Time: Wed Aug 20 04:25:14 1997
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Tue, 19 Aug 1997 21:54:37 -0700 (MST)
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 00:54:34 -0400
Originator: heritage-l@gate.net
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
To: pmitch@primenet.com
Subject: SLS: International Covenant (1 of 2)
<snip>
>
>Subject: SLS: International Covenant (1 of 2)
>
> International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
>
>
>The States Parties to the present Covenant,
>
>Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in
>the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent
>dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
>the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace
>in the world,
>
>Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of
>the human person,
>
>Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of
>Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and
>political freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be
>achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his
>civil and political rights, as well as his economic, social and
>cultural rights,
>
>Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the
>United Nations to promote universal respect for and observance
>of, human rights and freedoms,
>
>Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals
>and to the community to which he belongs, is under a
>responsibility to strive for the promotion and observance of the
>rights recognized in the present Covenant,
>
>
>Agree upon the following articles:
>
>
> PART I
>
> Article 1
>
>1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue
>of that right they freely determine their political status and
>freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
>
>2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their
>natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations
>arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon
>the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no
>case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.
>
>3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those
>having responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-
>Governing and Trust Territories, shall promote the realization of
>the right of self-determination, and shall respect that right, in
>conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United
>Nations.
>
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 1 of 20
>
> PART II
> Article 2
>
>1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to
>respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and
>subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present
>Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour,
>sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
>social origin, property, birth or other status.
>
>2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or
>other measures, each State Party to the present Covenant
>undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its
>constitutional processes and with the provisions of the present
>Covenant, to adopt such legislative or other measures as may be
>necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the present
>Covenant.
>
>3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:
>
>(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein
> recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy,
> notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by
> persons acting in an official capacity;
>
>(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have
> his right thereto determined by competent judicial,
> administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other
> competent authority provided for by the legal system of the
> State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy;
>
>(c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such
> remedies when granted.
>
>
> Article 3
>
>The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure
>the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil
>and political rights set forth in the present Covenant.
>
> Article 4
>
>1. In time of public emergency which threatens the life of the
>nation and the existence of which is officially proclaimed, the
>States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures
>derogating from their obligations under the present Covenant to
>the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation,
>provided that such measures are not inconsistent with their other
>obligations under international law and do not involve
>discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex,
>language, religion or social origin.
>
>2. No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs 1 and 2),
>11, 15, 16 and 18 may be made under this provision.
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 2 of 20
>
>3. Any State Party to the present Covenant availing itself of
>the right of derogation shall immediately inform the other States
>Parties to the present Covenant, through the intermediary of the
>Secretary-General of the United Nations, of the provisions from
>which it has derogated and of the reasons by which it was
>actuated. A further communication shall be made, through the
>same intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such
>derogation.
>
>
> Article 5
>
>1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as
>implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in
>any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any
>of the rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their
>limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the
>present Covenant.
>
>2. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of
>the fundamental human rights recognized or existing in any State
>Party to the present Covenant pursuant to law, conventions,
>regulations or custom on the pretext that the present Covenant
>does not recognize such rights or that it recognizes them to a
>lesser extent.
>
>
> PART III
>
> Article 6
>
>1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This
>right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily
>deprived of his life.
>
>2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty,
>sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes
>in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission
>of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present
>Covenant and to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
>of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only be carried out
>pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court.
>
>3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide,
>it is understood that nothing in this article shall authorize any
>State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way from
>any obligation assumed under the provisions of the Convention on
>the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
>
>4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek
>pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or
>commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases.
>
>5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed
>by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried
>out on pregnant women.
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 3 of 20
>
>6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to
>prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to
>the present Covenant.
>
>
> Article 7
>
>No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
>degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall
>be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific
>experimentation.
>
>
> Article 8
>
>1. No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade
>in all their forms shall be prohibited.
>
>2. No one shall be held in servitude.
>
>3. (a) No one shall be required to perform forced or
> compulsory labour
>
> (b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to preclude, in
> countries where imprisonment with hard labour may be
> imposed as a punishment for a crime, the performance of
> hard labour in pursuance of a sentence to such
> punishment by a competent court.
>
> (c) For the purpose of this paragraph the term "forced or
> compulsory labour" shall not include:
>
> (i) Any work or service, not referred to in sub-
> paragraph (b), normally required of a person who
> is under detention in consequence of a lawful
> order of a court, or of a person during
> conditional release from such detention;
>
> (ii) Any service of a military character and, in
> countries where conscientious objection is
> recognized, any national service required by law
> of conscientious objectors;
>
> (iii) Any service exacted in cases of emergency or
> calamity threatening the life or well-being of the
> community;
>
> (iv) Any work or service which forms part of normal
> civil obligations.
>
>
> Article 9
>
>1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.
>No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No
>one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and
>in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 4 of 20
>
>2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of
>arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly
>informed of any charges against him.
>
>3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be
>brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by
>law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial
>within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the
>general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in
>custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for
>trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and,
>should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.
>
>4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention
>shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order
>that that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his
>detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.
>
>5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or
>detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.
>
>
> Article 10
>
>1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with
>humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human
>person.
>
>2. (a) Accused persons shall, save in exceptional
> circumstances, be segregated from convicted persons and
> shall be subject to separate treatment appropriate to
> their status as unconvicted persons;
>
> (b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults
> and brought as speedily as possible for adjudication.
