finland || 1 August 1994 || || Pakistan || ''1 March 2017'' || || Zambia|| 1 November 2015
|-
| France || 1 December 1983 || || Panama || 1 May 1994 || || Zimbabwe || 1 July 1995
|-
| || || || Paraguay || 1 August 1998 || || ||
|}

==See also==
*[[International child abduction]]
*[[Child abduction]]
*[[Child laundering]]
*[[Child harvesting]]
*[[List of international adoption scandals]]
*[[Hague Adoption Convention]]
*[[Hague Abduction Convention Compliance Reports|Hague Abduction Convention Compliance Reports (US)]]
*[[International Child Abduction Remedies Act|International Child Abduction Remedies Act (US)]]
*[[Hague Conference on Private International Law]]

{{authority control}}

==Footnotes==
<references/>

==External links==
{{commons category|Hague Abduction Convention}}
*[http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.text&cid=24 Full Text of the Convention]
*[http://hcch.e-vision.nl/upload/expl28.pdf Explanatory Report by Elisa Perez-Vera]
*[http://www.incadat.com INCADAT—Case-law database of different jurisdictions concerning the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention]
* [http://travel.state.gov/pdf/2011HagueComplianceReport.pdf US State Department International—Parental Child Abduction—Compliance Report 2011]
*[http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=24 Contracting States]
*[http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=21 The Child Abduction Section of the Hague Conference website]
*[http://www.international-divorce.com/hague-win.htm]
*[http://lawfirminternational.com/israelicaselaw1.aspx Case law and materials including Hebrew documents]
*[http://www.incadat.com/index.cfm?act=text.text&id=9&lng=1 Hague Conference Guides to good practice]
*[http://www.haguedv.org/ The Hague Domestic Violence Project] International Child Abduction and Domestic Violence
*[http://www.haguedv.org/reports/finalreport.pdf Multiple perspectives on the implications of the Hague Convention]



{{DEFAULTSORT:Hague Convention of the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction}}
[[Category:Family law treaties]]
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[[Category:Treaties of Belize]]
[[Category:Treaties of Burkina Faso]]
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[[Category:20th century in The Hague]]

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

2017-04-20T09:51:49Z

LilyKitty: about ratification of Suriname

{{Infobox treaty
| name = Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
| long_name =
| image =CRPD members.svg|thumb|right|400px|Signatories to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
| image_width =200px
| caption =<div style="text-align: left">{{legend|#008000|states parties}}
{{legend|#00ff00|states that have signed, but not ratified}}
{{legend|#b9b9b9|states that have not signed}}</div>
| type =
| date_drafted =13 December 2006
| date_signed = 30 March 2007
| location_signed =New York
| date_sealed =
| date_effective = 3 May 2008
| condition_effective = 20 ratifications
| date_expiration =
| signatories =160
| parties =173
| ratifiers =
| depositor = Secretary-General of the United Nations
| languages = Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
| wikisource =
}}
The '''Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities''' is an [[international human rights instrument|international human rights]] [[multilateral treaty|treaty]] of the [[United Nations]] intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with [[Disability|disabilities]]. Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of [[human rights]] by persons with disabilities and ensure that they enjoy full [[equality under the law]]. The Convention has served as the major catalyst in the global movement from viewing persons with disabilities as objects of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing them as full and equal members of society, with human rights. It is also the only UN human rights instrument with an explicit [[sustainable development]] dimension. The Convention was the first human rights treaty of the third millennium.

The text was adopted by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] on 13 December 2006, and opened for signature on 30 March 2007. Following ratification by the 20th party, it came into force on 3 May 2008.<ref name="Scoop-EiF">{{cite web |url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0805/S00048.htm |title=Landmark UN treaty on rights of persons with disabilities enters into force |publisher=Scoop |date=2008-05-05 |accessdate=2008-06-28}}</ref> As of April 2017, it has 160 signatories and 173 parties, which includes 172 states and the [[European Union]] (which ratified it on 23 December 2010 to the extent responsibilities of the member states were transferred to the European Union).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&clang=_en |title= UN Treaty Collection: parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: List of parties |publisher=United Nations |date=2016-10-12 |accessdate=2017-04-20}}</ref> In December 2012, a vote in the United States Senate fell six votes short of the two-thirds majority required for ratification.<ref>{{cite web|last=Helderman |first=Rosalind S. |url=http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-04/politics/35624605_1_treaty-disabled-children-americans-with-disabilities-act |title=Senate rejects treaty to protect disabled around the world - Washington Post |publisher=Articles.washingtonpost.com |date=2012-12-04 |accessdate=2013-09-20}}</ref> The Convention is monitored by the [[Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]].

==History==

1981 to 1992 was the UN "Decade of Disabled Persons". In 1987, a global meeting of experts to review progress recommended that the UN General Assembly should draft an international convention on the elimination of discrimination against persons with disabilities. Draft convention outlines were proposed by [[Italy]] and subsequently [[Sweden]], but no consensus was reached. Many government representatives argued that existing human rights documents were sufficient. Instead, non-compulsory "Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities" were adopted by the General Assembly in 1993. In 2000, leaders of five international disability NGOs issued a declaration, calling on all governments to support a Convention. In 2001, the General Assembly, following a proposal by [[Mexico]], established an Ad Hoc Committee to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, based on a holistic approach.<ref>O'Reilly, A. (2003) [http://www.disabilityworld.org/01-03_03/news/unconvention.shtml A UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: The Next Steps] Paper presented at the General Assembly Meeting of Rehabilitation International Arab Region, 8–9 March 2003, Kingdom of Bahrain.</ref> Disability rights organisations, including the [[International Disability Alliance]] as coordinator of an ad hoc International Disability Caucus, participated actively in the drafting process, in particular seeking a role for disabled people and their organisations in the implementation and monitoring of what became the Convention.<ref>[http://www.handicap-international.org.uk/what_we_do/disability_rights/un_convention Handicap International UK - UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]</ref>

Mexico initiated negotiations, with active support from [[United Nations Regional Groups#Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)|GRULAC]] (the Latin American regional group). When support for a Convention was foundering in 2002 due to [[Western European and Others Group|WEOG]] opposition, [[New Zealand]] played a pivotal role in achieving cross-regional momentum. Acting as facilitator from 2002–03, New Zealand eventually assumed the formal role of Chair of Ad Hoc Committee and led negotiations to a consensus agreement in August 2006, working closely with other Bureau members Jordan, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, and South Africa, as well as Korea and Mexico. The Convention became one of the most quickly supported human rights instruments in history, with strong support from all regional groups. 160 States have signed the Convention upon its opening in 2007 and 126 States ratified the Convention within its first five years. In recognition of its role in creating the Convention, as well as the quality of New Zealand's landmark national Disability Strategy, [[Governor-General of New Zealand]] [[Anand Satyanand]] received the 2008 World Disability Award on behalf of the nation.

As of 2015, for the first time in its history, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities opened an investigation into a signatory state for breaching their convention obligations. The investigation was triggered by article 6 of the optional protocol, which provides that an investigation will be carried out once the Committee receives “reliable information indicating grave and systematic violation” of the human rights of persons with disabilities. The [[government of the United Kingdom]] is being investigated, with the final report currently due to be released in 2017.<ref name="UN inquiry considers alleged UK disability rights violations">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/20/un-inquiry-uk-disability-rights-violations-cprd-welfare-cuts |title=UN inquiry considers alleged UK disability rights violations |publisher=The Guardian |date=2015-10-20 |accessdate=2016-08-12}}</ref>

==Summary==

The Convention follows the civil law tradition, with a preamble, in which the principle that "all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated " of [[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action]] is cited, followed by 50 articles. Unlike many UN covenants and conventions, it is not formally divided into parts.

'''Article 1''' defines the purpose of the Convention:
: ''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''

'''Articles 2 and 3''' provide definitions and general principles including [[communication]], [[reasonable accommodation]] and [[universal design]].

'''Articles 4–32''' define the rights of persons with disabilities and the obligations of states parties towards them. Many of these mirror rights affirmed in other UN conventions such as the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], [[International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]] or the [[United Nations Convention Against Torture|Convention Against Torture]], but with specific obligations ensuring that they can be fully realised by persons with disabilities.

Rights specific to this convention include the rights to [[accessibility]] including the [[information technology]], the rights to live independently and be included in the community (Article 19), to personal mobility (article 20), habilitation and rehabilitation (Article 26), and to participation in political and public life, and [[culture|cultural life]], [[recreation]] and [[sport]] (Articles 29 and 30).

