International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

About International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: 

• It is a key international human rights treaty, providing a range of protections for civil and political rights.
• The Covenant was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1966 and came into force in 1976.
• The ICCPR, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, are considered the International Bill of Human Rights.
• The ICCPR obligates countries that have ratified the treaty to protect and preserve basic human rights, such as:
  • The right to life and human dignity; equality before the law; freedom of speech, assembly, and association; religious freedom and privacy; freedom from torture, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention; gender equality etc.
• The Covenant compels governments to take administrative, judicial, and legislative measures in order to protect the rights enshrined in the treaty and to provide an effective remedy.
• As of 2024, 174 countries have been party to this Covenant.
• India became a party to the ICCPR in 1979 and has undergone three such reviews so far, the last being in 1997.

Q1: What is the United Nations Human Rights Council?

United Nations Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. It was created by the General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by replacing the Commission on Human Rights.

Source: India completes UN human rights review