CHAPTER V
INTERNATIONAL BILL OF RIGHTS
International Bill of Rights – composed of UDHR
and 2 human rights treaties, the ICCPR along with its
2 protocols and the ICESCR.
Note: CEDAW – also known as International
Bill of Rights for Women.
Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR)
– adopted by United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) last December 10, 1948.
– Primary human rights instrument; not a
treaty
– Merely a resolution; legally, it has the force
and effect only of a recommendation (soft
law).
– It has been observed as if it were a treaty, and
has since evolved into a general principles of
international law.
– First Draft: Humphrey Draft
– Second Draft: Cassin or Geneva Draft
– Contains a preamble and 30 articles
– Notable declarations:
o HR are inalienable rights of all
members of the human family;
o Recognition of HR is the foundation of
freedom, justice, and peace in the
world;
o Freedoms of speech and belief as well
as the freedom from fear and want are
the highest aspiration of the common
people;
o Rebellion against tyranny and
oppression is recognized as a last
resort where human rights are not
protected.
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR)
- Adopted on March 16, 1966; entered into
force in March 23, 1976
- Philippines signed it on December 19, 1966
but was only ratified on October 23, 1986 (20
years later)
- 2 additional protocols
 First Optional Protocol
 Entered into force on March
23, 1976; provides for the
jurisdiction of the HR
Committee to receive and
consider communications
from individuals who claim to
be victims of HR violations.
 Ratified by Philippines on
August 22, 1989.
 Second Optional Protocol
 Entered into force on July 11,
1991; abolition of death
penalty;
 Ratified by Philippines on
November 20, 2007 (RA 9346
was passed)
Right of self-determination – first article on ICCPR
and ICESCR; provides that “peoples may freely
determine their political status and freely pursue
their economic, social and cultural development.”
Human Rights Committee – compliance and
monitoring mechanism of ICCPR
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
- Adopted on December 16, 1966; entered into
force on January 3, 1976
- Philippines signed it on December 19, 1966
(same with ICCPR) but was ratified on June 7,
1974.
- There is one optional: the Committee on
Economic, Social and Political Rights (CESCR)
but has not yet entered into force due to lack
of signature; Philippines has not signed it yet
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(CESCR) – reporting mechanism of ICESCR
Rights and Freedoms under the International Bill
of Rights
a. Equality in Dignity and Rights
- Art. 1, UDHR
- The respect and protection that each human
being deserves is the most fundamental and
basic rules for the enjoyment by every person
of his human rights.
- Ensures that every human is entitled to
his/her rights regardless of sex, race, religion,
status in life or political beliefs, and that no
one enjoys preference or priority over
another in the entitlement of human rights.
 Note: does not necessarily translate to
uniformity of rights, rather, an equal
opportunity to enjoy human rights.
b. Right to life, liberty and security
- Art. 3, UDHR
 - Encapsulates the key political and civil rights
of a person that must be protected by the
State.
- Negative right; it restrains the State from
violating a person’s life, liberty and security.
- Also found in the 1987 Constitution, Sec. 3,
Art. 1 (Bill of Rights).
- The right to liberty and security is not
absolute and may be restricted on valid
grounds, such as:
 Imprisonment of a convict by way of
penalty for the commission of an
offense;
 Hospitalization of insane persons.
 Aim of imprisonment:
reformation and rehabilitation
of convicts.
- Art. 10(2) of the ICCPR provides for a
separate treatment for convicts from those
still undergoing trial (called pre-trial
prisoners).
c. Right against slavery
- Art. 4, UDHR
Human Trafficking – modern day slavery; important
factor: exploitation (essential element of this crime);
considered as a crime against humanity when
committed as part of a widespread or systemic
attack.
- The right against slavery is jus cogens; it
involves “all kinds of slavery”;
- Art. 8, ICCPR: the term “forced or compulsory
labour” shall not include:
 Work or service required of a
prisoner, or of military nature, or
which forms part of normal civil
obligations.
 Does not preclude the performance of
hard labour as part of the penalty of a
crime.
Palermo Protocol
- the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children; applicable treaty on human
trafficking
- one of the 3 ‘daughter treaties’ of UN
Convention on Transnational Organized
Crime (also known as Palermo Convention).
Note: The Rome Stature of the ICC specifically
includes trafficking in persons in the enumeration of
acts constituting crimes against humanity.
Many human rights scholars believe that crimes
against humanity should be covered under the
“universal jurisdiction” scheme in the way that Piracy
on the high seas is so covered and pirates are treated
as hostis human generis (the enemy of mankind).