In addition, parties to the Convention must raise awareness of the human rights of persons with disabilities (Article 8), and ensure [[accessibility|access]] to [[road]]s, [[building]]s, and [[information]] (Article 9).

'''Articles 33–39''' govern reporting and monitoring of the convention by [[national human rights institutions]] (Article 33) and [[Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]] (Article 34).

'''Articles 40–50''' govern ratification, entry into force, and amendment of the Convention. '''Article 49''' also requires that the Convention be available in accessible formats.

==Core provisions==

===Guiding principles of the Convention===
There are eight guiding principles that underlie the Convention:

#Respect for inherent dignity, individual [[autonomy]] including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of persons
#Non-discrimination
#Full and effective participation and [[inclusion (disability rights)|inclusion]] in society
#[[Respect diversity|Respect for difference]] and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human [[diversity (politics)|diversity]] and humanity
#[[Equal opportunity|Equality of opportunity]]
#[[Accessibility]]
#[[gender equality|Equality between men and women]]
#Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities

===Definition of disability===
The Convention adopts a [[social model of disability]], and defines disability as including

:''those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory [[Disability|impairments]] which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.''

===Principle of "reasonable accommodation"===
The Convention defines "[[reasonable accommodation]]" to be "necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and [[fundamental rights|fundamental freedoms]]" at the Article 2 and demands this all aspects of life including [[inclusion (education)|inclusive education]].

===Prevention of discrimination===
The Article 8 of Convention stresses the [[awareness raising]] to foster respect for the rights and dignity against discrimination:
#To raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding persons with disabilities, and to foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
#To combat [[stereotype]]s, [[prejudice]]s and harmful practices relating to persons with disabilities, including those based on sex and age, in all areas of life.
#To promote awareness of the capacities and contributions of persons with disabilities.
#Initiating and maintaining effective public awareness campaigns designed: (i) to nurture receptiveness to the rights of persons with disabilities. (ii) to promote positive perceptions and greater social awareness towards persons with disabilities. (iii) to promote recognition of the skills, merits and abilities of persons with disabilities, and of their contributions to [[wikt:Special:Search/workplace|workplace]] and the [[labour market]].
#Encouraging all organs of the [[mass media]] to portray persons with disabilities in a manner consistent with the purpose of the present Convention.
#Promoting awareness-training programmes regarding persons with disabilities and the rights of persons with disabilities.

===Accessibility===
The Convention stresses that persons with disabilities should be able to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life. To this end, States Parties should take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access, to the physical environment, to transportation, to [[information and communications technology]], and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public.
accessibility can be grouped into three main groups.
1. physical accessibility
2. service accessibility
3. [[accessibility]] to [[information and communication technology|communication and information]]

===Situations of risk and humanitarian emergency===
Article 11 of the Convention affirms that States Parties shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including [[international humanitarian law]] and [[international human rights law]], all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of [[armed conflict]], humanitarian [[emergency|emergencies]] and the occurrence of [[natural disaster]].

===Recognition before the law and legal capacity===
Article 12 of the Convention affirms the equal recognition before law and [[capacity (law)|legal capacity]] of the persons with disabilities.

States Parties should:
#reaffirm that persons with disabilities have the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
#recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.
#take appropriate measures to provide access by persons with disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their legal capacity.
#ensure that all measures that relate to the exercise of legal capacity provide for appropriate and effective safeguards to prevent abuse in accordance with [[international human rights law]]. Such safeguards shall ensure that measures relating to the exercise of legal capacity respect the rights, will and preferences of the person, are free of [[conflict of interest]] and undue influence, are proportional and tailored to the person's circumstance, apply for the shortest time possible and are subject to regular [[judicial review|review]] by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body. The safeguards shall be proportional to the degree to which such measures affect the person's rights and interests.

===Access to justice===
Article 13 of the Convention affirms the effective access to justice for persons with disabilities, stating that:
#States parties shall ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, including through the provision of procedural and [[reasonable accommodation|age-appropriate accommodations]], in order to facilitate their effective role as a direct and indirect participants, including as [[witness]]es, in all legal proceeding, including at investigative and other preliminary stages.
#In order to help to ensure effective access to [[criminal justice|justice]] for persons with disabilities, states Parties shall promote appropriate training for those working in the field of administration of justice, including [[police]] and prison staff. This Article together with the Article 12 are cited by the "Handbook on prisoners with special needs"<ref>[http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a0969d42.html Handbook on prisoners with special needs, pp. 47-48]</ref> by [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]].

===Right to education===
The Convention states that persons with disabilities should be guaranteed the right to [[inclusive education]] at all levels, regardless of age, without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity.

States Parties should ensure that:
#children with disabilities are not excluded from [[free education|free]] and compulsory [[primary education]], or from [[secondary education]];
#adults with disabilities have access to general tertiary education, [[vocational training]], [[adult education]] and [[lifelong learning]];
#persons with disabilities receive the necessary support, within the general education system, to facilitate their effective education; and
#effective individualized support measures are put in place to maximize academic and social development.

States Parties should take appropriate measures, such as:
#endorsing the learning of Braille, alternative script, [[augmentative and alternative communication|augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication]] and orientation and mobility skills, and facilitating [[peer support]] and mentoring;
#supporting the learning of sign language and promoting the linguistic identity of the deaf community;
#advocating that education of persons, particularly children, who are blind and/or deaf, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and means of communication for the individual; and
#employing teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language and/or Braille, and to train education professionals and staff about disability [[awareness]], use of augmentative and alternative modes and formats of communication, and educational techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities.

===Right to health===
Article 25 specifies that "persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the [[right to health|highest attainable standard of health]] without discrimination on the basis of disability."<ref>[http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/disabilities-convention.htm#25 Article 25]</ref>

===Protecting the integrity of the person===
Article 17 of the Convention states that every person with disabilities has a right to respect for his or her physical and mental [[integrity]] on an equal basis with others.

===Respect for the family===
Article 23 of the Convention prohibits [[compulsory sterilization]] of disabled persons<ref>[http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/Regularsession/Session22/A.HRC.22.53_English.pdf?u Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (A/HRC/22/53)] states that persons especially with psychological disability are often subjected to unhuman treatment or medical abuses (para 57-70)</ref> and guarantees their right to [[adoption|adopt children]].

===Habilitation and rehabilitation===
Article 26 of the Convention affirms that "States Parties shall take effective and appropriate measures, including through [[peer support]], to enable persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. To that end, States Parties shall organize, strengthen and extend comprehensive [[habilitation]] and [[physical medicine and rehabilitation|rehabilitation]] services and programmes, particularly in the areas of health, [[employment]], [[education]] and [[social services]], in such a way that these services and programmes:
#Begin at the earliest possible stage, and are based on the [[multidisciplinarity|multidisciplinary]] assessment of individual needs and strengths;
#Support participation and inclusion in the community and all aspects of society, are voluntary, and are available to persons with disabilities as close as possible to their own communities, including in rural areas.
#States Parties shall promote the development of initial and continuing training for professionals and staff working in habilitation and rehabilitation service.
#States Parties shall promote the availability, knowledge and use of [[assistive device]]s and technologies, designed for persons with disabilities, as they relate to habilitation and rehabilitation.

===Participation rights===
The Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities recognised that "that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others" and that "persons with disabilities continue to face barriers in their participation as equal members of society."

The Convention makes participation of the disabled one of its principles, stating "The principles of the present Convention shall be:...Full and effective participation and [[inclusion (disability rights)|inclusion]] in society", subsequently enshrining the right of disabled to participate fully and equally in the community, education, all aspect of life (in the context of habilitation and [[Physical medicine and rehabilitation|rehabilitation]]), political and public life, [[right to science and culture|cultural life]], leisure and sports.<ref>[http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]</ref>

States Parties should take appropriate measure such as:
#To enables persons with disabilities to have the opportunity to develop and utilize their creative, [[art]]istic and intellectual potential, not only for their own benefit, but also for the enrichment of society.
#In accordance with [[international law]], to ensure that law protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access by persons with disabilities to cultural materials.
#So that persons with disabilities should be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including [[sign languages]] and [[deaf culture]].