>
>3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of
>prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation
>and social rehabilitation. Juvenile offenders shall be
>segregated from adults and be accorded treatment appropriate to
>their age and legal status.
>
>
> Article 11
>
>No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to
>fulfil a contractual obligation.
>
>
> Article 12
>
>1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall,
>within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and
>freedom to choose his residence.
>
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 5 of 20
>
>2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his
>own.
>
>3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any
>restrictions except those which are provided by law, are
>necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre
>public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of
>others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in
>the present Covenant.
>
>4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter
>his own country.
>
>
> Article 13
>
>An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the
>present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a
>decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where
>compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be
>allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have
>his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before,
>the competent authority or a person or persons especially
>designated by the competent authority.
>
>
> Article 14
>
>1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals.
>In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or of
>his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be
>entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent
>and impartial tribunal established by law. The Press and the
>public may be excluded from all or part of a trial for reasons of
>morals, public order (ordre public) or national security in a
>democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of
>the parties so requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in
>the opinion of the court in special circumstances where publicity
>would prejudice the interests of justice; but any judgement
>rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall be made
>public except where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise
>requires or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the
>guardianship of children.
>
>2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the
>right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to
>law.
>
>3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him,
>everyone shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees,
>in full equality:
>
> (a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language
> which he understands of the nature and cause of the
> charge against him;
>
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 6 of 20
>
> (b) To have adequate time and facilities for the
> preparation of his defence and to communicate with
> counsel of his own choosing;
>
> (c) To be tried without undue delay;
>
> (d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in
> person or through legal assistance of his own choosing;
> to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance,
> of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to
> him, in any case where the interests of justice so
> require, and without payment by him in any such case if
> he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;
>
> (e) To examine, or have examined the witnesses against him
> and to obtain the attendance and examination of
> witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as
> witnesses against him;
>
> (f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he
> cannot understand or speak the language used in court;
>
> (g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to
> confess guilt.
>
>4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such
>as will take account of their age and the desirability of
>promoting their rehabilitation.
>
>5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his
>conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal
>according to law.
>
>6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a
>criminal offence and when subsequently his conviction has been
>reversed or he has been pardoned on the ground that a new or
>newly discovered fact shows conclusively that there has been a
>miscarriage of justice, the person who has suffered punishment as
>a result of such conviction shall be compensated according to
>law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown
>fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.
>
>7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an
>offence for which he has already been finally convicted or
>acquitted in accordance with the law and penal procedure of each
>country.
>
>
> Article 15
>
>1. No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on
>account of any act or omission which did not constitute a
>criminal offence, under national or international law, at the
>time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be
>imposed than the one that was applicable at the time when the
>criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 7 of 20
>
>of the offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of a
>lighter penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.
>
>2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and
>punishment of any person for any act or omission which, at the
>time when it was committed. was criminal according to the
>general principles of law recognized by the community of nations.
>
>
> Article 16
>
>Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a
>person before the law.
>
>
> Article 17
>
>1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful
>interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
>nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.
>
>2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
>such interference or attacks.
>
>
> Article 18
>
>1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,
>conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to
>have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom,
>either individually or in community with others and in public or
>private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship,
>observance, practice and teaching.
>
>2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his
>freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
>
>3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject
>only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are
>necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or
>the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
>
>4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have
>respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal
>guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their
>children in conformity with their own convictions.
>
>
> Article 19
>
>1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without
>interference.
>
>2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression;
>this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
>information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers,
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 8 of 20
>
>either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
>through any other media of his choice.
>
>3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of
>this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities.
>It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these
>shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:
>
> (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
>
> (b) For the protection of national security or of public
> order (ordre public), or of public health or morals.
>
>
> Article 20
>
>1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.
>
>2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that
>constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence
>shall be prohibited by law.
>
>
> Article 21
>
>The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No
>restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other
>than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are
>necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
>security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
>protection of public health or morals or the protection of the
>rights and freedoms of others.
>
>
> Article 22
>
>1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with
>others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the
>protection of his interests.
>
>2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right
>other than those which are prescribed by law and which are
>necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
>security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
>protection of public health or morals or the protection of the
>rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent
>the imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed
>forces and of the police in their exercise of this right.
>
>3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to
>the International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948
>concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to
>Organize to take legislative measures which would prejudice, or
>to apply the law in such a manner as to prejudice, the guarantees
>provided for in that Convention.
>
>
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 9 of 20
>
> Article 23
>
>1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of
>society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
>
>2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and
>to found a family shall be recognized.
>
>3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full
>consent of the intending spouses.
>
>4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take
>appropriate steps to ensure equality of rights and
>responsibilities of spouses as to marriage, during marriage and
>at its dissolution. In the case of dissolution, provision shall
>be made for the necessary protection of any children.
>
>
> Article 24
>
>1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to
>race, colour sex, language, religion, national or social origin,
>property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as
>are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family,
>society and the State.
>
>2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and
>shall have a name.
>
>3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
>
>
> Article 25
>
>Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without
>any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without
>unreasonable restrictions:
>
> (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly
> or through freely chosen representatives;
>
> (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections
> which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and
> shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free
> expression of the will of the electors;
>
> (c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public
> service in his country.
>
>
> Article 26
>
>All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any
>discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this
>respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee
>to all persons equal and effective protection against
>discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language,
>
>
>International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: Page 10 of 20
========================================================================
Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness
B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine
tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night
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As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall
not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal.
========================================================================
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