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Article 14: Right to Equality before Courts and Tribunals and to Fair Trial - replaces GC No. 13 2007, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The way criminal proceedings are handled may affect the exercise and enjoyment of rights and guarantees of the Covenant unrelated to article 14. Thus, for instance, to keep pending, for several years, indictments for the criminal offence of defamation brought against a journalist for having published certain articles, in violation of article 14, paragraph 3 (c), may leave the accused in a situation of uncertainty and intimidation and thus have a chilling effect which unduly restricts the exercise of his right to freedom of expression (article 19 of the Covenant). Similarly, delays of criminal proceedings for several years in contravention of article 14, paragraph 3 (c), may violate the right of a person to leave one's own country as guaranteed in article 12, paragraph 2 of the Covenant, if the accused has to remain in that country as long as proceedings are pending.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 15b
- Paragraph text
- [There are, among others, three interrelated main components of the right to participate or take part in cultural life: (a) participation in, (b) access to, and (c) contribution to cultural life.] Access covers in particular the right of everyone - alone, in association with others or as a community - to know and understand his or her own culture and that of others through education and information, and to receive quality education and training with due regard for cultural identity. Everyone has also the right to learn about forms of expression and dissemination through any technical medium of information or communication, to follow a way of life associated with the use of cultural goods and resources such as land, water, biodiversity, language or specific institutions, and to benefit from the cultural heritage and the creation of other individuals and communities;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2009
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Some countries with a record of attacks against persons with albinism have identified as a major problem the ambiguity between witchcraft on the one hand and the practice of traditional, herbal or alternative medicine on the other. This is further complicated by the secrecy surrounding witchcraft and the resulting difficulty in identifying its real practitioners in all cases. These matters raise the question of whether and how these occupations ought to be defined and regulated as a means of preventing human rights violations allegedly and actually committed by their practitioners. There is also the issue of whether witchcraft beliefs should be given any form of legal character or recognition when it is largely a supernatural phenomenon. Often, these issues are further complicated by the fact that many legal instruments addressing witchcraft are outdated and disconnected from current social realities.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 25: The right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access to public service 1996, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- State reports should describe the rules governing the right to vote, and the application of those rules in the period covered by the report. State reports should also describe factors which impede citizens from exercising the right to vote and the positive measures which have been adopted to overcome these factors.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1996
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 65b
- Paragraph text
- [States parties have a core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of the right to just and favourable conditions of work. Specifically, this requires States parties to:] Put in place a comprehensive system to combat gender discrimination at work, including with regard to remuneration;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Relevant economic factors include advance or deferred payment designed to increase dependency, payment that keeps workers below the poverty level, payment in kind only or prohibitions to freely change employers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Sexual education 2010, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Sexuality is a complex process which, as human beings, we all without exception experience throughout our life and which has biological, psychological, social and cultural aspects that must be considered from a comprehensive viewpoint.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In the past, Green Revolution approaches have focused primarily on boosting cereal crops. However, rice, wheat and maize are mainly sources of carbohydrates: they contain relatively little protein, and few of the other nutrients essential for adequate diets. The shift from diversified cropping systems to simplified cereal-based systems thus contributed to micronutrient malnutrition in many developing countries. Indeed, of the over 80,000 plant species available to humans, rice, wheat and maize supply the bulk of our protein and energy needs. Nutritionists now increasingly insist on the need for more diverse agro-ecosystems, in order to ensure a more diversified nutrient output of the farming systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Assessing a decade of progress on the right to food 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The right to food seeks to ensure access to adequate diets. Although access is necessary for individuals to be adequately nourished, it is not the only requirement. Obviously, food availability is also required (which necessitates appropriate functioning of markets to ensure that foodstuffs can travel from the producers to the markets and from food-surplus regions to food-deficit regions). Access to health-care services and sanitation, as well as adequate feeding practices, are also essential. In this regard, the right to food is also closely connected to the right to health and to what is described as adequate "utilization".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Climate change and internal displacement 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Other actors have also enriched the discussion by focusing on specific rights or the impact of climate change on particular groups. In addition to posing a direct threat to the right to life, the effects of climate change are expected to have negative implications for basic rights relating to food (A/HRC/7/5), housing (A/64/255), water and health, and affect the overall right to an adequate standard of living (A/HRC/10/61, paras. 