===Work and employment===
Article 27 requires that States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis of others; this includes the right to the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a [[labour market]] and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities. And that States Parties shall safeguard and promote the realization of the [[right to work]], including for those who acquire a disability during the course of employment, by taking appropriate steps, including through legislation, to inter alia:
#Prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability with regard to all matters concerning all forms of employment, continuance of employment, career advancement and safe and healthy working conditions;
#Protect the rights of persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, to [[decent work|just and favourable conditions of work]], including equal opportunities and [[equal pay for equal work|equal remuneration for work of equal value]], safe and healthy working conditions, including protection from [[harassment]], and the [[redress]] of grievances;
#Ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise their labour and [[trade union]] rights on an equal basis with others;
#Enable persons with disabilities to have effective access to general technical and vocational guidance programmes, placement services and [[vocational education|vocational]] and continuing training;
#Promote employment opportunities and career advancement for persons with disabilities in the labour market, as well as assistance in finding, obtaining, maintaining and returning to employment;
#Promote opportunities for [[self-employment]], [[entrepreneurship]], the development of cooperative and starting one's own business.
#Ensure that [[reasonable accommodation]] is provided to persons with disabilities in the [[wikt:Special:Search/workplace|workplace]].
#Promote the acquisition by persons with disabilities of work experience in the open [[labour market]].
#Promote vocational and professional rehabilitation, job retention and return-to-work programmes for persons with disabilities.

States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are not held in slavery or in servitude, and are protected, on an equal basis with others, from [[unfree labour|forces or compulsory labour]].

===Adequate standard of living and social protection===
Article 28 requires that States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to an [[right to an adequate standard of living|adequate standard of living]] for themselves and their families, including [[right to food|adequate food]], [[right to clothing|clothing]] and [[right to housing|housing]], and to the continuous improvement of living conditions, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this rights without discrimination on the basis of disability.

States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to [[social security|social protection]] and to the enjoyment of that rights without discrimination on the basis of disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of the rights, including measures;
#To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water service, and to ensure access to appropriate and affordable service, [[assistive technology|device]] and other [[social assistance|assistance]] for disability-related needs.
#To ensure access by persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities and older persons with disabilities, to social protection programmes and [[poverty reduction]] programmes.
#To ensure access by persons with disabilities and their families living in situations of poverty to assistance from the State with disability-related expenses, including adequate training, [[counselling]], financial assistance and respite care.
#To ensure access by persons with disabilities to [[public housing]] programmes.
#To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to retirement benefits and programmes.

===Right to vote===
[[Image:topvoter2.jpg|thumb|400px|ISG TopVoter, a machine designed specifically to be used by voters with disabilities.]]
Article 29 requires that all Contracting States protect "the right of persons with disabilities to vote by [[secret ballot]] in [[elections]] and public [[referendums]]".<ref>Ron McCallum, 'Participating in Political and Public life' (2011) 32 ''AltLJ'' 80. http://www.altlj.org/news-and-views/opinion/92-participating-in-political-and-public-life</ref> According to this provision, each Contracting State should provide for voting equipment which would enable disabled voters to vote independently and secretly. Some democracies, e.g., the US, Japan, Netherlands, Slovenia, Albania or India allow disabled voters to use electronic [[voting machines]] or electronic aides which help disabled voters to fill the paper ballot. In others, among them Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Canada, Ghana, United Kingdom, and most of African and Asian countries, visually impaired voters can use ballots in [[Braille]] or paper ballot templates. Many of these and also some other democracies, Chile for example, use adjustable desks so that voters on wheelchairs can approach them. Some democracies only allow another person to cast a ballot for the blind or disabled voter. Such arrangement, however, does not assure secrecy of the ballot.

Article 29 also requires that Contracting States ensure "that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use." In some democracies, i.e. Sweden and the US, all the polling places already are fully accessible for disabled voters.

==Reservations==

A number of parties have made reservations and interpretative declarations to their application of the Convention.<ref name="reservations">https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&clang=_en Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Declarations and Reservations. UN Treaties Collection. Retrieved 2016-10-13.</ref>

[[Australia]] does not consider itself bound to stop forcibly medicating those labeled mentally ill when it is considered a last resort.<ref name="reservations"/>

[[El Salvador]] accepts the Convention to the extent that it is compatible with its constitution.<ref name="reservations"/>

[[Malta]] interprets the right to health in Article 25 of the Convention as not implying any right to [[abortion]]. It also reserves the right to continue to apply its own election laws around accessibility and assistance.<ref name="reservations"/>

[[Mauritius]] does not consider itself bound by the Article 11 obligation to take all necessary measures to protect people with disabilities during natural disasters, armed conflict or humanitarian emergencies, unless permitted by domestic legislation.<ref name="reservations"/>

The [[Netherlands]] interprets the right to life in Article 10 within the framework of its domestic laws. It also interprets Article 25(f), which bars the discriminatory denial of health care, as permitting a person to refuse medical treatment, including food or fluids.<ref name="reservations"/>

[[Poland]] interprets Articles 23 and 25 as not conferring any right to abortion.<ref name="reservations"/>

The [[United Kingdom]] has reservations relating to the right to education, immigration, service in the armed forces and an aspect of social security law.<ref name="reservations"/>

==Optional protocol==
[[File:OP-CRPD-members.svg|thumb|400px|{{legend|#008000|states parties}}
{{legend|#00ff00|states that signed, but have not ratified}}
{{legend|#b9b9b9|states that have not signed}}</div>]]
The [[Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]] is a side-agreement to the Convention which allows its parties to recognise the competence of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to consider complaints from individuals.<ref>[http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/disabilities-op.htm Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ], Article 1.</ref> The text is based heavily on the [[Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women]].

The Optional Protocol entered into force with the Convention on 3 May 2008.<ref name="Scoop-EiF"/> As of April 2017, it has 92 signatories and 92 parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&clang=_en |title= UN Treaty Collection: Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=2017-04-20}}</ref>

==Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities==

The [[Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities]] is a body of human rights experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Convention. It initially consisted of 12 independent human rights experts, with half elected for a two-year term and half elected for four-years.<ref name="Art34">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 34.</ref> Thereafter members will be elected for four-year terms, with half the members elected every two years. As the Convention has achieved 80 ratifications, the Committee will be expanded to 18 members.<ref name="Art34"/>

==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
* [[Ableism]]
* [[Americans with Disabilities Act]]
* [[Augmentative and alternative communication]]
* [[Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons]]
* [[Disability and poverty]]
* [[Disability Discrimination Act 1995]]
* [[Disability rights movement]]
* [[Handicap International]]
* [[Information technology]]
* [[International Day of People with Disability]]
* [[International Disability and Development Consortium]]
{{col-2}}
* [[International human rights law]]
* [[International Year of Disabled Persons]]
* [[National human rights institutions]]
* [[Nothing About Us Without Us]]
* [[Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness]]
* [[Psychiatric survivors movement]]
* [[Reasonable accommodation]]
* [[Transgenerational design]]
* [[Universal design]]
* [[World report on disability]]
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html Text of the Convention (HTML)]
* [http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convention_accessible_pdf.pdf Text of the Convention (accessible PDF)]
* [http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&lang=en List of parties]
* [http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities] - Official monitoring body
* [http://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html UN Enable]
* [http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/crpd/crpd.html Procedural history note and audiovisual material] on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the [http://legal.un.org/avl/historicarchives.html Historic Archives of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law]

{{International human rights legal instruments}}
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

2017-04-12T10:30:38Z

LilyKitty: about compulsory education in Article 14

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox Treaty
| name = International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
| long_name =
| image = ICESCR.svg
| image_width = 400px
| caption = Parties and signatories to the ICESCR:
{{legend|#008000|signed and ratified}}
{{legend|#00ff00|signed but not ratified}}
{{legend|#b9b9b9|neither signed nor ratified}}
| type = [[United Nations General Assembly resolution]]
| date_drafted = 1954
| date_signed = 16 December 1966<ref name=refworld>{{cite web |title=International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36c0.html|work=www.refworld.org}}</ref>
| location_signed = [[United Nations Headquarters]], New York
| date_sealed =
| date_effective = 3 January 1976<ref name=refworld/>
| condition_effective =
| date_expiration =
| signatories = 71
| parties = 164
| depositor = [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General]] of the United Nations
| languages = French, English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic<ref name=EISIL>{{cite web|title=EISIL International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights|url=http://www.eisil.org/index.php?sid=4ails&id=239&t=link_details&cat=187|work=www.eisil.org}}</ref>
| website =
| citations = {{wikisource-inline|United Nations Trusteeship Agreements listed by the General Assembly as Non-Self-Governing}}
| wikisource1 = International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
}}
[[File:Economic and Social Council Resolution 2007-25.pdf|thumb|200px|ECOSOC Resolution 2007/25: Support to [[United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories|Non-Self-Governing Territories]] by the specialized agencies and international institutions associated with the United Nations (26 July 2007)]]
The '''International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights''' ('''ICESCR''') is a multilateral [[treaty]] adopted by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] on 16 December 1966, and in force from 3 January 1976.<ref name=refworld/> It commits its parties to work toward the granting of [[economic, social, and cultural rights]] (ESCR) to the [[United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories|Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories]] and individuals, including [[labour rights]] and the [[right to health]], the [[right to education]], and the [[right to an adequate standard of living]]. As of 2015, the Covenant has 164 parties.<ref name=reservations>{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=080000028002b6ed |title=UN Treaty Collection: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |accessdate=21 November 2016 |publisher= UN |date=3 January 1976}}</ref> A further six countries, including the United States, have signed but not ratified the Covenant.

