A/RES/52/116
Page 2
Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General4 on the status of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,2 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2 and the
Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,5
Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and reaffirming that all human rights and fundamental freedoms
are indivisible and interrelated and that the promotion and protection of one category of rights should
never exempt or excuse States from the promotion and protection of the other rights,
Recognizing the important role of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights in the implementation of the International Covenants on Human Rights and
the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
1. Reaffirms the importance of the International Covenants on Human Rights as major parts of
international efforts to promote universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental
freedoms;
2. Appeals strongly to all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, as well as to accede to the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and to make the declaration provided for in article 41 of the Covenant;
3. 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;
4. 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;
5. 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;
6. Also stresses the importance of fully taking into account a gender perspective in the
implementation of the International Covenants on Human Rights at the national level, including in the
national reports of States parties and in the work of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
4
A/52/446.
5
See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex, and resolution 44/128, annex.
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