Other UN Human Rights Instruments and Mechanisms

International instruments on the protection of human rights and the prevention of torture

UN Charter, UNECOSOC, UNCHR

When States become members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty that sets out basic principles of international relations. One of the purposes of the UN, stated in the Charter, is “the promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction. The Charter does not contain a definition of the content of human rights. Instead, the Charter created the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which established in turn the UN Commission on Human Rights, the main intergovernmental body within the United Nations, in 1946.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The UNCHR’s first major task was to draft a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This was to further define the concept of human rights stated in the UN Charter. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1948, sets out basic rights and freedoms to which all women and men are entitled. These include the fundamental rights of all people to life, liberty and the security of person; the right to adequate standard of living; the right to own property; the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right to education, freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and the right to freedom of torture and degrading treatment. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first human rights instrument that purported to apply to all human beings everywhere.   

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Two Optional Protocols to the ICCPR.

Once the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, the Commission on Human Rights started working on a document to translate the principles of the Declaration into international binding treaties that protected specific rights. The General Assembly decided to draft two Covenants codifying the two sets of rights outlined in the Universal Declaration: Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In 1962, two decades after the Universal Declaration was proclaimed, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the international Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (the so-called “twin Covenants”) were adopted by the UN General Assembly. By ratifying these covenants, states parties accept a legal as well as moral obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The two International Covenants entered into force in 1976, when the required number of ratifications was achieved. The preambles of both International Covenants recognize that human rights derive from the inherent dignity of human beings. Two Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have since been adopted, one to establish an individual complaints procedure, the other advocating the abolition of the death penalty.

The International Bill of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ICCPR, the ICESCR, and the two Optional Protocols comprise what is known as the International Bill of Human Rights.

Other subsequently adopted Conventions that complement the International Bill of Human Rights

Subsequent to the International Covenants, many other human rights treaties have been drafted and adopted, further elaborating the rights and freedoms contained in the International Bill of Human Rights. Among them are four conventions that are considered, together with the Covenants, to constitute the core human rights treaties of the United Nations: 

	International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (entered into force in 1969)
	Convention  on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (entered into force in 1981)
	Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, In-human or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (entered into force in 1987)
	Convention on the Rights of the Child (entered into force in 1990)

The establishment of mechanisms to monitor the implementation of each treaty by State parties.

In parallel with the adoption and entry into force of the four conventions, mechanisms to monitor the implementation of each treaty by State parties were established. The following treaty bodies have been set up for the six core United Nations human rights treaties:

	Human Rights Committee (HRC)
	Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
	Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
	Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
	Committee against Torture (CAT)
	Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

The UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)

The Convention against Torture is an international treaty which bans torture and cruel and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It sets the standards for methods by which states are to implement that ban at the national and international levels such as by carrying out investigations and bringing perpetrators to justice.  It was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by the UN General Assembly on the 10th of December 1984. It was entered into force on the 26th of June 1987.

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