The ICESCR is part of the [[International Bill of Human Rights]], along with the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] (UDHR) and the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]] (ICCPR), including the latter's [[First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights|first]] and [[Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights|second]] Optional Protocols.<ref name=ohchr-fs2>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs2.htm |title=Fact Sheet No.2 (Rev.1), The International Bill of Human Rights |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR |date=June 1996 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080313093428/http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs2.htm |archivedate = 13 March 2008}}</ref>

The Covenant is monitored by the UN [[Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Committee on economic, social and cultural rights|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CESCR/Pages/CESCRIndex.aspx|work=www.ohchr.org}}</ref>

==Genesis==
The ICESCR has its roots in the same process that led to the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].<ref>{{cite web |title=International bill of human rights|url=http://www.lawteacher.net/human-rights/essays/international-bill-of-human-rights.php|work=lawteacher.net}}</ref> A "Declaration on the Essential Rights of Man" had been proposed at the [[United Nations Conference on International Organization|1945 San Francisco Conference]] which led to the founding of the United Nations, and the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council|Economic and Social Council]] was given the task of drafting it.<ref name=ohchr-fs2/> Early on in the process, the document was split into a declaration setting forth general principles of human rights, and a convention or covenant containing binding commitments. The former evolved into the UDHR and was adopted on 10 December 1948.<ref name=ohchr-fs2/>

Drafting continued on the convention, but there remained significant differences between UN members on the relative importance of [[negative right|negative]] civil and political versus [[positive right|positive]] economic, social and cultural rights.<ref>{{cite book |title= The International Law of Human Rights|last=Sieghart |first=Paul |year=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=25 }}</ref> These eventually caused the convention to be split into two separate covenants, "one to contain civil and political rights and the other to contain economic, social and cultural rights."<ref name=unga-r543>United Nations General Assembly Resolution 543, 5 February 1952.</ref> The two covenants were to contain as many similar provisions as possible, and be opened for signature simultaneously.<ref name=unga-r543/> Each would also contain an article on the right of all peoples to [[self-determination]].<ref>United Nations General Assembly Resolution 545, 5 February 1952.</ref>

The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those having responsibility for the administration of [[United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories|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.<ref>'''International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights''', Part I, Article 1, Paragraph 3.</ref>

The first document became the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], and the second the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The drafts were presented to the [[UN General Assembly]] for discussion in 1954, and adopted in 1966.<ref>United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2200, 16 December 1966.</ref>

==Summary==
The Covenant follows the structure of the UDHR and the ICCPR, with a preamble and thirty-one articles, divided into five parts.<ref>The following section summarises the text of the Covenant.</ref>

'''Part 1''' (Article 1) recognises the right of all peoples to [[self-determination]], including the right to "freely determine their political status",<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 1.1</ref> pursue their economic, social and cultural goals, and manage and dispose of their own resources. It recognises a [[negative right]] of a people not to be deprived of its means of subsistence,<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 1.2</ref> and imposes an obligation on those parties still responsible for non-self governing and trust territories (colonies) to encourage and respect their self-determination.<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 1.3</ref>

'''Part 2''' (Articles 2–5) establishes the principle of "progressive realisation" – see below. It also requires the rights be recognised "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".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 2.2</ref> The rights can only be limited by law, in a manner compatible with the nature of the rights, and only for the purpose of "promoting the general welfare in a democratic society".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 4</ref>

'''Part 3''' (Articles 6–15) lists the rights themselves. These include rights to
* work, under "just and favourable conditions",<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 7</ref> with the right to form and join trade unions (Articles 6, 7, and 8);
* [[social security]], including [[social insurance]] (Article 9);
* family life, including paid [[parental leave]] and the protection of children (Article 10);
* [[right to an adequate standard of living|an adequate standard of living]], including adequate [[right to food|food]], clothing and [[right to housing|housing]], and the "continuous improvement of living conditions" (Article 11);
* health, specifically "the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health" (Article 12);
* education, including free universal primary education, generally available secondary education and equally accessible higher education. This should be directed to "the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity",<ref name=ICESCR-art13.1>''ICESCR'', Article 13.1</ref> and enable all persons to participate effectively in society (Articles 13 and 14);
* participation in cultural life (Article 15).

Many of these rights include specific actions which must be undertaken to realise them.

'''Part 4''' (Articles 16–25) governs reporting and monitoring of the Covenant and the steps taken by the parties to implement it. It also allows the monitoring body – originally the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]] – now the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – see below – to make general recommendations to the [[UN General Assembly]] on appropriate measures to realise the rights (Article 21)

'''Part 5''' (Articles 26–31) governs ratification, entry into force, and amendment of the Covenant.

==Core provisions==

===Principle of progressive realisation===
'''Article 2''' of the Covenant imposes a duty on all parties to
:''take steps... 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 particularly the adoption of legislative measures''.<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 2.1</ref>

This is known as the principle of "progressive realisation". It acknowledges that some of the rights (for example, the right to health) may be difficult in practice to achieve in a short period of time, and that states may be subject to resource constraints, but requires them to act as best they can within their means.

The principle differs from that of the ICCPR, which obliges parties to "respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction" the rights in that Convention.<ref>{{cite web|title=ICCPR |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm |pages=Article 2.1 |publisher=UN |accessdate=13 July 2008 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705115024/http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm |archivedate=5 July 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> However, it does not render the Covenant meaningless. The requirement to "take steps" imposes a continuing obligation to work towards the realisation of the rights.<ref>Paragraph 9, {{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(symbol)/CESCR+General+comment+3.En?OpenDocument |title=CESCR General Comment 3 |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR |date=14 December 1990 }}</ref> It also rules out deliberately regressive measures which impede that goal. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also interprets the principle as imposing minimum core obligations to provide, at the least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 3'', paragraph 10.</ref> If resources are highly constrained, this should include the use of targeted programmes aimed at the vulnerable.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 3'', paragraph 12.</ref>

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regards legislation as an indispensable means for realising the rights which is unlikely to be limited by resource constraints. The enacting of anti-discrimination provisions and the establishment of enforceable rights with judicial remedies within national legal systems are considered to be appropriate means. Some provisions, such as anti-discrimination laws, are already required under other human rights instruments, such as the ICCPR.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 3'', paragraphs 3–6.</ref>

===Labour rights===
{{main|Labour rights}}
'''Article 6''' of the Covenant recognises the [[right to work]], defined as the opportunity of everyone to gain their living by freely chosen or accepted work.<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 6.1.</ref> Parties are required to take "appropriate steps" to safeguard this right, including technical and vocational training and economic policies aimed at steady economic development and ultimately [[full employment]]. The right implies parties must guarantee equal access to employment and protect workers from being unfairly deprived of employment. They must prevent [[workplace discrimination|discrimination in the workplace]] and ensure access for the disadvantaged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/493bee38093458c0c12571140029367c/$FILE/G0640313.pdf |format=PDF|title=CESCR General Comment 18: The Right to Work |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN Economic and Social Council |date=6 February 2006|pages=paragraph 31}}</ref> The fact that work must be freely chosen or accepted means parties must prohibit [[Unfree labour|forced]] or [[child labor]].<ref>''CESCR General Comment 18'', paragraph 23.</ref>

The work referred to in Article 6 must be ''[[decent work]]''.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 18'', paragraph 7.</ref> This is effectively defined by '''Article 7''' of the Covenant, which recognises the right of everyone to "just and favourable" working conditions. These are in turn defined as fair wages with [[equal pay for equal work]], sufficient to provide a decent living for workers and their dependants; [[Occupational safety and health|safe working conditions]]; equal opportunity in the workplace; and sufficient rest and leisure, including limited [[working hours]] and regular, [[paid holidays]].