21-38). Some of these analyses have highlighted the link between the lack of access to these rights and displacement. In the context of climate change, internally displaced persons are also a growing category of persons considered to be especially at risk, given the adverse material, social and psychological consequences commonly associated with displacement. These risks are heightened by the fact that the most serious effects of climate change, including displacement, are predicted to disproportionately affect poor regions and countries and populations already in a vulnerable situation owing to poverty and other factors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- People living in poverty experience discrimination on the grounds of poverty itself (E/C.12/GC/20, paras. 34-35), but also frequently due to membership in other disadvantaged sectors of the population, including but not limited to indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and people living with HIV/AIDS. Particular attention must be paid to upholding the right to equality between men and women. Thus, when designing, implementing and monitoring participatory processes, States must take into account the different experiences of men and women and gender power relations in the community. They must recognize the multiple forms of discrimination that women experience, and address women's specific needs throughout the different phases of their life cycle (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age). Participatory processes must also acknowledge the responsibilities of care providers without reinforcing patterns of discrimination and negative stereotyping.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Natural resources can be a vital source of revenue that the State can use to comply with its human rights obligations. The financial and social benefits of natural resource exploitation are, however, increasingly bypassing people in producing countries. In most countries, extractive industries generate few jobs directly and have only weak links to local markets. Far from bringing benefits, the exploitation of natural resources has been frequently linked to human rights abuse and encroachment on lands and livelihoods of communities, mass evictions, pollution and environmental degradation, which may result in violations of rights to health, food, housing and water. The right of people to participate in decisions regarding natural resources is often violated, especially where the land, territory and resources of indigenous peoples is concerned.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- In its general comment No. 12 (1999), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defined the necessary elements required for the right to food (i.e. the possibility either to feed oneself directly from productive land or other natural resources or to purchase food) as availability, accessibility and adequacy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Labour exploitation of migrants 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Articles 6 to 10 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognize the rights of everyone to (a) work which they freely choose or accept; (b) enjoy just and favourable conditions of work, including equal remuneration for work of equal value; (c) form and join trade unions; (d) social security, including social insurance; (e) the special protection from economic and social exploitation of children and young persons.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Children
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. (a)
- Paragraph text
- For those living in poverty or without sufficient means, States should ensure health coverage or access to care to prevent discrimination (targets 1.3 and 3.8);
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- On 22 February 2008, in Prosecutor v. Brima et al, the Special Court for Sierra Leone recognized forced marriage as a crime against humanity under international criminal law for the first time. The Court confirmed that forced marriage involved a perpetrator compelling a person by force or threat of force, through words, or conduct of the perpetrator, or anyone associated with him, into a forced conjugal association resulting in great suffering or serious physical or mental injury on the part of the victim. It concluded that forced marriage might also include one or more international crimes such as enslavement, imprisonment, rape, sexual slavery and abduction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- There is a clear link between non-retrogression and sustainability. Acts or omissions that result in retrogressions in the progressive realization of the rights to water and sanitation jeopardize sustainability. Unless the criteria outlined above have been satisfied during the States' decision-making processes, it is unlikely that such processes will result in the sustainable provision of water and sanitation. Rather, retrogressive steps will perpetuate unsustainable practices and create a constant threat to the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights in general and the rights to water and sanitation in particular.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Sustainability and non-retrogression in the realisation of the rights to water and sanitation 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- To enable the sustainable provision of services, a number of factors within and beyond the water and sanitation sector must be reinforced, in particular, accountable governance. Water and sanitation services must be embedded in a sound legislative policy and regulatory framework. Institutions involved in the water and sanitation sectors must be responsive and accountable for their actions, and decisions must be participatory and transparent. All groups and individuals concerned and all relevant stakeholders must be provided with genuine opportunities to meaningfully participate and must be empowered in these processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- It is impossible to set a generally applicable affordability standard at the global level. Any such standard would be arbitrary and cannot reflect the challenges people face in practice and the context in which they live, including how much they need to spend on housing, food and the realization of other human rights. The affordability of water and sanitation services is highly contextual, and States should therefore determine affordability standards at the national and/or local level. The human rights framework stipulates important parameters for the process of doing so, in particular in terms of participation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- A recent study underscored that gender-differentiated patterns are not the same everywhere and reinforced the importance of context for understanding the gender dimensions of access and experience. The quantity and quality of sex-disaggregated data at the micro level are considered to be better than those of data at the global level. It is therefore important that measuring progress in the rights to water and sanitation and gender equality is not based on global monitoring and on the use of quantitative data only. Context-specific studies and monitoring that capture the intersection of gender inequalities in the enjoyment of other human rights are key to understanding and developing improved policy responses.