International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
UN
Document Series Symbol: ST/HR/
UN Issuing Body: Secretariat Centre for Human Rights
© United Nations
Adopted and
opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly
resolution 2200 A (XXI) of 16 December 1966
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 3 January 1976, in accordance with article 27
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 freedom from
fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby
everyone may enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as
well as his civil and political 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 take steps,
individually and through international assistance and co-operation,
especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available
resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization
of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate
means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee
that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised
without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.
3. Developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their
national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee
the economic rights recognized in the present Covenant to non-nationals.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social
and cultural rights set forth in the present Covenant.
Article 4
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, in the
enjoyment of those rights provided by the State in conformity with
the present Covenant, the State may subject such rights only to
such limitations as are determined by law only in so far as this
may be compatible with the nature of these rights and solely for
the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic society.
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 to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights
or freedoms recognized herein, or at their limitation to a greater
extent than is provided for in the present Covenant.
2. No restriction upon or derogation from any of the fundamental
human rights recognized or existing in any country in virtue of
law, conventions, regulations or custom shall be admitted 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. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right
to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity
to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and
will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.
2. The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant
to achieve the full realization of this right shall include technical
and vocational guidance and training programmes, policies and techniques
to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and
full and productive employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental
political and economic freedoms to the individual.
Article 7
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work
which ensure, in particular:
(a) Remuneration
which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:
(i) Fair wages
and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction
of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of
work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for
equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance
with the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) Safe and
healthy working conditions;
(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment
to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other
than those of seniority and competence;
(d) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and
periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays
Article 8
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure:
(a) The right
of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union of his
choice, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned,
for the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests.
No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other
than those prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic
society in the interests of national security or public order
or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others;
(b) The right of trade unions to establish national federations
or confederations and the right of the latter to form or join
international trade-union organizations;
(c) The right of trade unions to function freely subject to no
limitations other than those prescribed by law and which are necessary
in a democratic society in the interests of national security
or public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms
of others;
(d) The right to strike, provided that it is exercised in conformity
with the laws of the particular country.
2. This article
shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the exercise
of these rights by members of the armed forces or of the police
or of the administration of the State.
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 apply the law
in such a manner as would prejudice, the guarantees provided for
in that Convention.
Article 9
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to social security, including social insurance.
Article 10
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that:
1. The widest
possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family,
which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, particularly
for its establishment and while it is responsible for the care
and education of dependent children. Marriage must be entered
into with the free consent of the intending spouses.
2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable
period before and after childbirth. During such period working
mothers should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social
security benefits.
3. Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken
on behalf of all children and young persons without any discrimination
for reasons of parentage or other conditions. Children and young
persons should be protected from economic and social exploitation.
Their employment in work harmful to their morals or health or
dangerous to life or likely to hamper their normal development
should be punishable by law. States should also set age limits
below which the paid employment of child labour should be prohibited
and punishable by law.
Article 11
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right
of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his
family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the
continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties
will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right,
recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international
co-operation based on free consent.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental
right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually
and through international co-operation, the measures, including
specific programmes, which are needed:
(a) To improve
methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by
making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating
knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or
reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most
efficient development and utilization of natural resources;
(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and
food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution
of world food supplies in relation to need.
Article 12
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right
of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant
to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those
necessary for:
(a) The provision
for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality
and for the healthy development of the child;
(b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial
hygiene;
(c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic,
occupational and other diseases;
(d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical
service and medical attention in the event of sickness.
Article 13
1. The States
Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone
to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the
full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity,
and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons
to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding,
tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic
or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations
for the maintenance of peace.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with
a view to achieving the full realization of this right:
(a) Primary
education shall be compulsory and available free to all;
(b) Secondary education in its different forms, including technical
and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available
and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular
by the progressive introduction of free education;
(c) Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all,
on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular
by the progressive introduction of free education;
(d) Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as
far as possible for those persons who have not received or completed
the whole period of their primary education;
(e) The development of a system of schools at all levels shall
be actively pursued, an adequate fellowship system shall be established,
and the material conditions of teaching staff shall be continuously
improved.
3. The States
Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the
liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose
for their children schools, other than those established by the
public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards
as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious
and moral education of their children in conformity with their own
convictions.
4. No part of this article shall be construed so as to interfere
with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct
educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the
principles set forth in paragraph 1 of this article and to the requirement
that the education given in such institutions shall conform to such
minimum standards as may be laid down by the State.
Article 14
Each State Party
to the present Covenant which, at the time of becoming a Party,
has not been able to secure in its metropolitan territory or other
territories under its jurisdiction compulsory primary education,
free of charge, undertakes, within two years, to work out and adopt
a detailed plan of action for the progressive implementation, within
a reasonable number of years, to be fixed in the plan, of the principle
of compulsory education free of charge for all.
Article 15
1. The States
Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone:
ic, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present
Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include
those necessary for the conservation, the development and the
diffusion of science and culture.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect
the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative
activity.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits
to be derived from the encouragement and development of international
contacts and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields.
PART
IV
Article 16
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to submit
in conformity with this part of the Covenant reports on the measures
which they have adopted and the progress made in achieving the observance
of the rights recognized herein.
2. (a) All reports
shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
who shall transmit copies to the Economic and Social Council for
consideration in accordance with the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall also transmit
to the specialized agencies copies of the reports, or any relevant
parts therefrom, from States Parties to the present Covenant which
are also members of these specialized agencies in so far as these
reports, or parts therefrom, relate to any matters which fall within
the responsibilities of the said agencies in accordance with their
constitutional instruments.
Article 17
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant shall furnish their
reports in stages, in accordance with a programme to be established
by the Economic and Social Council within one year of the entry
into force of the present Covenant after consultation with the States
Parties and the specialized agencies concerned.
2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree
of fulfilment of obligations under the present Covenant.
3. Where relevant information has previously been furnished to the
United Nations or to any specialized agency by any State Party to
the present Covenant, it will not be necessary to reproduce that
information, but a precise reference to the information so furnished
will suffice.
Article 18
Pursuant to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United
Nations in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the
Economic and Social Council may make arrangements with the specialized
agencies in respect of their reporting to it on the progress made
in achieving the observance of the provisions of the present Covenant
falling within the scope of their activities. These reports may
include particulars of decisions and recommendations on such implementation
adopted by their competent organs.
Article 19
The Economic and Social Council may transmit to the Commission on
Human Rights for study and general recommendation or, as appropriate,
for information the reports concerning human rights submitted by
States in accordance with articles 16 and 17, and those concerning
human rights submitted by the specialized agencies in accordance
with article 18.
Article 20
The States Parties to the present Covenant and the specialized agencies
concerned may submit comments to the Economic and Social Council
on any general recommendation under article 19 or reference to such
general recommendation in any report of the Commission on Human
Rights or any documentation referred to therein.
Article 21
The Economic and Social Council may submit from time to time to
the General Assembly reports with recommendations of a general nature
and a summary of the information received from the States Parties
to the present Covenant and the specialized agencies on the measures
taken and the progress made in achieving general observance of the
rights recognized in the present Covenant.
Article 22
The Economic and Social Council may bring to the attention of other
organs of the United Nations, their subsidiary organs and specialized
agencies concerned with furnishing technical assistance any matters
arising out of the reports referred to in this part of the present
Covenant which may assist such bodies in deciding, each within its
field of competence, on the advisability of international measures
likely to contribute to the effective progressive implementation
of the present Covenant.
Article 23
The States Parties to the present Covenant agree that international
action for the achievement of the rights recognized in the present
Covenant includes such methods as the conclusion of conventions,
the adoption of recommendations, the furnishing of technical assistance
and the holding of regional meetings and technical meetings for
the purpose of consultation and study organized in conjunction with
the Governments concerned.
Article 24
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing
the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and of the constitutions
of the specialized agencies which define the respective responsibilities
of the various organs of the United Nations and of the specialized
agencies in regard to the matters dealt with in the present Covenant.
Article 25
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing
the inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and
freely their natural wealth and resources.
PART V
Article 26
1. The present Covenant is open for signature by any State Member
of the United Nations or member of any of its specialized agencies,
by any State Party to the Statute of the International Court of
Justice, and by any other State which has been invited by the General
Assembly of the United Nations to become a party to the present
Covenant.
2. The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments
of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations.
3. The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any State
referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
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 Covenant or acceded to it of
the deposit of each instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 27
1. The present Covenant shall enter into force three months after
the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument
of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to
it after the deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification
or instrument of accession, the present Covenant shall enter into
force three months after the date of the deposit of its own instrument
of ratification or instrument of accession.
Article 28
The provisions of the present Covenant shall extend to all parts
of federal States without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 29
1. Any State Party to the present Covenant 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 Covenant with a request that
they notify him whether they favour a conference of States Parties
for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals. 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 Covenant
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 Covenant and any earlier
amendment which they have accepted.
Article 30
Irrespective of the notifications made under article 26, paragraph
5, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all
States referred to in paragraph 1 of the same article of the following
particulars:
(a) Signatures,
ratifications and accessions under article 26;
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Covenant under
article 27 and the date of the entry into force of any amendments
under article 29.
Article 31
1. The present Covenant, 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 Covenant to all States referred to in article
26.
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