'''Article 8''' recognises the right of workers to form or join trade unions and protects the [[right to strike]]. It allows these rights to be restricted for members of the armed forces, police, or government administrators. Several parties have placed reservations on this clause, allowing it to be interpreted in a manner consistent with their constitutions (e.g., [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China|China]], [[Constitution of Mexico|Mexico]]), or extending the restriction of union rights to groups such as [[firefighter]]s (e.g., [[Constitution of Japan|Japan]]).<ref name=reservations/>

===Right to social security===
{{main|Social security}}
'''Article 9''' of the Covenant recognizes "the right of everyone to [[social security]], including [[social insurance]]".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 9.</ref> It requires parties to provide some form of social insurance scheme to protect people against the risks of sickness, disability, maternity, employment injury, unemployment or old age; to provide for survivors, orphans, and those who cannot afford health care; and to ensure that families are adequately supported. Benefits from such a scheme must be adequate, accessible to all, and provided without discrimination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,CESCR,,,47b17b5b39c,0.html|title=CESCR Draft General Comment 19: The right to social security |accessdate=13 July 2008|publisher=UN Economic and Social Council |date=4 February 2008|at= paragraphs 1 – 4}}</ref> The Covenant does not restrict the form of the scheme, and both contributory and non-contributory schemes are permissible (as are community-based and mutual schemes).<ref>''CESCR Draft General Comment 19'', paragraph 5.</ref>

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has noted persistent problems with the implementation of this right, with very low levels of access.<ref>''CESCR Draft General Comment 19'', paragraph 7.</ref>

Several parties, including France and Monaco, have reservations allowing them to set residence requirements in order to qualify for social benefits. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights permits such restrictions, provided they are proportionate and reasonable.<ref>''CESCR Draft General Comment 19'', paragraph 37.</ref>

===Right to family life===
{{main|Children's rights|Fathers' rights|Mothers' rights|Reproductive rights}}
'''Article 10''' of the Covenant recognises the family as "the natural and fundamental group unit of society", and requires parties to accord it "the widest possible protection and assistance".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 10.1.</ref> Parties must ensure that their citizens are free to establish families and that marriages are freely contracted and not [[forced marriage|forced]].<ref name=ohchr-fs16>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs16.htm#6 |title=Fact Sheet No.16 (Rev.1), The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR |date=July 1991 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080501050654/http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs16.htm#6 |archivedate = 1 May 2008}}</ref> Parties must also provide [[parental leave|paid leave]] or adequate social security to mothers before and after childbirth, an obligation which overlaps with that of Article 9. Finally, parties must take "special measures" to protect children from economic or social exploitation, including setting a minimum age of employment and barring children from dangerous and harmful occupations.<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 10.3.</ref>

===Right to an adequate standard of living===
{{main|Right to food|Right to water|Right to housing|Right to clothing}}
'''Article 11''' recognises the [[right to an adequate standard of living|right of everyone to an adequate standard of living]]. This includes, but is not limited to, the right to adequate food, clothing, housing, and "the continuous improvement of living conditions".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 11.1.</ref> It also creates an obligation on parties to work together to eliminate [[world hunger]].

The '''right to adequate food''', also referred to as the [[right to food]], is interpreted as requiring "the availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse substances, and acceptable within a given culture".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/3d02758c707031d58025677f003b73b9?Opendocument |title=CESCR General Comment 12: The right to adequate food |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN Economic and Social Council |date=12 May 1999|pages=paragraph 8 }}</ref> This must be accessible to all, implying an obligation to provide special programmes for the vulnerable.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 12'', paragraph 13.</ref> This must also ensure an equitable distribution of world [[food supply|food supplies]] in relation to need, taking into account the problems of food-importing and food-exporting countries.<ref>''''ICESCR, Article 11, 2 (b)</ref> The right to adequate food also implies a [[right to water]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=4538838d11&skip=0&advsearch=y&process=y&allwords=comment%2015&exactphrase=&atleastone=&without=&title=&monthfrom=01&yearfrom=2003&monthto=01&yearto=2003&coa=&language=&citation=|title=CESCR General Comment 15: The right to water |accessdate=13 July 2008 |publisher=UN Economic and Social Council |date=20 January 2003|pages=paragraph 3.}}</ref>

The '''right to adequate housing''', also referred to as the [[right to housing]], is "the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity".<ref name=ohchr-gc4-p7>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/469f4d91a9378221c12563ed0053547e?Opendocument |title=CESCR General Comment 4: The right to adequate housing |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR |date=13 December 1991|at= paragraph 7.}}</ref> It requires "adequate privacy, adequate space, adequate security, adequate lighting and ventilation, adequate basic infrastructure and adequate location with regard to work and basic facilities – all at a reasonable cost".<ref name=ohchr-gc4-p7/> Parties must ensure security of tenure and that access is free of discrimination, and progressively work to eliminate homelessness. Forced evictions, defined as "the permanent or temporary removal against their will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection", are a prima facie violation of the Covenant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/959f71e476284596802564c3005d8d50?Opendocument |title=CESCR General Comment 7: The right to adequate housing: forced evictions |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR |date=20 May 1997 }}</ref>

The '''right to adequate clothing''', also referred to as the [[right to clothing]], has not been authoritatively defined and has received little in the way of academic commentary or international discussion. What is considered "adequate" has only been discussed in specific contexts, such as refugees, the disabled, the elderly, or workers.<ref>Dr Stephen James, [http://law.anu.edu.au/anzsil/Conferences/2008/Stephen%20James.pdf ''"A Forgotten Right? The Right to Clothing in International Law"'']</ref>

===Right to health===
{{main|Right to health}}
'''Article 12''' of the Covenant recognises the right of everyone to "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 12.1</ref> "Health" is understood not just as a right to be healthy, but as a right to control one's own health and body (including reproduction), and be free from interference such as [[torture]] or medical experimentation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/40d009901358b0e2c1256915005090be?Opendocument |title=CESCR General Comment 14: The right to the highest attainable standard of health |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN Economic and Social Council |date=11 August 2000|pages=paragraph 9.}}</ref> States must protect this right by ensuring that everyone within their jurisdiction has access to the underlying determinants of health, such as clean water, sanitation, food, nutrition and housing, and through a comprehensive system of healthcare, which is available to everyone without discrimination, and economically accessible to all.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 14'', paragraphs 11–12.</ref>

'''Article 12.2''' requires parties to take specific steps to improve the health of their citizens, including reducing infant mortality and improving child health, improving environmental and workplace health, preventing, controlling and treating epidemic diseases, and creating conditions to ensure equal and timely access to medical services for all. These are considered to be "illustrative, non-exhaustive examples", rather than a complete statement of parties' obligations.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 14'', paragraph 7.</ref>

The right to health is interpreted as requiring parties to respect women's' [[reproductive rights]], by not limiting access to [[contraception]] or "censoring, withholding or intentionally misrepresenting" information about sexual health.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 14'', paragraph 34.</ref> They must also ensure that women are protected from harmful traditional practices such as [[female genital mutilation]].<ref>''CESCR General Comment 14'', paragraph 35.</ref>

Right to health is inclusive right extending not only to timely and appropriate health care but also to the underlying determinants of health, such as access to safe and potable water and adequate sanitation, an adequate supply of safe food, nutrition and housing, healthy occupational and environmental conditions.<ref>[http://www.humanrights.is/the-human-rights-project/humanrightscasesandmaterials/humanrightsconceptsideasandfora/humanrightsinrlationtoothertopics/humanrightsandtheenvironment/ Human Rights and the Environment] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306185240/http://www.humanrights.is/the-human-rights-project/humanrightscasesandmaterials/humanrightsconceptsideasandfora/humanrightsinrlationtoothertopics/humanrightsandtheenvironment/ |date=6 March 2014 }}</ref>

===Right to free education===
{{main|Right to education}}
'''Article 13''' of the Covenant recognises the right of everyone to [[free education]] (free for the [[primary education|primary]] level and "the progressive introduction of free education" for the [[secondary education|secondary]] and [[higher education|higher levels]]). This is to be directed towards "the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity",<ref name=ICESCR-art13.1/> and enable all persons to participate effectively in society. Education is seen both as a human right and as "an indispensable means of realizing other human rights", and so this is one of the longest and most important articles of the Covenant.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/ae1a0b126d068e868025683c003c8b3b?Opendocument |title=CESCR General Comment 13: The right to education |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN Economic and Social Council |date=8 December 1999|pages=paragraph 1}}</ref>

'''Article 13.2''' lists a number of specific steps parties are required to pursue to realise the right of education. These include the provision of [[Right to education|free, universal and compulsory]] primary education, "generally available and accessible" secondary education in various forms (including technical and vocational training), and equally accessible higher education. All of these must be available to all without discrimination. Parties must also develop a school system (though it may be public, private, or mixed), encourage or provide scholarships for disadvantaged groups. Parties are required to make education free at all levels, either immediately or progressively; "[p]rimary education shall be compulsory and available free to all"; 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"; and "[h]igher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education".

