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Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Securing the victim's right to redress requires that a State party's competent authorities promptly, effectively and impartially investigate and examine the case of any individual who alleges that she or he has been subjected to torture or ill-treatment. Such an investigation should include as a standard measure an independent physical and psychological forensic examination as provided for in the Istanbul Protocol. Undue delays in initiating or concluding legal investigations into complaints of torture or ill-treatment compromise victims' rights under article 14 to obtain redress, including fair and adequate compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Notwithstanding the evidentiary benefits to victims afforded by a criminal investigation, a civil proceeding and the victim's claim for reparation should not be dependent on the conclusion of a criminal proceeding. The Committee considers that compensation should not be unduly delayed until criminal liability has been established. Civil liability should be available independently of criminal proceedings and the necessary legislation and institutions for such purpose should be in place. If criminal proceedings are required by domestic legislation to take place before civil compensation can be sought, then the absence of or undue delay in those criminal proceedings constitutes a failure on the part of the State party to fulfil its obligations under the Convention. Disciplinary action alone shall not be regarded as an effective remedy within the meaning of article 14.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, granting immunity, in violation of international law, to any State or its agents or to non-State actors for torture or ill-treatment, is in direct conflict with the obligation of providing redress to victims. When impunity is allowed by law or exists de facto, it bars victims from seeking full redress as it allows the violators to go unpunished and denies victims full assurance of their rights under article 14. The Committee affirms that under no circumstances may arguments of national security be used to deny redress for victims.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States parties shall establish a system to oversee, monitor, evaluate, and report on their provision of redress measures and necessary rehabilitation services to victims of torture or ill-treatment. Accordingly, States parties should include in their reports to the Committee data disaggregated by age, gender, nationality, and other key factors regarding redress measures afforded to victims of torture or ill-treatment, in order to meet their obligation as recalled in general comment No. 2 to provide continual evaluation of their efforts to provide redress to victims.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Judicial remedies must always be available to victims, irrespective of what other remedies may be available, and should enable victim participation. States parties should provide adequate legal aid to those victims of torture or ill-treatment lacking the necessary resources to bring complaints and to make claims for redress. States parties shall also make readily available to the victims all evidence concerning acts of torture or ill-treatment upon the request of victims, their legal counsel, or a judge. A State party's failure to provide evidence and information, such as records of medical evaluations or treatment, can unduly impair victims' ability to lodge complaints and to seek redress, compensation and rehabilitation.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Article 3: Equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights - replaced by GC No. 28 1981, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Firstly, article 3, as articles 2 (1) and 26 insofar as those articles primarily deal with the prevention of discrimination on a number of grounds, among which sex is one, requires not only measures of protection but also affirmative action designed to ensure the positive enjoyment of rights. This cannot be done simply by enacting laws. Hence, more information has generally been required regarding the role of women in practice with a view to ascertaining what measures, in addition to purely legislative measures of protection, have been or are being taken to give effect to the precise and positive obligations under article 3 and to ascertain what progress is being made or what factors or difficulties are being met in this regard.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1981
Paragraph
Article 9: Right to liberty and security of persons 1982, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Article 9 which deals with the right to liberty and security of persons has often been somewhat narrowly understood in reports by States parties, and they have therefore given incomplete information. The Committee points out that paragraph 1 is applicable to all deprivations of liberty, whether in criminal cases or in other cases such as, for example, mental illness, vagrancy, drug addiction, educational purposes, immigration control, etc. It is true that some of the provisions of article 9 (part of paragraph 2 and the whole of paragraph 3) are only applicable to persons against whom criminal charges are brought. But the rest, and in particular the important guarantee laid down in paragraph 4, i.e. the right to control by a court of the legality of the detention, applies to all persons deprived of their liberty by arrest or detention. Furthermore, States parties have in accordance with article 2 (3) also to ensure that an effective remedy is provided in other cases in which an individual claims to be deprived of his liberty in violation of the Covenant.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1982
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46c
- Paragraph text
- [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The rehabilitation facilities available to victims of torture or ill-treatment and the accessibility thereof, as well as the budget allocation for rehabilitation programmes and the number of victims who have received rehabilitative services appropriate to their needs;
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Discrimination against Roma 2000, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the Convention, taking into account their specific situations, adopt for the benefit of members of the Roma communities, inter alia, all or part of the following measures, as appropriate.] To initiate and implement programmes and projects in the field of health for Roma, mainly women and children, having in mind their disadvantaged situation due to extreme poverty and low level of education, as well as to cultural differences; to involve Roma associations and communities and their representatives, mainly women, in designing and implementing health programmes and projects concerning Roma groups.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Discrimination against Roma 2000, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the Convention, taking into account their specific situations, adopt for the benefit of members of the Roma communities, inter alia, all or part of the following measures, as appropriate.] To prevent, eliminate and adequately punish any discriminatory practices concerning the access of members of the Roma communities to all places and services intended for the use of the general public, including restaurants, hotels, theatres and music halls, discotheques and others.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Follow-up to the Durban Review Conference 2009, para. 1f