R.A. No. 9208 – Philippine law against human
trafficking; however, this law does not contain an
express provision declaring human trafficking as a
transnational crime ; it does not also provide for
extraterritorial application.
d. Right against torture
- Art. 5, UDHR
- Convention Against Torture, Cruel, Inhuman
and Degrading Punishment (CAT) was
adopted pursuant to this.
Torture – any act by which severe pain or suffering,
whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted
on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him
or a third person information or a confession,
punishing him for an act he or a third person has
committed or is suspected of having committed, or
intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for
any reason based on discrimination of any kind,
when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the
instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a
public official or other person acting in an official
capacity.
Note: It does not include pain or suffering
arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful
sanctions.
- Aside from torture, acts constituting cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment are also prohibited.
- The right against torture is non-derogable.
- Sec. 12 (2) of the 1987 Constitution prohibits
the use of torture upon any person under
investigation for the commission of an
offense.
- R.A. No. 9745, the Anti-Torture Act
e. Right to equal protection
- Art. 7, UDHR
- Does not mean that each and every person
shall be treated in the same manner at all
times, regardless of differences of class and
circumstance. Reasonable classification is
allowed.
- Requisites for reasonable classification:
  It must be based on substantial
distinctions which make real
differences;
 It must be germane to the purpose of
the law;
 It must not be limited to existing
conditions only;
 It must apply equally to each member
of the class.
f. Right to effective judicial remedy
- Art. 8, UDHR
- States have to place an “effective” judicial
remedy; it must be just, accessible, free from
corruption and influence-brokering, and
speedy but with quality.
- A judicial remedy must be anchored on the
principles of justice and due process.
- 3 most dangerous enemies of fairness are:
 Corruption
 Ignorance
 Arrogance
- Access to justice does not only refer to
government-paid legal assistance, it also
includes:
 Availability of information on where
and how to get legal assistance;
 Uncomplicated legal procedures and
laws that promote the faith in the
judicial system.
 To be accessible:
 The process must be
inexpensive;
 The information, offices and
courts must be within reach;
 The procedure must be
simple.
 The trend now: using Tagalog in many
courts in NCR during hearings.
Judicial Writs – remedies that may be availed of by
human rights victims. They are:
1. Writ of Habeas Corpus – A writ issued by a
judge directed to the person detaining
another, commanding him to produce the
body of a prisoner at a designated time and
place.
a. Sec. 1, Rule 102 of the Rules of Court
provides for the scope of its
application.
2. Writ of Amparo – a remedy available to any
person whose right to life, liberty and
security is violated or threatened with
violation by an unlawful act or omission of a
public official or employee, or of a private
individual or entity. The writ shall cover:
a. extralegal killings; and
b. enforced disappearances; or
c. threats thereof.
3. Writ of Habeas Data – a remedy available to
any person whole right to privacy in life,
liberty of security is violated or threatened by
an unlawful act or omission of a public official
or employee, or of a private individual or
entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or
storing data or information regarding the
person, family, home, and correspondence of
the aggrieved party.
In case of unlawful search or threat against the
privacy of a person, among the remedies available to
the aggrieved party are:
1. The writ of habeas data;
2. Criminal prosecution for Violation of Domicile
or Trespassing;
3. Indemnity arising from civil action; and
4. Administrative sanctions to the offender.
g. Right to be presumed innocent
- Art. 11, UDHR
- Similar to the guarantees under the Bill of
Rights in the Constitution on presumption of
innocence and procedural due process.
- Rights enumerated under Rule 115 of the
Rules of Criminal Procedure are rights of
persons accused for crimes that are already
filed in court.
 Note: Arrested suspects are entitled
to Miranda warning (R.A. No. 7438).
- A person charged for the commission of a
crime shall retain his civil, political, and other
human rights.
h. Right against ex post facto law and bill of
attainder
- Par. 2, Art. 11, UDHR
- Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege
poenali (No crime, no punishment without a
previous penal law):
 That holds a person liable for an act or
omission that was not punished at the
time of the commission;
 That imposes a penalty heaver than
the one that was applicable at the
time of the commission.
- Also provided in Sec. 22, Art. III of the
Constitution.
i. Right to privacy
- Art. 12, UDHR
- Anti-Wiretapping Law of the Philippines –
disallows evidence gathered from violation of
privacy and punishes the offender.
- The Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law – protects
undue intrusion into the bank information of
a person.
