EU Policy On The Death Penalty
UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland
Optional
Protocol to the 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
9
The States Parties to the present Protocol,
Considering that in order further to achieve the purposes of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Covenant)
and the implemenation of its provisions it would be appropriate to enable the
Human Rights Committee set up in part IV of the Covenant (hereinafter referred
to as the Committee) to receive and consider, as provided in the present Protocol,
communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of
the rights set forth in the Covenant.
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
A State Party to the Covenant that becomes a Party to the present Protocol
recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications
from individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation
by that State Party of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant. No communication
shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party to the Covenant
which is not a Party to the present Protocol.
Article 2
Subject to the provisions of article 1, individuals who claim that any of their
rights enumerated in the Covenant have been violated and who have exhausted all
available domestic remedies may submit a written communication to the Committee
for consideration.
Article 3
The Committee shall consider inadmissible any communciation under the present
Protocol which is anonymous, or which it considers to be an abuse of the right
of submission of such communications or to be incompatible with the provisions
of the Covenant.
Article 4
1. Subject to the provisions of article 3, the Committee shall bring any communications
submitted to it under the present Protocol to the attention of the State Party
to the present Protocol alleged to be violating any provision of the Covenant.
2. Within six months, the receiving State shall submit to the Committee written
explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that
may have been taken by that State.
Article 5
1. The Committee shall consider communications received under the present Protocol
in the light of all written information made available to it by the individual
and by the State Party concerned.
2. The Committee shall not consider any communication from an individual unless
it has ascertained that:
(a) The same matter is not being examined under another procedure of international
investigation or settlement;
(b) The individual has exhausted all available domestic remedies. This shall
not be the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged.
3. The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under
the present Protocol.
4. The Committee shall forward its views to the State Party concerned and to
the individual.
Article 6
The Committee shall include in its annual report under article 45 of the Covenant
a summary of its activities under the present Protocol.
Article 7
Pending the achievement of the objectives of resolution 1514(XV) adopted by
the General Assembly of the United Nations on 14 December 1960 concerning the
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples,
the provisions of the present Protocol shall in no way limit the right of petition
granted to these peoples by the Charter of the United Nations and other international
conventions and instruments under the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
Article 8
1. The present Protocol is open for signature by any State which has signed
the Covenant.
2. The present Protocol is subject to ratification by any State which has ratified
or acceded to the Covenant. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with
the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. The present Protocol shall be open to accession by any State which has ratified
or acceded to the Covenant.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States which
have signed the present Protocol or acceded to it of the deposit of each instrument
of ratification or accession.
Article 9
1. Subject to the entry into force of the Covenant, the present Protocol shall
enter into force three months after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General
of the United Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Protocol or acceding to it after the
deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or instrument of accession, the
present Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit
of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
Article 10
The provisions of the present Protocol shall extend to all parts of federal
States without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 11
1. Any State Party to the present Protocol may propose an amendment and file
it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall
thereupon communicate any proposed amendments to the States Parties to the present
Protocol with a request that they notify him whether they favour a conference
of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposal.
In the event that at least one third of the States Parties favours such a conference,
the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United
Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and
voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United
Nations for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by the General
Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States
Parties to the present Protocol in accordance with their respective constitutional
processes.
3. When amendments come into force, they shall be binding on those States Parties
which have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions
of the present Protocol and any earlier amendment which they have accepted.
Article 12
1. Any State Party may denounce the present Protocol at any time by written
notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation
shall take effect three months after the date of receipt of the notification by
the Secretary-General.
2. Denunciation shall be without prejudice to the continued application of
the provisions of the present Protocol to any communication submitted under article
2 before the effective date of denunciation.
Article 13
Irrespective of the notifications made under article 8, paragraph 5, of the
present Protocol, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all
States referred to in article 48, paragraph I, of the Covenant of the following
particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 8;
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Protocol under article
9 and the date of the entry into force of any amendments under article 11;
(c) Denunciations under article 12.
Article 14
1. The present Protocol, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and
Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the
United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit
certified copies of the present Protocol to all States referred to in article
48 of the Covenant.
