The International Bill of

Human Rights

Edwin Bikundo
The International Bill of Human Rights
• 1948
 The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR)
• 1966
 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR)
o 168 State Parties
 International Covenant on Economic Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
o 164 State Parties
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

• 30 Articles
• Most comprehensive human rights instrument
• Non binding declaration
• Evidence of customary
international law
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

• Most important and influential human rights treaty instrument

• Contains 53 Articles
• Focusses on individual rights
• Contains prohibitions on the conduct of governments
 Non-discrimination
 Right to life
 Fair trial
 Torture
 Slavery
International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR)

• Different obligations than ICCPR

• Contains 31 articles
• “best efforts” obligation
 Adequate standard of living, food, health, education, culture, etc
• Limited scope and opportunity to identify and address
human rights violation