INTERNATIONAL COVENANT
ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
PREAMBLE
The States Parties to the present Covenant
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the
Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the
equal and inalienable rights of all the members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human
person,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear and want can
only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone my enjoy his
economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights
and freedom,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to the
community to which he belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the
promotion and observance of the rights recognized in the present Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
PART I
Article 1
1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right
they freely detemine their political status and freely pursue their economic,
social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural
wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of
international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual
benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own
means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, inculding those haveing
responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-Governing and Trust
Territories, shall promote the realization of the right of self-determination,
and shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter
of the United Nations.
PART II
Article 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps,
individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially
economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view
to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the
present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption
of legislative measures.
2. The States Parties to present Covenant undertake to guarantee that
the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without
discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status.
3. Developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their
national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee the
economic rights recognized in the present Covenant to non-nationals.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal
right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural
rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, in the enjoyment
of those rights provided by the State in conformity with the present Covenant,
the State may subject such rights only to such limitations as are determined by
law only in so far as this may be compatible with the nature of these rights and
solely for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic society.
Article 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any
State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act
aimed at the destruction of any of the rights or freedoms recognized herein, or
at their limitation to greater extent than is provided for in the present
Covenant.
2. No restriction upon or derogation from any of the fundamental human
rights recognized or existing in any country in virtue of law, conventions,
regulations or custom shall be admitted on the pretext that the present
Covenant does not recognize such rights or that it recognizes them to a lesser
extent.
PART III
Article 6
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work,
which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by
work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to
safeguard this right.
2. The Steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant to
achieve the full realization of this right shall include technical and
vocational guidance and training programmes, policies and techniques to
achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and
productive employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political
and economic freedoms to the individual.
Article 7
The States to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone
to the enjoyument of just and favourable conditions of work which ensure, in
particular:
(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:
(i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without
distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed
conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal
pay for equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance with
the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;
(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an
appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of
seniority and competence;
(d) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic
holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.
Article 8
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure:
(a) The right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union of
his choice, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, for
the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests. No
restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those
prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the
interests of national security or public order or for the protection of
the rights and freedoms of others;
(b) The right of trade unions to establish national federations of
confederations and the right of the latter to form or join international
trade-union organizations;
(c) The right of trade unions to function freely subject to no limitations
other than those prescribed by law and which are necessary in a
democratic society in the interests of national security or public order
or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others;
(d) The right to strike, provided that it is exercised in conformity with the
laws of the particular country.
2. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on
the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces or of the police or
of the administration of the State.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the
International Labour Organization Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to take legislative measures
which would prejudice, or apply the law in such a manner as would prejudice, the
guarantees provided for in the Convention.
Article 9
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone
to social security, including social insurance.
Article 10
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that:
1. The widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the
family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society,
particularly for its establishment and while it is responsible for the
care and education of dependent children. Marriage must be entered into
with the free consent of the intending spouses.
2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable
period before and after childbirth. During such period working mothers
should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security
benefits.
3. Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on behalf
of all children and young persons without any discrimination for reasons
of parentage or other conditions. Children and young persons should be
protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in
work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to
hamper their normal development should be punishable by law. States
should also set age limits below which the paid employment of child
labour should be prohibited and punishable by law.
Article 11
1. The States Parties to present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including
adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of
living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the
international co-operation based on free consent.
2. The States Parties to present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental
right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through
international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which
are needed:
(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution
of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by
disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing
or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most
efficient development and utilization of natural resources;
(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-
exporting countries, to ensure and equitable distribution of world food
supplies in relation to need.
Article 12
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to
achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for:
(a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant
mortality and for the healthy development of the child;
(b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene;
(c) The prevention, treatment and control epidemic, endemic, occupational
and other diseases;
(d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and
medical attention in the event of sickness.
Article 13
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full
development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall
strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They
further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively
in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all
nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities
of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a view to
achieving the full realization of this right:
(a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all;
(b) Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and
vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and
accessible to all by ever appropriate means, and in particular by the
progressive introduction of free education;
(c) Higher 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;
(d) Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as far as
possible for those persons who have not received or completed the whole
period of their primary education;
(e) The development of a system of schools at all levels shall be actively
pursued, an adequate fellowship system shall be established, and the
material conditions of teaching staff shall be continuously improved.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for
the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their
children schools, other than those established by the public authorites, which
conform to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or
approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their
children in conformity with their own convictions.
4. No part of this article shall be construed so as to interfere with the
liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational
institutions, subject always to the observance of the principles set forth
in paragraph 1 of this article and to the requirement that the education given
in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid
down by the State.
Article 14
Each State Party to the present Covenant which, at the time of becoming
a Party, has not been able to secure in its metropolitan territory of other
territories under its jurisdictin compulsory primary education, free of charge,
undertakes, within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed plan of action
for the progressive implementation, within a reasonable number of years, to be
fixed in the plan, of the principle of compulsory education free of charge for
all.
Article 15
1. The States Parties to the present covenant recognize the right of
everyone:
(a) To take part in cultural life;
(b) To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications'
(c) To benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests
resulting from any scentific, literary or artistic productin of which he
is the author.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to
achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for the
conservation, the developement and the diffusion of science and culture.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the
freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits to be
derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and
co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields.
PART IV
Article 16
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to submit in
conformity with this part of the Covenant reports on the measures which they
have adopted and the progress made in achieving the observance of the rights
recognized herein.
2. (a) All reports shall be submitted to Secretary-General of the United
Nations, who shall transmit copies to the Economic and Social Council for
consideration in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall also transmit to
the specialized agencies copies of the reports, or any relevant parts
therefrom, from States Parties to the present Covenant which are also members
of these specialized agencies in so far as these reports, or parts therefrom,
relate to any matters which fall within the responsibilities of the said
agencies in accordance with their constitutional instruments.
