A/RES/56/144 Considering that the effective functioning of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is indispensable for the full and effective implementation of the International Covenants on Human Rights, Recognizing the importance of regional human rights instruments and monitoring mechanisms in complementing the universal system of promotion and protection of human rights, 1. Reaffirms the importance of the International Covenants on Human Rights 2 as major components of international efforts to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms; 2. Welcomes the initiative of the Secretary-General at the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations to invite heads of State and Government to sign, ratify or accede to the International Covenants on Human Rights, and expresses its appreciation to those States that have done so; 3. Strongly appeals to all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 2 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2 as well as to accede to the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights5 and to make the declaration provided for in article 41 of the Covenant; 4. Invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to intensify systematic efforts to encourage States to become parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights and, through the programme of advisory services in the field of human rights, to assist such States, at their request, in ratifying or acceding to the Covenants and to the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with a view to achieving universal adherence; 5. Emphasizes the importance of the strictest compliance by States parties with their obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and, where applicable, the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 6. Stresses the importance of avoiding the erosion of human rights by derogation, and underlines the necessity of strict observance of the agreed conditions and procedures for derogation under article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, bearing in mind the need for States parties to provide the fullest possible information during states of emergency so that the justification for the appropriateness of measures taken in those circumstances can be assessed, and in this regard takes note of General Comment No. 29 adopted by the Human Rights Committee; 6 7. Encourages States parties to consider limiting the extent of any reservations that they lodge to the International Covenants on Human Rights, to formulate any reservations as precisely and narrowly as possible and to ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the relevant treaty; 8. Also encourages States parties to review regularly any reservations made in respect of the provisions of the International Covenants on Human Rights and the _______________ 6 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/56/40), vol. I, annex VI. 2