UNITED
NATIONS
CCPR
International covenant
on civil and
political rights
Distr.
GENERAL
CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.8/Rev.1
8 December 1997
Original:
ENGLISH
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
GENERAL COMMENTS ADOPTED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
UNDER ARTICLE 40, PARAGRAPH 4, OF THE INTERNATIONAL
COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
Addendum
General Comment No. 26 (61)*
General comment on issues relating to the continuity of obligations
to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights does not
contain any provision regarding its termination and does not provide for
denunciation or withdrawal. Consequently, the possibility of termination,
denunciation or withdrawal must be considered in the light of applicable
rules of customary international law which are reflected in the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties. On this basis, the Covenant is not subject
to denunciation or withdrawal unless it is established that the parties
intended to admit the possibility of denunciation or withdrawal or a right to
do so is implied from the nature of the treaty.
2.
That the parties to the Covenant did not admit the possibility of
denunciation and that it was not a mere oversight on their part to omit
reference to denunciation is demonstrated by the fact that article 41 (2) of
the Covenant does permit a State party to withdraw its acceptance of the
competence of the Committee to examine inter-State communications by filing an
appropriate notice to that effect while there is no such provision for
* Adopted at the 1631st meeting (sixty-first session), held on
29 October 1997.
GE.97-19646
(E)