 However, when there is an allegation
of the commission of “predicate
offenses”, AMLA allows the inquiry
into the financial information of a
person .
- Privacy Data Protection Act – penalizes those
who pass confidential information of persons
gathered in the course of their transactions.
j. Freedom of movement
- Art. 13, UDHR
- Guaranteed under Bill of Rights but these
rights may be curtailed or restricted upon a
lawful order of the court, or in the interest of
national security, public safety or public
health.
 Note: Marcos et. al. vs Manglapus case
– should not create a precedence
(exception)
k. Right to seek asylum
- Art. 14, UDHR
1. Non-refoulement for political offenders and
refugees – asylum may be validly sought in
other countries by persons facing political
persecutions in their own country, or by
refugees.
a. The State having the obligation to
grant the asylum cannot return
(refouler) the asylum-seeker to his
State of origin where he is in peril of
persecution, rejection, torture or cruel
treatment.
2. Extradition for criminal offenses – an accused
can validly be returned to the State having
criminal jurisdiction over the case, through
extradition, for criminal prosecution or
sentencing.
a. This may be a subject of agreement or
treat between States involved.
i. However, this cannot be
validly exercised when it is a
means to refoule refugees or
persons accused of political
offenses.
3. Deportation for immigration offenses – an
offender may be validly returned to his State
of origin if he is not authorized to be in the
receiving country under its immigration laws.
a. But if the deportation will result in a
refoulement, such deportation would
violate IHRL.
l. Right to a nationality
- Art. 15, UDHR
- As much as possible, statelessness is avoided
- This article involves 2 things:
 Acquisition of nationality
 Change of nationality
- Citizenship may be acquired through:
 Jus Sanguinis (by blood)
 Jus Soli (by place)
 Naturalization
- A child of a Filipino citizen is considered a
Filipino regardless of his place of birth; it is
not necessary that both parents be Filipinos
- Right to change nationality is not absolute – it
is subject to the requirements and limitations
of the receiving State.
m. Right to marry and found a family
- Art. 16, UDHR
- The Philippine Constitution provides that the
State recognizes the Filipino family as the
foundation of the nation.
- Internationally-accepted age of marriage: 18
years old.
 Except where the Shariá h law applies,
the age is lower
n. Right to property
- Art. 17, UDHR
- One of the main features of a democratic
society
 Privately-owned property may be
taken for public use (through Eminent
Domain or destroyed by virtue of the
Police Power of the State).
o. Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion
- Article 18, UDHR
Gelasian Doctrine – joint rule by Church and State
- The right to thought, conscience, and religion
which is guaranteed by IHRL refers to the
internal intellectual process.
p. Freedom to practice or manifest religious
beliefs

q. Freedom of expression
- Article 19, UDHR
- Different states have different degrees of
tolerance and may thus have different
interpretations of how much freedom is
within legal limits.
- Current Standard on Censorship: Clear and
Present Danger Rule
r. Freedom of assembly and association
- Art. 20, UDHR
- Right to form an organization, a party-list or
unions.
s. Right to take part in government
- Art. 21, UDHR
- Right to petition the government for
grievances
- The essence of a truly democratic and
republican government is that: authority
resides in the people and all government
authority emanates from them. This authority
is exercised through:
 Right to suffrage
 Right to vote and be voted
 Right to be consulted in certain issues
in a referendum or plebiscite; and
 Right to recall or remove a public
official from office.
- Right to suffrage is not absolute.
t. Right to social security
- Art. 22, UDHR
- Social security is aimed at ensuring that every
member of society has access to resources by
which he can maintain his human dignity and
enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights,
including his right to an adequate standard of
living.
- Art. 9 of ICESCR: the right to social security
includes social insurance.
 The insurance-based scheme is one
where the contributions are paid for
by the enjoyment of benefits.
- States may also adopt non-contributory social
security schemes. This scheme may target
only specific classes, or may be a temporary
measure.
u. Right to work
- Art. 23, UDHR
- State recognizes that labor is the primary
social economic force and shall uphold the
rights of workers.
v. Right to rest and leisure
- Art. 24, UDHR
- This labor right protects the individual from
the harmful long-term effects of long working
hours on his physical and psychological
condition.
- The internationally-accepted daily working
hours is 8 hours (ILO).
w. Right to an adequate standard of living
- Art. 25, UDHR
- A positive right; this means that the State
must establish programs and infrastructures
to spur activities and opportunities for its
citizens.
