The Interrelationship of the ICCPR and the ICESCR; and The Human Rights Committee’s
Evolving Equal Protection Doctrine
Chapter 3 introduces the two covenants that make up the UN Bill of Rights- the ICCPR
and the ICESCR. The case law that interprets them shows how the two covenants are
interrelated, and then the chapter also introduces the views of the HRC on equal protection
in several situations where statutes explicitly treat men and women differently.
Each document has its own box. The box contains, on the top bold line, the name of the document.
This is followed by the legal citation (not in bold). Under these lines, the box contains one or
more sources for opening the document. In the left-hand column (“HTML”or “PDF”), the reader
can access the official document copy, hosted on RossRights. This permits rapid access to the
document. In the right-hand column (“External Link”), the reader can access the same document
on an official website. This link will often take more time to appear than the PDF or HTML copy, but
should be used for official legal citations. Asterisks accompany links where additional steps to reach the document are required.
For all United Nations Treaties, the source marked "Original" contains the UN General Assembly
Resolution (G.A. res.) adopting the relevant treaty, which is found in the "Annex" following the
Resolution. The source marked "UN High Comm'r for Human Rights" contains the relevant treaty,
without the G.A. res.
When a link requires searching for a symbol (such as "A/44/40"), follow the link, click on the
Simple Search button to access the search engine, then type the symbol into the "Symbol" field
and click "Search."
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Broeks v. The NetherlandsPonsamy Poongavanam v. Mauritius
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force Mar. 23, 1976. |
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| Original | External Link* | |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | |
*Scroll to and click on 2200(XXI).
ICCPR (Optional Protocol), G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N.GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into force Mar. 23, 1976. |
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| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | |
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N.GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into force Jan. 3, 1976. |
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| Original | External Link* | |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | |
*Scroll to and click on 2200(XXI).
Optional Protocol to ICESCR,* G.A. res. 63/117 (2008). |
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| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | Ratification* | |
*The current list of states which have ratified the optional protocol. This optional
protocol opened for accession and ratification on September 24th, 2009. It will enter
into force once ten states have ratified it.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), G.A. res. 34/180, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 193, U.N. Doc. A/34/46, entered into force Sept. 3, 1981. |
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| Original | External Link | |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | External Link | |
Broeks v. The Netherlands, Communication No. 172/1984, UN Doc. Supp. No. 40 (A/42/40) at 139 (1987). |
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| Original | External Link* | |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | HTML | External Link |
*Search for "A/42/40" and follow the last link on the page. The case begins on p. 145 (p. 139 of the original).
The Netherlands is located in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and
Germany.
Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese, and Indonesians) (1999 est.)
other 2.5%, none 41% (2002)
Vos v. The Netherlands, Communication No. 218/1986, UN Doc. Supp. No. 40 (A/44/40) at 232 (1989). |
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| Original | External Link | |
| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | HTML | External Link |
*Search for "A/44/40" and follow the first link on the page. The case begins on p. 237 (p. 232 of the original).
Ponsamy Poongavanam v. Mauritius, Communication No. 567/1993, UN Doc. CCPR/C/51/D/567/1993 (1993). |
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| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | HTML | External Link |
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. It was once the only home of
the now extinct dodo bird.
Mauritius is only 2040 km2 (788 mi2).
other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census)
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Communication No. 501/1992, UN Doc. CCPR/C/48/D/501/1992 (1993). |
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| UN High Comm'r for Human Rights | HTML | External Link |
CESCR General Comments |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | External Link |
| University of Minnesota Human Rights Library | External Link |
| Bayefsky.com | External Link |
States Reports to the CESCR |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights* | External Link |
| Bayefsky.com | External Link |
*Select the session and follow the links to the states reports.
CESCR Concluding Observations |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights* | External Link |
| University of Minnesota Human Rights Library | External Link |
| Bayefsky.com | External Link |
*Select the session and follow the links to the Concluding Oberservations.
| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | External Link |
| Bayefsky.com | External Link |
(CCPR) General Comment 18 |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | External Link |
(CCPR) General Comment 28 |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights | External Link |
States Reports to the HRC (CCPR) |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights* | External Link |
| Bayefsky.com | External Link |
*Select the session and follow the links to the states reports.
HRC (CCPR) Concluding Observations |
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| U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights* | External Link |
| Bayefsky.com | External Link |
*Select the session and follow the links to the states reports.
The Philippines is an archipelago in Southeastern Asia between the Philippine Sea and the
South China Sea, east of Vietnam.
Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%, other 25.3% (2000 census)
Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)