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Human Rights Committee

Monitoring civil and political rights

The Human Rights Committee is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its State parties.

All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to the Covenant and then whenever the Committee requests (usually every four years). The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations”.

In addition to the reporting procedure, article 41 of the Covenant provides for the Committee to consider inter-state complaints. Furthermore, the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant gives the Committee competence to examine individual complaints with regard to alleged violations of the Covenant by States parties to the Protocol.

The full competence of the Committee extends to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant on the abolition of the death penalty with regard to States who have accepted the Protocol.

The Committee meets in Geneva or New York and normally holds three sessions per year.

The Committee also publishes its interpretation of the content of human rights provisions, known as general comments on thematic issues or its methods of work.

For more information about the work of the Human Rights Committee, click here.

New Publication

Now available in PDF

Compilación de observaciones finales del Comité de Derechos Humanos sobre países de América Latina y el Caribe (1977-2004)

A compilation of HRC concluding observations for Latin American and Caribbean countries in their original languages. Contains all of the concluding observations of the Committee from 1977 to 2004 relating to Spanish-speaking countries in Spanish, English-speaking countries (as well as Brazil) in English, and Francophone countries in French.

Published by OHCHR and the Centro de Derechos Humanos of the Universidad de Santiago, Chile.

ISBN:

To download a copy (3.2MB), click on the cover page

Forthcoming Events

7-25 July 2008: 93rd session meets in Geneva

Twenty-seventh Meeting of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to elect nine members of the Human Rights Committee - 4 September 2008

Recent Developments and Events

17 March - 4 April 2008: 92nd session meets in New York- Concluding observations now available

Application of Rule 70, paragraph 3 of the Committee's Rules of procedure: Concluding observations on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

General Comment on article 14 of the Covenant
A | E | F | S

Latest report to the General Assembly

Report of the Human Rights Committee to the GA and Corr.1

Recent signatures, ratifications and accessions

1 April 2008: Honduras ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant

28 February 2008:
Cuba signed the Covenant

15 February 2008: Samoa acceded to the Covenant

23 January 2008: Moldova ratified the first Optional Protocol to the Covenant

29 November 2007: Vanuatu signed the Covenant

20 November 2007: the Philippines ratified the Second Optional Protocol

17 October 2007: Albania acceded to the Second Optional Protocol

4 October 2007: Albania acceded to the first Optional Protocol

2 October 2007: France acceded to the Second Optional Protocol

26 September 2007: Mexico acceded to the Second Optional Protocol

25 September 2007: Kazakhstan signed the first Optional Protocol

22 September 2006: Andorra ratified the Covenant and its 1st and 2nd Optional Protocols

20 September 2006: The Phillipines signed the second Optional Protocol to the Covenant

20 September 2006: Bahrain acceded to the Covenant

20 September 2006: the Republic of Moldova acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant

Note: entry into force occurs 3 months after date of deposit of instrument of ratification or accession. Dates given are for entry into force.

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