- The principle of State Justice has often been
applied to this right, wherein states are urged
to provide ways and means that ensure
access to food, housing, health care, and
clothing regardless of wealth or status in life.
x. Right to education
- Art. 26, UDHR; also Art. 13 of ICESCR
provides that:
 Elementary education shall be free
and compulsory;
 Secondary education in its different
forms, including technical and
vocational, shall be made generally
available and accessible;
 Higher education shall likewise be
accessible on the basis of capacity.
- R.A. No. 10157 – providing for the
implementation of the free universal
kindergarten program for all public schools.
y. Right to enjoy economic, social and
cultural life
- Art. 27, UDHR
z. Right of self-determination
- Article 1 in both ICCPR and ICESCR; both
covenants emphasize the political rights of
peoples to determine their political status.
Peoples – not officially defined but has been taken to
mean a group of persons sharing the same political,
social, racial, and cultural backgrounds.
- There is no rule or procedure in international
law for secession by a group from an
 established State as a mode of exercising the
right of self-determination.
aa. Right to Health
- Art. 25, UDHR
- The UN Committee on CESCR states in
General Comment No 14: The right to health
contains both freedoms and entitlements. The
freedoms include the right to control one’s
health and body, etc. By contrast,
entitlements include the right to a system of
health protection which provides equality of
opportunity for people to enjoy the highest
attainable level of health.
CHAPTER VI
APPLICATION, ENFORCEMENT, AND LIMITATIONS
Domestic Application of IHRL
- 2 theories on domestic application of IHRL:
 Monist Theory – international law
and domestic law comprise one legal
system.
 In absolute monism, IL
automatically becomes
domestic law without need to
enact a separate national law.
 Domestic laws that
contravene IL are invalid.
 Ex. Netherlands
 Dualist Theory – international law
and domestic law are different legal
systems.
 IL does not become obligatory
to its citizens until the State
passes a corresponding
domestic law containing its
provisions.
 The lex posterior principle is
often resorted (whichever is
the latter law, prevails).
 Prevailing in the Philippines.
- Sec. 2, Art. II contains incorporation clause
and is specifically limited to the adoption of
“generally accepted principles of IL”.
International Application of IHRL
- Consent of the state to be bound by a treaty
may be expressed by signature, exchange of
instruments, ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession, or by any other means.
 Signature – does not automatically
mean consent of the State, if under the
national law, it is the act of ratification
which operates to bind the State.
 Without ratification, the
signature may only operate as
a means of authentication and
to show the openness of the
signatory State for further
discussions on the treaty-
making.
 Signature ad referendum –
means that the signature
becomes definitive only once
the signature is confirmed by
the State.
 Definitive Signature –
operates as the consent of the
State when that treaty is not
subject to ratification,
acceptance or approval.
 Exchange of Letters or notes – Here,
there will be necessarily 2 letters, if
the treaty is bilateral, with at least one
from each party.
 Act of formal confirmation – where
it is an organization that intends to be
bound by a treaty, instead of
ratification, this is the term that is
used.
- State parties may be allowed to limit, restrict,
or modify the application of a treaty by:
 Reservation – means a unilateral
statement, however phrased or
named, when signing, ratifying,
accepting, approving, or acceding to a
treaty, whereby it purports to exclude
or to modify the legal effect of certain
provisions of the treaty in their
application to that State.
 Not allowed when:
 It is prohibited by the
treaty;
 It is not included in the
reservations specified
in the treaty;
 It is incompatible with
the object and purpose
of the treaty.
 Interpretative Declaration – is an
instrument that is annexed to a treaty
with the goal of interpreting or
explaining the provisions of the latter.
 Modification – is the variation of
certain treaty provisions only as
between particular parties of a treaty.
 If the treaty is silent on
modifications, they are
allowed only if the
modifications do not affect the
rights or obligations of the
other parties to the treaty and
do not contravene the object
and purpose of the treaty.
 Denunciation – withdrawal by a
State Party from a treaty.
 Treaties which allow
denunciation: CRC, ICERD,
CAT
Enforcement Mechanisms
1. Enforcement against individuals
Domestic Enforcement
- The enactment of national laws to enforce
international human rights commitments has
been a Philippine strategy.
 In doing so, it translates a soft law
into a hard law.
International enforcement
- Individuals may be brought to justice before
ICC, hybrid courts, or ad hoc international
courts (criminal courts).