'''Articles 13.3 and 13.4''' require parties to respect the educational freedom of parents by allowing them to choose and establish private educational institutions for their children, also referred to as [[freedom of education]]. It also recognises the right of parents to "ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 13.3</ref> This is interpreted as requiring public schools to respect the freedom of religion and conscience of their students, and as forbidding instruction in a particular religion or belief system unless non-discriminatory exemptions and alternatives are available.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 13'', paragraph 28.</ref>

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights interpret the Covenant as also requiring states to respect the [[academic freedom]] of staff and students, as this is vital for the educational process.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 13'', paragraph 38.</ref> It also considers [[corporal punishment]] in schools to be inconsistent with the Covenant's underlying principle of the dignity of the individual.<ref>''CESCR General Comment 13'', paragraph 41.</ref>

'''Article 14''' of the Covenant requires those parties which have not yet established a system of free [[compulsory education|compulsory]] primary education, to rapidly adopt a detailed plan of action for its introduction "within a reasonable number of years".<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 14.</ref>

===Right to participation in cultural life===
{{main|Right to science and culture}}
{{main|Right to development}}
{{main|Right to public participation}}
'''Article 15''' of the Covenant recognises the right of everyone to participate in cultural life, enjoy the benefits of scientific progress, and to benefit from the protection of the moral and material rights to any scientific discovery or artistic work they have created. The latter clause is sometimes seen as requiring the protection of intellectual property, but the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights interprets it as primarily protecting the [[Moral rights (copyright law)|moral rights]] of authors and "proclaim[ing] the intrinsically personal character of every creation of the human mind and the ensuing durable link between creators and their creations".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/03902145edbbe797c125711500584ea8/$FILE/G0640060.pdf |format=PDF|title=CESCR General Comment 17: The right of everyone 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 |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN Economic and Social Council |date=12 January 2006|at= paragraph 12.}}</ref> It thus requires parties to respect the right of authors to be recognised as the creator of a work. The material rights are interpreted as being part of the right to an adequate standard of living, and "need not extend over the entire lifespan of an author."<ref>''CESCR General Comment 17'', paragraph 16.</ref>

Parties must also work to promote the conservation, development and diffusion of science and culture, "respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity",<ref>''ICESCR'', Article 15.3</ref> and encourage international contacts and cooperation in these fields.

==Reservations==
A number of parties have made [[reservation (law)|reservations]] and interpretative declarations to their application of the Covenant.

'''Algeria''' interprets parts of Article 13, protecting the liberty of parents to freely choose or establish suitable educational institutions, so as not to "impair its right freely to organize its educational system."<ref name=reservations/>

'''Bangladesh''' interprets the self-determination clause in Article 1 as applying in the historical context of [[colonialism]]. It also reserves the right to interpret the labour rights in Articles 7 and 8 and the non-discrimination clauses of Articles 2 and 3 within the context of its constitution and domestic law.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Belgium''' interprets non-discrimination as to national origin as "not necessarily implying an obligation on States automatically to guarantee to foreigners the same rights as to their nationals. The term should be understood to refer to the elimination of any arbitrary behaviour but not of differences in treatment based on objective and reasonable considerations, in conformity with the principles prevailing in democratic societies."<ref name=reservations/>

'''China''' restricts labour rights in Article 8 in a manner consistent with its constitution and domestic law.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Egypt''' accepts the Covenant only to the extent it does not conflict with Islamic [[Sharia]] law. Sharia is "a primary source of legislation" under Article 2 of both the suspended [[s:Constitution of Egypt|1973 Constitution]] and the [[s:2011 Provisional Constitution of Egypt|2011 Provisional Constitutional Declaration]].<ref name=reservations/>

'''France''' views the Covenant as subservient to the [[UN Charter]]. It also reserves the right to govern the access of aliens to employment, social security, and other benefits.<ref name=reservations/>

'''India''' interprets the right of self-determination as applying "only to the peoples under foreign domination"<ref name=reservations/> and not to apply to peoples within sovereign nation-states. It also interprets the limitation of rights clause and the rights of equal opportunity in the workplace within the context of its constitution.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Indonesia''' interprets the self-determination clause (Article 1) within the context of other international law and as not applying to peoples within a sovereign nation-state.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Ireland''' reserves the right to promote the [[Irish language]].<ref name=reservations/>

'''Japan''' reserved the right not to be bound to progressively introduce free secondary and higher education, the right to strike for [[civil service|public servant]] and the remuneration on public holidays.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Kuwait''' interprets the non-discrimination clauses of Articles 2 and 3 within its constitution and laws, and reserves the right to social security to apply only to Kuwaitis. It also reserves the right to forbid strikes.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Mexico''' restricts the labour rights in Article 8 within the context of its constitution and laws.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Monaco''' interprets the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of national origin as "not necessarily implying an automatic obligation on the part of States to guarantee foreigners the same rights as their nationals",<ref name=reservations/> and reserves the right to set residence requirements on the rights to work, health, education, and social security.

'''New Zealand''' reserved the right not to apply Article 8 (the right to form and join trade unions) insofar as existing measures (which at the time included compulsory unionism and encouraged arbitration of disputes) were incompatible with it.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Norway''' reserves the right to strike so as to allow for compulsory arbitration of some labour disputes.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Pakistan''' has a general reservation to interpret the Covenant within the framework of its constitution.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Thailand''' interprets the right to self-determination within the framework of other international law.<ref name=reservations/>

'''Trinidad and Tobago''' reserves the right to restrict the right to strike of those engaged in essential occupations.

'''Turkey''' will implement the Covenant subject to the UN Charter. It also reserves the right to interpret and implement the right of parents to choose and establish educational institutions in a manner compatible with its constitution.<ref name=reservations/>

'''United Kingdom''' views the Covenant as subservient to the UN Charter. It made several reservations regarding its overseas territories.<ref name=reservations/>

'''United States''' – [[Amnesty International]] writes that "The United States signed the Covenant in 1979 under the Carter administration but is not fully bound by it until it is ratified. For political reasons, the Carter administration did not push for the necessary review of the Covenant by the Senate, which must give its 'advice and consent' before the US can ratify a treaty. The Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations took the view that economic, social, and cultural rights were not really rights but merely desirable social goals and therefore should not be the object of binding treaties. The Clinton Administration did not deny the nature of these rights but did not find it politically expedient to engage in a battle with Congress over the Covenant. The George W. Bush administration followed in line with the view of the previous Bush administration."<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/escr/files/escr_qa.pdf |format=PDF|title=Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Questions and Answers |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=Amnesty International |page=6 }}</ref> The Obama Administration stated "The Administration does not seek action at this time" on the Covenant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-258545357/last-ratification-economic-covenant.html |title=Article: At last? Ratification of the Economic Covenant as a... | AccessMyLibrary – Promoting library advocacy |publisher=AccessMyLibrary |date= |accessdate=2013-02-05}}</ref> The [[Heritage Foundation]], a critical conservative think tank, argues that signing it would obligate the introduction of policies that it opposes such as [[universal health care]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.org/node/21059/print-display |title=Human Rights Treaty Poses Dangers For America |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=Heritage Foundation |date=29 July 1993 |last=Cowin |first=Andrew J. }}</ref>

==Optional Protocol==
The '''[[Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]]''' is a side-agreement to the Covenant which allows its parties to recognise the competence of the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights to consider complaints from individuals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Closing a historic gap in human rights |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/D39BD9ED5406650FC125751C0039FE08?opendocument |publisher=United Nations |date=10 December 2008 |accessdate=13 December 2008}}</ref>

The Optional Protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 2008.<ref>{{cite web |title="Economic, social and cultural rights: legal entitlements rather than charity" say UN Human Rights Experts |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/C5486C42747EC60BC125751B005B08B3?opendocument |publisher=United Nations |date=10 December 2008 |accessdate=13 December 2008}}</ref> It was opened for signature on 24 September 2009,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32207&Cr=cultural+rights&Cr1= |title=UN urges States to adhere to new instrument to protect human rights |publisher=United Nations |date=24 September 2009 |accessdate=27 September 2009}}</ref> and as of February 2013 has been signed by 40 parties and ratified by 10.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3-a&chapter=4&lang=en |title=Parties to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |accessdate=9 February 2013}}</ref> Having passed the threshold of required ratifications it has entered into force on 5 May 2013.<ref>[http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12968&LangID=E DisplayNews]. Ohchr.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.</ref>

==Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights==
{{main|Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights}}

The '''Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights''' is a body of human rights experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Covenant. It consists of 18 independent human rights experts, elected for four-year terms, with half the members elected every two years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/E/ECOSOC/resolutions/E-RES-1985-17.doc |title=ECOSOC Resolution 1985/17 |accessdate=2 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR |date=28 May 1985 }}</ref>

Unlike other human rights monitoring bodies, the Committee was not established by the treaty it oversees. Rather, it was established by the Economic and Social Council following the failure of two previous monitoring bodies.<ref name=ohchr-fs16/>

All states parties are required to submit regular reports to the Committee outlining the legislative, judicial, policy and other measures they have taken to implement the rights affirmed in the Covenant. The first report is due within two years of ratifying the Covenant; thereafter reports are due every five years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/index.htm |title=Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |accessdate=3 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR }}</ref> The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations".

