Background to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Optional Protocols

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966. It took another 10 years before the necessary 35 States had become parties to it and it formally entered into force for those States on 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49.

This covenant and the ICESCR build on the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Together, the Universal Declaration and these two Covenants form the International Bill of Human Rights.

The ICCPR aims to ensure the protection of civil and political rights including:

• Freedom from discrimination
• Right to equality between men and women
• Right to life
• Freedom from torture
• Freedom from slavery
• Right to liberty and security of person
• Right to be treated with humanity in detention
• Freedom of movement
• Freedom of non-citizens from arbitrary expulsion
• Right to fair trial
• Right to recognition before the law
• Right to privacy
• Freedom of religion and belief
• Freedom of expression
• Right of peaceful assembly
• Freedom of association
• Right to marry and found a family
• Right of children to birth registration and a nationality
• Right to participate in public affairs
• Right to equality before the law
• Minority rights

Parties to the Covenant may also become parties to either or both of its two Optional Protocols.

The first Optional Protocol came into force on 23 March 1976. It sets out a system by which the Human Rights Committee can receive and consider complaints from individuals who allege that their human rights have been violated.

As its name makes clear, the Protocol is not compulsory, but once a State party to the Covenant also becomes a party to the Protocol, any person subject to the jurisdiction of the State party may lodge a written complaint with the Human Rights Committee (subject to any permissible reservations).

The Second Optional Protocol came into force on 11 July 1991. The second Optional Protocol abolishes the death penalty for States parties.

• Full text of the Covenant
• Full text of the Optional Protocol
• Full text of the Second Optional Protocol
• 50^th anniversary Easy to Read version of the Human Rights Covenants
• Guidelines on measures of reparation under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights