Legal significance of the ICCPR with respect to the protection of Human Rights

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Ref No: 1371

Table of Contents

1. Introduction. 
2. A discussion on the Covenant
3. Creation of Committee to support the ICCPR
4. Impact of ICCPR
5. Weaknesses and Blind Spots
6. Conclusion
7. References

Introduction

The UN’s General Assembly adopted a treaty named The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which was agreed upon by multiple parties, and foreign governments; it was adopted on the 16^th of December in 1966[1], and has been enforced since 1976.

The treaty requires for its parties to uphold the political and civil liberties of individuals; this includes the right to life, freedom of religion, speech and assembly, electoral rights and rights to a fair trial. The covenant now has 74 signatories and 168 parties/members.

This treaty (ICCPR) is also a part of the International Bill of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The ICCPR treaty is also supervised by the United Nations Human Rights Committee which is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the treaty by receiving systematic reports from State parties.

The report must be given one year after by the state after acceding, and afterwards whenever it is required or asked for by the committee, which is generally every four years. Three sessions are often held in a year, and the Committee generally meets in Geneva.

A discussion on the Covenant

The covenant is a fairly simple and straightforward document. Itconsists of 53 articles and establishes the right to freedom of religion and belief, which is discussed directly, though that isn’t the case in all the articles because at times e.g. freedom of expression may be discussed indirectly.

A thorough discussion is needed to understand the vitality of all the articles and the impact they are meant to bring.

If we look at the first paragraph in article 18, we can see that it is mentioned that every individual has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the liberty to be a part of or to choose a religion of one’s own liking/choice, while also having the right to create one’s own religion.

Although, it is not present in many parts of the world, freedom of religion implies both freedom of though and conscience. However, that being said the ability for one to change his/her beliefs is not yet recognized by the contract, at least not expressly.

The reason for this may be to appease those parties who consider that apostates to should be criminalized; hence, the contract seems to be vague about this matter, and implicit.

Although, in General Comment No. 22, it is mentioned that those individuals who have been coerced or forced to be a part of a certain religion, have the right to denounce it and join or create another.Legal significance of the ICCPR with respect to the protection of Human Rights

That is why the liberties provided for these rights are absolutely necessary because freedom of thought, conscience and belief, all lead to the independence of an individual in terms of his spirituality. No one should be put into a position where they must explain or account to another their reasoning for their beliefs and faith.

  Even the international case law tends to stretch the demarcation of “conviction” beyond “traditional” religions and beliefs, so that broader horizons may be integrated. All that said, yet the prevailing legalities stay eminent, meaning that a belief which encourages the distribution, selling and/or even the production of a drug or drugs such a marijuana, that belief is not acceptable according to article 18 of the ICCPR.

Similarly, it is acknowledged that those much like how anyone is allowed to hold certain beliefs, and has that freedom and liberty, the same is applied to those who believe in a lack of belief/faith; this includes atheists, agnostics, skeptics, etc.

Such individuals must also be protected under the covenant because these also fall under the category of beliefs, as it is a belief to not believe in the existence of anything supernatural or omnipotent.Legal significance of the ICCPR with respect to the protection of Human Rights

All in all. The covenant is a wholesome document that if implemented correctly, would lead to a much more tolerant and respectful world.

Creation of Committee to support the ICCPR

To ensure that the covenant did not just exist as a document, rather had an impact on the lives of the people around the world, a Human Right’ Committee was created…….