Article 17
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant shall furnish their reports in
stages, in accordance with a programme to be established by the Economic and
Social Council within one year of the entry into force of the present Covenant
after consultation with the States Parties and the specialized agencies
concerned.
2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of
fulfilment of obligations under the present Covenant.
3. Where relevant information has previously been furnished to the
United Nations or to any specialized agency by any State Party to the present
Covenant, it will not be necessary to reproduce that information, but a precise
reference to the information so furnished will suffice.
Article 18
Pursuant to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations in
the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the Economic and Social
Council may make arrangements with the specialized agencies in respect of their
reporting to it on the progress made in achieving the observance of the
provisions of the present Covenant falling within the scope of their
activities. These reports may include particulars of decisions and
recommendations on such implementation adopted by their competent organs.
Article 19
The Economic and Social Council may transmit to the Commission on
Human Rights for study and general recommendation or, as appropriate, for
information the reports concerning human rights submitted by States in
accordance with articles 16 and 17, and those concerning human rights
submitted by the specialized agencies in accordance with article 18.
Article 20
The States Parties to the present Covenant and the specialized agencies
concerned may submit comments to the Economic and Social Council on any
general recommendation under article 19 or reference to such general
recommendation in any report of the Commission on Human Rights or any
documentation referred to therein.
Article 21
The Economic and Social Council may submit from time to time to the
General Assembly reports with recommentations of a general nature and a
summary of the information received from the States Parties to the present
Covenant and the specialized agencies on the measures taken and the progress
made in achieving general observance of the rights recognized in the present
Covenant.
Article 22
The Economic and Social Council may bring to the attentin of other
organs of the United Nations, their subsidiary organs and specialized agencies
concerned with furnishing technical assistance any matters arising out of the
reports referred to in this part of the present Covenant which may assist such
bodies in deciding, each within its field of competence, on the advisability of
international measures likely to contribute to the effective progressive
implementation of the present Covenant.
Article 23
The States Parties to the present Covenant agree that international action
for the achievement of the rights recognized in the present Covenant includes
such methods as the conclusion of conventions, the adoption of recommendations,
the furishing of technical assistance and the holding of regional meetings
and technical meetings for the purpose of consultation and study organized in
conjunction with the Governments concerned.
Article 24
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the
provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and of the constitutions of the
specialized agencies which define the respective responsibilities of the various
organs of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies in regard to the
matters dealt with in the present Covenant.
Article 25
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the
inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their
natural wealth and resources.
PART V
Article 26
1. The present Covenant is open for signature by any State Member of the
United Nations or member of any of its specialized agencies, by any State Party
to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and by any other State
which has been invited by the General Assembly of the United Nations to
become a party to the present Covenant.
2. The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
3. The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any State referred to
in paragraph 1 of this article.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States
which have signed the present Covenant or acceded to it of the deposit of each
instrument of ratification or accession.
ARTICLE 27
1. The present Covenant shall enter into force three months after the
date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the
thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to it after the
deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of accessio
n,
the present Covenant shall enter into force three months after the date of the
deposit of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
ARTICLE 28
The provisions of the present Covenant shall extend to all parts of federal
States without any limitations or exceptions.
ARTICLE 29
1. Any State Party to the present Covenant may propose an amendment
and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-
General shall thereupon communicate any proposed amendments to the States
Parties to the present Covenant with a request that they notify him whether they
favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting
upon the proposals. In the event that at least one third of the States Parties
favours such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference
under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a
majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be
submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by
the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds
majority of the States Parties to the present Covenant in accordance with their
respective constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into force they shall be binding on those
States Parties which have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound
by the provisions of the present Covenant and any earlier amendment which
they have accepted.
ARTICLE 30
Irrespective of the notifications made under article 26, paragraph 5, the
Secretary-General of the United nations shall inform all States referred to in
paragraph 1 of the same article of the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 26;
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Covenant under article 27
and the date of the entry into force of any amendments under article 29.
ARTICLE 31
1. The present Covenant, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian
and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of t
he
United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United nations shall transmit certified
copies of the present Covenant to all States referred to in article 26.
* * * * *
Application of the Covenant to Hong Kong
In 1976, the Government of the United Kingdom ratified the International
Covenant on Economic, social and Cultural Rights with certain reservations
and declarations, and extended the Covenant to 10 British dependent territories
including Hong Kong. The reservations and declarations applicable to Hong
Kong are as follows.
On signing the Covenant the Government of the United Kingdom made the
following declarations:
"First, the Government of the United Kingdom declare their under-
standing that, by virtue of Article 103 of the Charter of the United nations,
in the event of any conflict between their obligations under Article 1 of the
Covenant and their obligations under the Charter (in particular, under
Articles 1,2 and 73 thereof) their obligations under the Charter shall
prevail."
On depositing their instrument of ratification of the Covenant the Govern-
ment of the United Kingdom made the following reservations and declarations:
"Firstly, the Government of the United Kingdom maintain their declara-
tion in respect of Article 1 made at the time of signature of the Covenant."
"The Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right to interpret
Article 6 as not precluding the imposition of restrictions, based on place
of birth or residence qualifications, on the taking of employment in any
particular region or territory for the purpose of safeguarding the employ-
ment opportunities of workers in that region or territory."
"The Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right to postpone
the application of sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (a) of Article 7, in so
far as it concerns the provision of equal pay to men and women for equal
work in the private sector in ... Hong Kong ..."
"The Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right not to apply
sub-paragraph 1(b) of Article 8 in Hong Kong."
