International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A
(XXI) of 16 December 1966, entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49
Preamble
The States Parties to the present Covenant,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United
Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members
of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free
human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be
achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as
well as his economic, social and cultural rights,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the United Nations to promote universal
respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to the community to which he
belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the rights
recognized in the present Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
PART I
Article 1
1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine
their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources
without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon
the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its
own means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those having responsibility for the
administration of Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of the
right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the
Charter of the United Nations.
PART II
Article 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals
within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or other measures, each State Party to
the present Covenant undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional
processes and with the provisions of the present Covenant, to adopt such laws or other measures as
may be necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the present Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:
(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have
an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an
official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his right thereto determined by
competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority
provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to
the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
1 . In time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation and the existence of which
is officially proclaimed, the States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures derogating
from their obligations under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies
of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with their other obligations
under international law and do not involve discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour,
sex, language, religion or social origin.
2. No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs I and 2), 11, 15, 16 and 18 may be made under
this provision.
3. Any State Party to the present Covenant availing itself of the right of derogation shall
immediately inform the other States Parties to the present Covenant, through the intermediary of
the Secretary- General of the United Nations, of the provisions from which it has derogated and of
the reasons by which it was actuated. A further communication shall be made, through the same
intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such derogation.
Article 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person
any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the
rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided
for in the present Covenant.
2. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of the fundamental human rights
recognized or existing in any State Party to the present Covenant pursuant to law, conventions,
regulations or custom on the pretext that the present Covenant does not recognize such rights or
that it recognizes them to a lesser extent.
PART III
Article 6
1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one
shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only
for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of
the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present Covenant and to the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant
to a final judgement rendered by a competent court.
3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide, it is understood that nothing in
this article shall authorize any State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way from
any obligation assumed under the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide.
4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.
Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases.
5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of
age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women.
6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital
punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant.
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In
particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific
experimentation.
Article 8
1. No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in all their forms shall be
prohibited.
2. No one shall be held in servitude.
3.
(a) No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour;
(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to preclude, in countries where imprisonment with hard labour
may be imposed as a punishment for a crime, the performance of hard labour in pursuance of a
sentence to such punishment by a competent court;
(c) For the purpose of this paragraph the term “forced or compulsory labour” shall not include:
(i) Any work or service, not referred to in subparagraph (b), normally required of a person who is
under detention in consequence of a lawful order of a court, or of a person during conditional
release from such detention;
(ii) Any service of a military character and, in countries where conscientious objection is
recognized, any national service required by law of conscientious objectors;
(iii) Any service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of
the community;
(iv) Any work or service which forms part of normal civil obligations.
Article 9
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary
arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in
accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest
and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or
other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a
reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall
be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other
stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.
4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take
proceedings before a court, in order that that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of
his detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right
to compensation.
Article 10
1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the
inherent dignity of the human person.
2.
(a) Accused persons shall, save in exceptional circumstances, be segregated from convicted persons
and shall be subject to separate treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons;
(b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults and brought as speedily as possible for
adjudication.
3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall
be their reformation and social rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be segregated from adults
and be accorded treatment appropriate to their age and legal status.
Article 11
No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation.
Article 12
1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right
to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence.
2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.
3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are
provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public
health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights
recognized in the present Covenant.
4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.
Article 13
An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled
therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where
compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against
his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the
competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority.
Article 14
1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal
charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled
to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law.
The press and the public may be excluded from all or part of a trial for reasons of morals, public
order (ordre public) or national security in a democratic society, or when the interest of the
private lives of the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the
court in special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of justice; but any
judgement rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made public except where the
interest of juvenile persons otherwise requires or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or
the guardianship of children.
2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be presumed innocent until
proved guilty according to law.
3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled to the
following minimum guarantees, in full equality: (a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a
language which he understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence and to communicate with
counsel of his own choosing;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his
own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have
legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and
without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and
examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him;
(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language
used in court;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt.
4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as will take account of their age
and the desirability of promoting their rehabilitation. 5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall
have the right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law.
6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal offence and when subsequently
his conviction has been reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly
discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person who has
suffered punishment as a result of such conviction shall be compensated according to law, unless it
is proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to
him.
7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for which he has already
been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each country.
Article 15
1 . No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did
not constitute a criminal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time when
the criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission of the offence, provision is
made by law for the imposition of the lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.
2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and punishment of any person for any act or
omission which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal according to the general principles
of law recognized by the community of nations.
Article 16
Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 17
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home
or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 18
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall
include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either
individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or
belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a
religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are
prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the
fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents
and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children
in conformity with their own convictions.
Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either
orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special
duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall
only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health
or morals.
Article 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.
2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to
discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.
Article 21
The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise
of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a
democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre
public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of
others.
Article 22
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form
and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are
prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals
or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the
imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed forces and of the police in their
exercise of this right.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the International Labour Organisation
Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to
take legislative measures which would prejudice, or to apply the law in such a manner as to
prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention.
Article 23
1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by
society and the State.
2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be
recognized.
3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights
and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case
of dissolution, provision shall be made for the necessary protection of any children.
Article 24
1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion,
national or social origin, property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are
required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the State.
2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name.
3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
Article 25
Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned
in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions:
(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen
representatives;
(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal
suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the
electors;
(c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country.
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