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world. The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly the least developed, shall be given special priority. Countries with economies in transition, as well as all other countries, need to be fully integrated into the world economy.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Sustainable development as a means to ensure human well-being, equitably shared by all people today and in the future, requires that the interrelationships between population, resources, the environment and development should be fully recognized, properly managed and brought into harmonious, dynamic balance. To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate policies, including population-related policies, in order to meet the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Sustained economic growth, in the context of sustainable development, and social progress require that growth be broadly based, offering equal opportunities to all people. All countries should recognize their common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development, and should continue to improve their efforts to promote sustained economic growth and to narrow imbalances in a manner that can benefit all countries, particularly the developing countries.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The right to development is a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights, and the human person is the central subject of development. While development facilitates the enjoyment of all human rights, the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights. The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet the population, development and environment needs of present and future generations.The right to development is a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights, and the human person is the central subject of development. While development facilitates the enjoyment of all human rights, the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights. The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet the population, development and environment needs of present and future generations.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3.17
- Paragraph text
- Investment in human resource development, in accordance with national policy, must be given priority in population and development strategies and budgets, at all levels, with programmes specifically directed at increased access to information, education, skill development, employment opportunities, both formal and informal, and high-quality general and reproductive health services, including family planning and sexual health care, through the promotion of sustained economic growth within the context of sustainable development in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3.14
- Paragraph text
- Efforts to slow down population growth, to reduce poverty, to achieve economic progress, to improve environmental protection, and to reduce unsustainable consumption and production patterns are mutually reinforcing. Slower population growth has in many countries bought more time to adjust to future population increases. This has increased those countries' ability to attack poverty, protect and repair the environment, and build the base for future sustainable development. Even the difference of a single decade in the transition to stabilization levels of fertility can have a considerable positive impact on quality of life.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3.12
- Paragraph text
- All countries, more especially developing countries where almost all of the future growth of the world population will occur, and countries with economies in transition, face increasing difficulties in improving the quality of life of their people in a sustainable manner. Many developing countries and countries with economies in transition face major development obstacles, among which are those related to the persistence of trade imbalances, the slow-down in the world economy, the persistence of the debt-servicing problem, and the need for technologies and external assistance. The achievement of sustainable development and poverty eradication should be supported by macroeconomic policies designed to provide an appropriate international economic environment, as well as by good governance, effective national policies and efficient national institutions.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3.21
- Paragraph text
- Job creation in the industrial, agricultural and service sectors should be facilitated by Governments and the private sector through the establishment of more favourable climates for expanded trade and investment on an environmentally sound basis, greater investment in human resource development and the development of democratic institutions and good governance. Special efforts should be made to create productive jobs through policies promoting efficient and, where required, labour-intensive industries, and transfer of modern technologies.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 6.3
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that the ultimate goal is the improvement of the quality of life of present and future generations, the objective is to facilitate the demographic transition as soon as possible in countries where there is an imbalance between demographic rates and social, economic and environmental goals, while fully respecting human rights. This process will contribute to the stabilization of the world population, and, together with changes in unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, to sustainable development and economic growth.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 7.33
- Paragraph text
- Promotion and the reliable supply and distribution of high-quality condoms should become integral components of all reproductive health-care services. All relevant international organizations, especially the World Health Organization, should significantly increase their procurement. Governments and the international community should provide all means to reduce the spread and the rate of transmission of HIV/AIDS infection
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph