Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel
Under the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR,85 it is possible for an individual to petition
the Human Rights Committee. If the Committee finds that a State Party has violated the
Covenant, it relates its views to the state concerned and publishes them. The Committee
often specifies a particular remedy or action to be taken by the state concerned.86
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights87
The enforcement of the ICESCR is achieved primarily by States Parties submitting reports
on measures adopted in pursuit of the aims and objectives of the Covenant.88 These are
delivered to the UN Secretary-General, who then transmits them to the UN Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC).89
The reports should contain information such as “factors and difficulties affecting the degree
of fulfilment of obligations under the present Covenant”.90 ECOSOC may submit reports to
the General Assembly that include general recommendations applicable to all States Parties
in order to meet the aims and objectives of the Covenant.91 In 1985, ECOSOC created an
expert body, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to assist in monitoring
States Parties’ compliance with their obligations under the Covenant.92 States make reports
to the Committee every five years.93
International Labour Conventions94
Implementation of the international labour standards is backed by a comprehensive
supervisory system to ensure that ILO member states implement the Conventions that
they have ratified. As part of the regular system, the ILO Committee of Experts on the
Application of Conventions and Recommendations provides impartial and technical
evaluations based on both the state reports and observations to these reports submitted
by the employers and workers organizations. The Committee of Experts may communicate
requests directly to the governments concerned, or make observations that are published in
the Annual Report of the Committee and submitted to the International Labour Conference
recognizing the Committee as competent to hear such complaints (Art. 41(1)). For more information, see:
Arts. 41 and 42.
52
85
Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, op. cit., note 70.
86
Shelton, op. cit., note 65, pp. 197–201 and 384.
87
Ratified by 54 of the 57 OSCE participating States (all but Andorra, the Holy See and the United States).
88
ICESCR, op. cit., note 16, Art. 16.
89
Ibid., Art. 16(2).
90
Ibid., Art. 17(2).
91
Ibid., Art. 21.
92
Ibid.
93
UN OHCHR, “Fact Sheet No. 16 (Rev.1), The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”, May 1996,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet16rev.1en.pdf.
94
Fifty-three of the OSCE participating States are also member states of the ILO (all, but Andorra, the Holy
See, Lichtenstein and Monaco)
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