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Human rights treaties
International treaties are contracts signed between states. They are legally binding and impose mutual obligations on the states that are party to any particular treaty (States Parties). Human rights treaties impose obligations on states about the manner in which they treat all individuals within their jurisdiction, whether or not citizens of that country. In order to stress the fundamental nature of the obligations that states have towards individuals, some human rights treaties are called ‘covenants’ or ‘pacts’ whilst others are called ‘conventions’.
Human rights treaties have been adopted by states worldwide and represent a global consensus about how individuals should be treated in accordance with their inherent rights and dignity. One treaty, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has been signed by every state except two, Somalia and the United States of America.
These treaties are ‘hard law’ and are legally binding. This distinguishes them from other international instruments, such as ‘declarations’ and the outcomes of political conferences, which are sometimes referred to as ‘soft law’. Although these latter are not legally binding they reflect international consensus and represent politically binding agreements and/or obligations. [See Policy for further information on political commitments concerning water.]
Declarations often provide the consensual basis for the latter development of binding legal instruments. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example, has been given legal force in two covenants: The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which were adopted in 1966 and came into force in 1976. These are two of six core human rights treaties, which between them provide the bedrock of the international legal protection of human rights.
In this way, the subject of human rights is both concrete – confirmed in international law – and dynamic – able to develop in accordance with recognition of the need.
The six core human rights treaties
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted in 1966 and which entered into force 23 March 1976
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted in 1966, entered into force 3 January 1976
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted in 1965, entered into force 4 January 4 1969
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted in 1979, entered into force 3 September 1981
- The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted in 1984, entered into force 26 June 1987
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, entered into force 2 September 1990
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The United Nations (UN) has played a critical role in adopting global human rights instruments, such as the six core treaties listed above, and many others that deal with specific human rights issues or the rights of particular groups of people. Other international bodies, such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have also adopted human rights instruments. For example, the Member States of the ILO have adopted a series of treaties concerned with labour rights.
Regional groupings have also adopted human rights texts. The European Union, the African Union, the Organisation of American States and the League of Arab States have all adopted human rights treaties open to signature by their respective member states. In addition, many States Parties to these international and regional instruments have fulfilled their legal obligation to incorporate the rights enshrined within those instruments into national law, adopting national human rights laws or ‘bills of rights’ and mechanisms providing access to legal redress at the national or local level.
Together, these texts provide a firm foundation for the international and national protection of human rights.
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