The Committee typically meets every May and November in [[Geneva]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/sessions.htm |title=Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – Sessions |accessdate=3 June 2008 |publisher=UN OHCHR}}</ref>

== Parties to the covenant ==
The following are parties to the covenant:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&clang=_en | title=International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights | publisher=United Nations | work=United Nations Treaty Collection | accessdate=2 January 2017}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! State !! Date signed !! Date ratified, acceded or succeeded !! Notes
|-
| [[Afghanistan]] || || 24 January 1983 ||
|-
| [[Albania]] || || 4 October 1991 ||
|-
| [[Algeria]] || 10 December 1968 || 12 September 1989 ||
|-
| [[Angola]] || || 10 January 1992 ||
|-
| [[Argentina]] || 19 February 1968 || 8 August 1986 ||
|-
| [[Armenia]] || || 13 September 1993 ||
|-
| Australia || 18 December 1972 || 10 December 1975 ||
|-
| [[Austria]] || 10 December 1973 || 10 September 1978 ||
|-
| [[Azerbaijan]] || || 13 August 1992 ||
|-
| [[Bahamas]] || 4 December 2008 || 23 December 2008 ||
|-
| [[Bahrain]] || || 27 September 2007 ||
|-
| [[Bangladesh]] || || 5 October 1998 ||
|-
| [[Barbados]] || || 5 January 1973 ||
|-
| [[Belarus]] || 19 March 1968 || 12 November 1973 || Signed and ratified as the [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]].
|-
| [[Belgium]] || 10 December 1968 || 21 April 1983 ||
|-
| [[Belize]] || 6 September 2000 || 9 March 2015 ||
|-
| [[Benin]] || || 12 March 1992 ||
|-
| [[Plurinational State of Bolivia]] || || 12 August 1982 ||
|-
| [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] || || 1 September 1993 || The former [[Yugoslavia]] had signed the Covenant on 8 August 1967 and ratified it on 2 June 1971.
|-
| [[Brazil]] || || 24 January 1992 ||
|-
| [[Bulgaria]] || 8 October 1968 || 21 September 1970 ||
|-
| [[Burkina Faso]] || || 4 January 1999 ||
|-
| [[Burundi]] || || 9 May 1990 ||
|-
| [[Cambodia]] || 17 October 1980 || 26 May 1992 || [[Democratic Kampuchea]] had signed the Covenant on 17 October 1980
|-
| [[Cameroon]] || || 27 June 1984 ||
|-
| Canada || || 19 May 1976 ||
|-
| [[Cape Verde]] || || 6 August 1993 ||
|-
| [[Central African Republic]] || || 8 May 1981 ||
|-
| [[Chad]] || || 9 June 1995 ||
|-
| [[Chile]] || 16 September 1969 || 10 February 1972 ||
|-
| China || 27 October 1997 || 27 March 2001 || The [[Republic of China]] had signed on 5 October 1967
|-
| [[Colombia]] || 21 December 1966 || 29 October 1969 ||
|-
| [[Comoros]] || 25 September 2008 || ||
|-
| [[Republic of the Congo|Congo]] || || 5 October 1983 ||
|-
| [[Costa Rica]] || 19 December 1966 || 29 November 1968 ||
|-
| [[Côte d'Ivoire]] || || 26 March 1992 ||
|-
| [[Croatia]] || || 12 October 1992 || The former [[Yugoslavia]] had signed the Covenant on 8 August 1967 and ratified it on 2 June 1971.
|-
| [[Cuba]] || 28 February 2008 || ||
|-
| [[Cyprus]] || 9 January 1967 || 2 April 1969 ||
|-
| [[Czech Republic]] || || 22 February 1993 || [[Czechoslovakia]] had signed the Covenant on 7 October 1968 and ratified it on 23 December 1975.
|-
| [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] || || 14 September 1981 ||
|-
| [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] || || 1 November 1976 ||
|-
| [[Denmark]] || 20 March 1968 || 6 January 1972 ||
|-
| [[Djibouti]] || || 5 November 2002 ||
|-
| [[Dominica]] || || 17 June 1993 ||
|-
| [[Dominican Republic]] || || 4 January 1978 ||
|-
| [[Ecuador]] || 29 September 1967 || 6 March 1969 ||
|-
| [[Egypt]] || 4 August 1967 || 14 January 1982 ||
|-
| [[El Salvador]] || 21 September 1967 || 30 November 1979 ||
|-
| [[Equatorial Guinea]] || || 25 September 1987 ||
|-
| [[Eritrea]] || || 17 April 2001 ||
|-
| [[Estonia]] || || 21 October 1991 ||
|-
| [[Ethiopia]] || || 11 June 1993 ||
|-
| [[Finland]] || 11 October 1967 || 19 August 1975 ||
|-
| France || || 4 November 1980 ||
|-
| [[Gabon]] || || 21 January 1983 ||
|-
| [[Gambia]] || || 29 December 1978 ||
|-
| [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] || || 3 May 1994 ||
|-
| Germany || 9 October 1968 || 17 December 1973 || The [[German Democratic Republic]] had signed and ratified the Convention with reservations on 27 March 1973 and 8 November 1973
|-
| [[Ghana]] || 7 September 2000 || 7 September 2000 ||
|-
| [[Greece]] || || 16 May 1985 ||
|-
| [[Grenada]] || || 6 September 1991 ||
|-
| [[Guatemala]] || || 19 May 1988 ||
|-
| [[Guinea]] || 28 February 1967 || 24 January 1978 ||
|-
| [[Guinea-Bissau]] || || 2 July 1992 ||
|-
| [[Guyana]] || 22 August 1968 || 15 February 1977 ||
|-
| [[Haiti]] || || 8 October 2013 ||
|-
| [[Honduras]] || 19 December 1966 || 17 February 1981 ||
|-
| [[Hungary]] || 25 March 1969 || 17 January 1974 ||
|-
| [[Iceland]] || 30 December 1968 || 22 August 1979 ||
|-
| [[India]] || || 10 April 1979 ||
|-
| [[Indonesia]] || || 23 February 2006 ||
|-
| [[Iran (Islamic Republic of)]] || 4 April 1968 || 24 June 1975 ||
|-
| [[Iraq]] || 18 February 1969 || 25 January 1971 ||
|-
| Ireland || 1 October 1973 || 8 December 1989 ||
|-
| [[Israel]] || 19 December 1966 || 3 October 1991 ||
|-
| Italy || 18 January 1967 || 15 September 1978 ||
|-
| [[Jamaica]] || 19 December 1966 || 3 October 1975 ||
|-
| Japan || 30 May 1978 || 21 June 1979 ||
|-
| [[Jordan]] || 30 June 1972 || 28 May 1975 ||
|-
| [[Kazakhstan]] || 2 December 2003 || 24 January 2006 ||
|-
| [[Kenya]] || || 1 May 1972 ||
|-
| [[Kuwait]] || || 21 May 1996 ||
|-
| [[Kyrgyzstan]] || || 7 October 1994 ||
|-
| [[Lao People's Democratic Republic]] || 7 December 2000 || 13 February 2007 ||
|-
| [[Latvia]] || || 14 April 1992 ||
|-
| [[Lebanon]] || || 3 November 1972 ||
|-
| [[Lesotho]] || || 9 September 1992 ||
|-
| [[Liberia]] || 18 April 1967 || 22 September 2004 ||
|-
| [[Libya]] || || 15 May 1970 ||
|-
| [[Liechtenstein]] || || 10 December 1998 ||
|-
| [[Lithuania]] || || 20 November 1991 ||
|-
| [[Luxembourg]] || 26 November 1974 || 18 August 1983 ||
|-
| [[Madagascar]] || 14 April 1970 || 22 September 1971 ||
|-
| [[Malawi]] || || 22 December 1993 ||
|-
| [[Maldives]] || || 19 September 2006 ||
|-
| [[Mali]] || || 16 July 1974 ||
|-
| [[Malta]] || 22 October 1968 || 13 September 1990 ||
|-
| [[Mauritania]] || || 17 November 2004 ||
|-
| [[Mauritius]] || || 12 December 1973 ||
|-
| [[Mexico]] || || 23 March 1981 ||
|-
| [[Monaco]] || 26 June 1997 || 28 August 1997 ||
|-
| [[Mongolia]] || 5 June 1968 || 18 November 1974 ||
|-
| [[Montenegro]] || || 23 October 2006 ||
|-
| [[Morocco]] || 19 January 1977 || 3 May 1979 ||
|-
| [[Namibia]] || || 28 November 1994 ||
|-
| [[Nepal]] || || 14 May 1991 ||
|-
| [[Netherlands]] || 25 June 1969 || 11 December 1978 ||
|-
| [[New Zealand]] || 12 November 1968 || 28 December 1978 ||
|-
| [[Nicaragua]] || || 12 March 1980 ||
|-
| [[Niger]] || || 7 March 1986 ||
|-
| [[Nigeria]] || || 29 July 1993 ||
|-
| [[Norway]] || 20 March 1968 || 13 September 1972 ||
|-
| [[Pakistan]] || 3 November 2004 || 17 April 2008 ||
|-
| [[Palau]] || 20 September 2011 || ||
|-
| [[State of Palestine]] || || 2 April 2014 ||
|-
| [[Panama]] || 27 July 1976 || 8 March 1977 ||
|-
| [[Papua New Guinea]] || || 21 July 2008 ||
|-
| [[Paraguay]] || || 10 June 1992 ||
|-
| [[Peru]] || 11 August 1977 || 28 April 1978 ||
|-
| [[Philippines]] || 19 December 1966 || 7 June 1974 ||
|-
| [[Poland]] || 2 March 1967 || 18 March 1977 ||
|-
| [[Portugal]] || 7 October 1976 || 31 July 1978 ||
|-
| [[Republic of Korea]] || || 10 April 1990 ||
|-
| [[Republic of Moldova]] || || 26 January 1993 ||
|-
| [[Romania]] || 27 June 1968 || 9 December 1974 ||
|-
| [[Russian Federation]] || 18 March 1968 || 16 October 1973 || Signed and ratified as the [[Soviet Union]].
|-
| [[Rwanda]] || || 16 April 1975 ||
|-
| [[San Marino]] || || 18 October 1985 ||
|-
| [[Sao Tome and Principe]] || 31 October 1995 || ||
|-
| [[Senegal]] || 6 July 1970 || 13 February 1978 ||
|-
| [[Serbia]] || || 12 March 2001 || The former [[Yugoslavia]] had signed the Covenant on 8 August 1967 and ratified it on 2 June 1971. The 2001 declaration of succession was made by the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].
|-
| [[Seychelles]] || || 5 May 1992 ||
|-
| [[Sierra Leone]] || || 23 August 1996 ||
|-
| [[Slovakia]] || || 28 May 1993 || [[Czechoslovakia]] had signed the Covenant on 7 October 1968 and ratified it on 23 December 1975.
|-
| [[Slovenia]] || || 6 July 1992 || The former [[Yugoslavia]] had signed the Covenant on 8 August 1967 and ratified it on 2 June 1971.
|-
| [[Solomon Islands]] || || 17 March 1982 ||
|-
| [[Somalia]] || || 24 January 1990 ||
|-
| South Africa || 3 October 1994 || 12 January 2015 ||
|-
| Spain || 28 September 1976 || 27 April 1977 ||
|-
| [[Sri Lanka]] || || 11 June 1980 ||
|-
| [[St. Vincent and the Grenadines]] || || 9 November 1981 ||
|-
| [[Sudan]] || || 18 March 1986 ||
|-
| [[Suriname]] || || 28 December 1976 ||
|-
| [[Swaziland]] || || 26 March 2004 ||
|-
| [[Sweden]] || 29 September 1967 || 6 December 1971 ||
|-
| [[Switzerland]] || || 18 June 1992 ||
|-
| [[Syrian Arab Republic]] || || 21 April 1969 ||
|-
| [[Tajikistan]] || || 4 January 1999 ||
|-
| [[Thailand]] || || 5 September 1999 ||
|-
| [[The Republic of Macedonia]] || || 18 January 1994 || The former [[Yugoslavia]] had signed the Covenant on 8 August 1967 and ratified it on 2 June 1971.
|-
| [[Timor-Leste]] || || 16 April 2003 ||
|-
| [[Togo]] || || 24 May 1984 ||
|-
| [[Trinidad and Tobago]] || || 8 December 1978 ||
|-
| [[Tunisia]] || 30 April 1968 || 18 March 1969 ||
|-
| [[Turkey]] || 15 August 2000 || 23 September 2003 ||
|-
| [[Turkmenistan]] || || 1 May 1997 ||
|-
| [[Uganda]] || || 21 January 1987 ||
|-
| [[Ukraine]] || 20 March 1968 || 12 November 1973 || Signed and ratified as the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]].
|-
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland || 16 September 1968 || 20 May 1976 ||
|-
| [[United Republic of Tanzania]] || || 11 June 1976 ||
|-
| United States of America || 5 October 1977 || ||
|-
| [[Uruguay]] || 21 February 1967 || 1 April 1970 ||
|-
| [[Uzbekistan]] || || 28 September 1995 ||
|-
| [[Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)]] || 24 June 1969 || 10 May 1978 ||
|-
| [[Viet Nam]] || || 24 September 1982 ||
|-
| [[Yemen]] || || 9 February 1987 || Effected as [[Yemen Arab Republic]]
|-
| [[Zambia]] || || 10 April 1984 ||
|-
| [[Zimbabwe]] || || 13 May 1991 ||
|}