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:] Be mindful that their response to the current financial and economic crisis should not lead to a situation which would increase poverty and underdevelopment and, potentially, a rise in racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against foreigners, immigrants, indigenous peoples, persons belonging to minorities and other particularly vulnerable groups all over the world;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The general recommendation is based on the Committee's extensive repertoire of practice referring to special measures under the Convention. Committee practice includes the concluding observations on the reports of States parties to the Convention, communications under article 14, and earlier general recommendations, in particular general recommendation No. 8 (1990) on article 1, paragraphs 1 and 4, of the Convention, as well as general recommendation No. 27 (2000) on Discrimination against Roma and general recommendation No. 29 (2002) on article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent), both of which make specific reference to special measures.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46l
- Paragraph text
- [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The legal aid and witness protection available to victims of torture or ill-treatment as well as witnesses and others who have intervened on behalf of victims, including how such protection is made known and how it is made available in practice; the number of victims who have been granted legal aid; the number of persons who have been protected by State witness protection; and the State party's evaluation of the effectiveness of such protection.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- By employing the phrase "shall not be deemed racial discrimination", article 1, paragraph 4, of the Convention makes it clear that special measures taken by States parties under the terms of the Convention do not constitute discrimination, a clarification reinforced by the travaux préparatoires of the Convention which record the drafting change from "should not be deemed racial discrimination" to "shall not be deemed racial discrimination". Accordingly, special measures are not an exception to the principle of non-discrimination but are integral to its meaning and essential to the Convention project of eliminating racial discrimination and advancing human dignity and effective equality.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In order to conform to the Convention, special measures do not amount to discrimination when taken for the "sole purpose" of ensuring equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Such a motivation should be made apparent from the nature of the measures themselves, the arguments used by the authorities to justify the measures and the instruments designed to put the measures into effect. The reference to "sole purpose" limits the scope of acceptable motivations for special measures within the terms of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The notion of "adequate advancement" in article 1, paragraph 4, implies goal-directed programmes which have the objective of alleviating and remedying disparities in the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms affecting particular groups and individuals, protecting them from discrimination. Such disparities include but are not confined to persistent or structural disparities and de facto inequalities resulting from the circumstances of history that continue to deny to vulnerable groups and individuals the advantages essential for the full development of the human personality. It is not necessary to prove "historic" discrimination in order to validate a programme of special measures; the emphasis should be placed on correcting present disparities and on preventing further imbalances from arising.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Although the Convention designates "racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring … protection" (article 1, paragraph 4), and "racial groups or individuals belonging to them" (article 2, paragraph 2), as the beneficiaries of special measures, the measures shall in principle be available to any group or person covered by article 1 of the Convention, as clearly indicated by the travaux préparatoires of the Convention, as well as by the practice of States parties and the relevant concluding observations of the Committee.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph
Discrimination against Roma 2000, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- [Recommends that the States parties to the Convention, taking into account their specific situations, adopt for the benefit of members of the Roma communities, inter alia, all or part of the following measures, as appropriate.] To act firmly against any discriminatory practices affecting Roma, mainly by local authorities and private owners, with regard to taking up residence and access to housing; to act firmly against local measures denying residence to and unlawful expulsion of Roma, and to refrain from placing Roma in camps outside populated areas that are isolated and without access to health care and other facilities.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- By the end of its thirteenth session, the Committee and its predecessor, the Sessional Working Group of Governmental Experts, had examined 153 initial reports, 71 second periodic reports and 25 global reports on articles 1 to 15 of the Covenant. This work made it possible to identify many of the problems that may be encountered in implementing the Covenant in a considerable number of States parties representing all the regions of the world and having different political, socio-economic and cultural systems. The reports examined to date have not provided any information in a systematic way on the situation of older persons as regards compliance with the Covenant, apart from information, of varying completeness, on the implementation of article 9 relating to the right to social security.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Recommendations 19 to 24 of the International Plan of Action on Ageing emphasize that housing for the elderly must be viewed as more than mere shelter and that, in addition to the physical, it has psychological and social significance which should be taken into account. Accordingly, national policies should help elderly persons to continue to live in their own homes as long as possible, through the restoration, development and improvement of homes and their adaptation to the ability of those persons to gain access to and use them (recommendation 19). Recommendation 20 stresses the need for urban rebuilding and development planning and law to pay special attention to the problems of the ageing, assisting in securing their social integration. Recommendation 22 draws attention to the need to take account of the functional capacity of the elderly in order to provide them with a better living environment and facilitate mobility and communication through the provision of adequate means of transport.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities also have the right to protection and support in relation to motherhood and pregnancy. As the Standard Rules state, "persons with disabilities must not be denied the opportunity to experience their sexuality, have sexual relationships and experience parenthood". The needs and desires in question should be recognized and addressed in both the recreational and the procreational contexts. These rights are commonly denied to both men and women with disabilities worldwide. Both the sterilization of, and the performance of an abortion on, a woman with disabilities without her prior informed consent are serious violations of article 10 (2).