- Crimes which can only be tried in ICC:
 Crimes of genocide
 Crimes against humanity
 War crimes
 Crimes of aggression
2. Enforcement Against States
Court Action
- Where the State is a violator, redress may be
sought at the national , regional or
international courts, i.e. ICJ.
Diplomatic Means
- This may entail negotiations and dialogue.
Retorsion
- Unfriendly acts which do not necessarily
constitute violations of rights of the offending
State.
- May involve withholding of foreign
assistance, stoppage of oil imports.
- (Atty.) In retorsion, no treaty obligation is
suspended, unlike in countermeasures.
Countermeasures
- These are responses (i.e. suspension of treaty
obligations or trade agreements) by a State to
the wrongful conduct of another, as a tool of
self-redress.
Military Intervention
- Use of armed force against the offending
State.
Restrictions and Limitations
- While the substance of human rights cannot
be taken away from human beings, its
exercise, however, may be regulated.
- States do not have the absolute discretion and
prerogative to restrict the exercise of human
rights. To validly do so, there are certain
parameters which must be taken into
consideration:
 There must be a clear legal provision
of law;
 The restriction must be a specific
legitimate purpose;
 The proportionality test must be
applied;
 The least intrusive measures should
be applied;
 The law must be strictly interpreted
against restrictions.
Derogation – Art. 4, ICCPR allows the derogation of
rights, provided that:
1. There is a public emergency which threatens
the life of the nation;
2. The existence of public emergency is officially
proclaimed;
3. The derogation is to the extent strictly
required by the exigencies of the situation;
4. The measures taken are not inconsistent with
the State’s other obligation under IL;
5. The measures taken do not involve
discrimination solely on the ground of race,
color, sex, language, religion, or social origin.
CHAPTER VII
MONITORING SYSTEMS
- These are set up in order to check the
compliance by States of their obligations.
1. Charter-based – those provided under the
UN Charter itself, or through its organs such
as:
a. HR Council (formerly HR
Commission)
 b. ECOSOC
c. The Universal Periodic Review
2. Treaty-based – those provided under the
treaty themselves (i.e. in ICCPR, ICESCR, CRC,
CEDAW).
Charter-based Mechanisms
1. Complaints procedure: The 1503 Procedure
- This is a procedure whereby individual
complaints from human rights victims or
groups representing them are accepted by the
UN body.
- Main features:
 Confidentiality provision
 Prior exhaustion of domestic
remedies
- Procedure is 2-tiered:
 First, the complaint goes to the
Working Group Communications
(WGC), a group of 5 experts, who
assesses the admissibility and merits
of the complaint.
 Second, the complaint is endorsed to
the Working Group on Situations
(WGS), another group of 5 members
appointed by the regional groups of
member States.
2. State Reports
- Annual reports; a report on the member
States’ human rights situation.
- They are called Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices or The Human Rights
Reports.
3. Special Procedures
- Special Rapporteurs – rapporteurs who
provide UN with important information on
the extent of compliance by the States in their
international commitments.
- They are sometimes sent to members States
in order that they make an investigation and
report to the UN on the human rights
violations committed. They may be:
 Country-specific; or
 Thematic
4. NGOs and NHRIs
- Non-governmental organizations and
National Human Rights Institutions; they
provide UN with information on the human
rights situation of a State. Their written
reports are often called:
 Shadow reports; or
 Alternative reports
- Among the most active NGOs are:
 Amnesty International
 Human Rights Watch
5. Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
- States were required by UN through HR
Council to render a report on its human rights
situation once every 4 years.
- In this procedure, the State present its report
on its human rights situation and a troika
composed of 3 other members will give their
comments and suggestions.
- Concerns on the procedure:
 The State making the report might
sanitize it;
 The State composing the troika are
wont to employ diplomacy instead of
confronting the State of its human
rights violation.
- States serving as troika for the Philippines
are:
 Germany
 Malaysia
 Mali
Treaty-Based Mechanisms
The monitoring bodies are the following:
1. Human Rights Committee
- Composed of 18 members; the body charged
with overseeing compliance of the ICCPR
2. Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights
- Monitors the compliance by States of the
ICESCR; directly under ECOSOC and General
Assemby
3. Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination
- Monitors compliance of the International
Convention on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination
- Has 3 procedures:
 Early warning procedure
 Examination of interstate complaints
 Examination of individual complaints
4. Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women
- Monitors CEDAW; composed of 23 experts on
women issue who reviews States Reports of
members
 - Also issues General Recommendations on
issues affecting women which needs more
focus.
5. Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Composed of 18 independent experts that
monitor the compliance of CRC; to date, it
cannot entertain individual complaints.
6. Committee against Torture
- Monitors the compliance of CAT; composed of
10 independent experts; also conducts
inquiries, inter-state complaints and
individual complaints.
7. Committee on Migrant Workers
- Monitors compliance of the International
Convention on the Protection of all the Rights
of Migrant Workers and Members of their
Families; its individual complaints
mechanism has not yet been activated.
8. Committee on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities
- Monitors Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities; composed of 12 members.
Human Rights Committee
- Composed of 18 experts, elected to a 4-year
term and do not represent any country.
- 2 main functions:
 Receive and review State Reports
 Decide on complaints against member
States who ratified the First Optional
Protocol.
 Note: Actio Popularis not
allowed before HRC.
 The ruling of the Committee is called
the “View”.
Chapter VIII
UNITED NATIONS
- The international body composed of the
family of nations
- Currently, it has 193 member States
- HQ: NY, USA and maintains office at Geneva,
Switzerland and Vienna, Austria.
- Officially came into being on the date of
ratification of the UN Charter at San Francisco
USA on June 26, 1945,
- UN Day is celebrated on October 24th of each
year.
Purpose: (Art. 1, Chap. 1, UN Charter)
- To maintain international peace and security
- To develop friendly relations among nations
- To achieve international cooperation in
solving international problems and in
promoting respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms; and
- To be a center for harmonizing the actions of
nations in the attainment of common ends.
Principal Organs of UN
1. General Assembly (UNGA)
- Composed of representatives of all member
States, each with 1 vote;
 Carlos P. Romulo became its 4 th
President in 1949
- Deliberates important questions such as
membership, budget, peace and security.
- Human Rights Council is a subsidiary of UNGA
2. Security Council
- Composed of 15 States
 Permanent Members: France, USA,
China, Russian Federation and the UK
 Any of these 5 permanent
members may veto a proposal
 The other 10 members are elected by
UNGA for a term of 2 years
- Primary responsibility: To maintain
international peace and security
- ICTR and ICTY are under the Security Council
3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
- Composed of 54 member states elected by
UNGA; members have 3-year terms
- It deliberates on international economic and
social issues
4. Trusteeship Council
- Composed of 5 permanent members of the
Security Council
- Major Task: To promote the advancement of
trust territories and their development
towards self-government or independence.
- Already ceased when the last trust territory,
Palau, gained independence in 1994.
5. Secretariat
- Composed of an international staff of about
8,900 civil servants, headed by the Secretary
General, who is appointed by UNGA
- Administers the programs and projects of the
UN all over the world.
6. ICJ
 - Principal judicial organ of UN; only States can
bring cases before it
- Aside from settling disputes, it also gives
advisory opinions
Among the subsidiary bodies in the UNGA are the
following:
1. Human Rights Council
2. International Law Commission
3. Disarmament Commission
Human Rights Council
- The UN body tasked to strengthen the
promotion and protection of human rights
- Created by UNGA on March 15, 2006; it
replaced the Human Rights Commission
(HRCion).
- Made up of 47 States and it reports directly to
UNGA
- Among its breakthroughs are:
 The Universal Periodic Review
 Complaints Procedure which allows
individuals and organizations to bring
complaints on human rights
violations to its attention.
Specialized Programmes and Funds of UNGA and
ECOSOC:
1. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
2. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and
the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN)
3. United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP)
4. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC)
5. United Nations Settlements Programme (UN
HABITAT)
6. United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA)
7. United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR)
8. World Food Program (WFP)
8. International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO)
9. International Maritime Organization (IMO)
10. International Telecommunication Union
(ITU)
11. United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO)
12. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
13. Universal Postal Union (UPU)
14. International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD)
Offices under the Secretariat
- Executive Office of the Secretary-General
(EOSG)
 Focal point of this organ is the
Secretary-General who serves a term
of 5 years with no limit on the number
of 5-year terms.
- Other offices under the Secretariat:
1. Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR)
2. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA)
3. Office of the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General Children and Armed
Conflict (OSRSG/CAAC)
Among the subsidiary bodies of the Security Council
are:
1. The UN Peacekeeping Commission
2. ICTY
3. ICTR

Specialized Agencies, Commissions and Bodies

- These are autonomous organizations which
are linked through agreements.
1. World Health Organization (WHO)
2. United Nations, Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
3. International Labour Organization (ILO)
4. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
5. World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO)
6. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
7. World Bank Group