==States not members of the Covenant==
{{unref|section|date=January 2017}}
===Signed but not ratified===

# {{flag|Comoros}} (2008-09-25)
# {{flag|Cuba}} (2008-02-28)
# {{flag|Myanmar}} (Burma) (2015-07-16)
# {{flag|Palau}} (2011-09-20)
# {{flag|São Tomé and Príncipe}} (1995-10-31)
# {{flag|United States of America}} (1977-10-05)

===Neither signed nor ratified===

# {{flag|Andorra}}
# {{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}
# {{flag|Botswana}}
# {{flag|Bhutan}}
# {{flag|Brunei}}
# {{flag|Fiji}}
# {{flag|Haiti}}
# {{flag|Kiribati}}
# {{flag|Malaysia}}
# {{flag|Marshall Islands}}
# {{flag|Federated States of Micronesia}}
# {{flag|Mozambique}}
# {{flag|Nauru}}
# {{flag|Oman}}
# {{flag|Qatar}}
# {{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
# {{flag|Samoa}}
# {{flag|Saudi Arabia}}
# {{flag|Singapore}}
# {{flag|St. Lucia}}
# {{flag|South Sudan}}
# {{flag|Tonga}}
# {{flag|Tuvalu}}
# {{flag|United Arab Emirates}}
# {{flag|Vanuatu}}

===Non-members of the UN===
# {{flag|Taiwan}} ([[Republic of China]])<ref group="notes">The ROC lost its United Nations seat in 1971 (replaced as the representative of China by the People's Republic of China under [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758|Resolution 2758]]). The Republic of China government signed the Covenant in 1967 but did not ratify; in 2009 Taiwan finally ratified it, but the deposit was rejected by the UN.</ref>
# {{flag|Vatican City}} (through the [[Holy See]])<ref group="notes">The Vatican is not a member of the United Nations though it holds observer status.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="notes"}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{cite web|publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |accessdate=23 March 2013 |url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx |title=International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120917040858/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&lang=en List of parties], UNTC
*[http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/index.htm Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights], the Convention's monitoring body
*[http://www.escr-net.org/ International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights]
*[http://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/SSJ/article/view/3115 "Rights and Value: Construing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as Civil Commons"] by G. Baruchello & R.L. Johnstone, Studies in Social Justice, Vol 5, No 1 (2011): Special Issue: Life Value and Social Justice, 91–125
* [http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/icescr/icescr.html Procedural history note and audiovisual material] on the ''International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights'' in the [http://legal.un.org/avl/historicarchives.html Historic Archives of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law]

{{International human rights legal instruments}}
{{Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant}}
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[[Category:Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to Aruba]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to Greenland]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to Portuguese Macau]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to British Honduras]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to British Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to West Berlin]]