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The terminology used to describe older persons varies considerably, even in international documents. It includes: "older persons", "the aged", "the elderly", "the third age", "the ageing" and, to denote persons more than 80 years of age, "the fourth age". The Committee has opted for "older persons" (in French, personnes âgées; in Spanish, personas mayores), the term employed in General Assembly resolutions 47/5 and 48/98. According to the practice in the United Nations statistical services, these terms cover persons aged 60 and above. (The statistical service of the European Union, Eurostat, considers "older persons" to mean persons aged 65 or above, since 65 is the most common age of retirement and the trend is towards later retirement still.)
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights does not contain any explicit reference to the rights of older persons, although article 9, dealing with "the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance", implicitly recognizes the right to old-age benefits. Nevertheless, in view of the fact that the Covenant's provisions apply fully to all members of society, it is clear that older persons are entitled to enjoy the full range of rights recognized in the Covenant. This approach is also fully reflected in the International Plan of Action on Ageing. Moreover, in so far as respect for the rights of older persons requires special measures to be taken, States parties are required by the Covenant to do so to the maximum of their available resources.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- This is not determinative of the matter, however, since the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of "other status" could be interpreted as applying to age. The Committee notes that, while it may not yet be possible to conclude that discrimination on the grounds of age is comprehensively prohibited by the Covenant, the range of matters in relation to which such discrimination can be accepted is very limited. Moreover, it must be emphasized that the unacceptableness of discrimination against older persons is underlined in many international policy documents and is confirmed in the legislation of the vast majority of States. In the few areas in which discrimination continues to be tolerated, such as in relation to mandatory retirement ages or access to tertiary education, there is a clear trend towards the elimination of such barriers. The Committee is of the view that States parties should seek to expedite this trend to the greatest extent possible.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Accordingly, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is of the view that States parties to the Covenant are obligated to pay particular attention to promoting and protecting the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons. The Committee's own role in this regard is rendered all the more important by the fact that, unlike the case of other population groups such as women and children, no comprehensive international convention yet exists in relation to the rights of older persons and no binding supervisory arrangements attach to the various sets of United Nations principles in this area.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- School programmes in many countries today recognize that persons with disabilities can best be educated within the general education system. Thus the Standard Rules provide that "States should recognize the principle of equal primary, secondary and tertiary educational opportunities for children, youth and adults with disabilities, in integrated settings". In order to implement such an approach, States should ensure that teachers are trained to educate children with disabilities within regular schools and that the necessary equipment and support are available to bring persons with disabilities up to the same level of education as their non disabled peers. In the case of deaf children, for example, sign language should be recognized as a separate language to which the children should have access and whose importance should be acknowledged in their overall social environment.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Youth
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In this context, attention may be drawn to Global target No. 1, adopted by the General Assembly in 1992, which calls for the establishment of national support infrastructures to promote policies and programmes on ageing in national and international development plans and programmes. In this regard, the Committee notes that one of the United Nations Principles for Older Persons which Governments were encouraged to incorporate into their national programmes is that older persons should be able to form movements or associations of older persons.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with article 3 of the Covenant, by which States parties undertake "to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights", the Committee considers that States parties should pay particular attention to older women who, because they have spent all or part of their lives caring for their families without engaging in a remunerated activity entitling them to an old-age pension, and who are also not entitled to a widow's pension, are often in critical situations.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 62d (i)
- Paragraph text
- [While the States of employment have the primary responsibility to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers, embassies and consulates of States of origin should play an active role in protecting the rights of their nationals employed as migrant domestic workers. In particular, embassies and consulates of countries of origin that are present in countries where migrant domestic workers are employed are encouraged, in coordination with the authorities in the countries of employment, to:] [Receive, record and report information that can be useful to migrant domestic workers in the country of employment as well as to prospective migrant workers back home regarding:] Actual country and employment conditions;
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The meaning and scope of special measures in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Racial Discrimination 2009, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Article 1, paragraph 4, of the Convention is essentially a clarification of the meaning of discrimination when applied to special measures. Article 2, paragraph 2, carries forward the special measures concept into the realm of obligations of States parties, along with the text of article 2 as a whole. Nuances of difference in the use of terms in the two paragraphs do not disturb their essential unity of concept and purpose.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2009
Paragraph