The International Covenants on Human Rights – 60 Years!

INTRODUCTION. The sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights brings renewed relevance to the question of their place within the universal system for the international protection of human rights. These treaties, which together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights constitute the International Bill of Human Rights, retain their system-forming significance for the development of international cooperation in the field of human rights and for the determination of the international legal obligations of States in the promotion and protection of human rights. This article is devoted to certain aspects of the evolution of the universal human rights system following the adoption of the International Covenants, the impact of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action on the institutional architecture of the United Nations system, and contemporary trends relating to the activities of the human rights treaty bodies — the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Human Rights Committee. The article also examines the issue of the relationship between the proclaimed indivisibility of all human rights and a practice in which instances of their institutional and procedural “division” occur.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study employed general scientific and formal-logical methods, including methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, analogy, systematization and modelling, as well as special methods: formal legal, historical and comparative legal methods.

RESEARCH RESULTS. The study presents an analysis of the state of the International Covenants on Human Rights and their place in the universal human rights system as of 2026, considering the changes that have occurred within the UN system since 1993. The author provides a detailed overview of the outcomes of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in terms of their impact on the universal human rights system. The author also analyses crisis trends in the UN human rights system through the example of their impact on the system of human rights treaty bodies, particularly the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Human Rights Committee, which monitor and supervise the implementation of the provisions of the two International Covenants on Human Rights.

CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION. The study makes it possible to conclude that the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights retain their system-forming significance for the universal system of human rights protection. The analysis shows that the indivisibility of human rights and freedoms proclaimed within the UN system is not always consistently ensured in the universal human rights system at the level of institutional practice. In this regard, it appears necessary to strengthen the role of treaty bodies established based on the relevant international treaties and to ensure their genuine independence from politicized administrative influence. Of particular importance in this respect is the preservation of the Charter-based role of ECOSOC in international cooperation in the economic and social spheres, as well as in the field of human rights. The anniversary of the International Covenants on Human Rights, in turn, should be regarded not as an occasion to revise their significance, but as an opportunity to restore the balance laid down in the UN Charter, without diluting or substituting the conceptual foundations of the International Bill of Human Rights.

1. Abashidze A. Mezhdunarodnaya universal'naya sistema zashchity prav cheloveka: vyzovy i perspektiva [The International Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights: Challenges and Prospects]. – Obozrevatel' [Observer]. 2023. № 1 (396). P. 115-136. (In Russ.)

2. Abashidze A. Pravozashchitnaya sistema Organizatsii OON: kakovy puti dal'nejshego razvitiya? [The Human Rights System of the United Nations: What Are the Ways for Further Development?]. – Obozrevatel' [Observer]. 2018. № 1 (336). P. 5-17. (In Russ.).

3. Abashidze A., Bagdatieva A. Dekriminalizaciya narkopolitiki s pomoshch'yu mezhdunarodnogo pravozashchitnogo izmereniya: progress ili regress? [Decriminalization of Drug Policy Through the International Human Rights Dimension: Advancement or Setback?]. – Probely v rossijskom zakonodatel'stve [Gaps in Russian Legislation. Legal Journal]. 2024. Vol. 17. № 8. P. 132-143. (In Russ.).

4. Abashidze A., Koneva A., Solntsev A.M. The impact of the United Nations Human Rights Treaties on the domestic level in the Russian Federation. – Impact of the United Nations Human Rights Treaties on the Domestic Level: Twenty Years. Brill pub. 2024. P. 899-1002.

5. Addo M.K. Practice of United Nations human rights treaty bodies in the reconciliation of cultural diversity with universal respect for human rights. – Human Rights Quarterly. 2010. Vol. 32. № 3. P. 601-664.

6. Casla K., Barker L. Protection and assistance to the family: Interpreting and applying article 10 of the International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights from learnt and lived experiences. – Journal of Human Rights Practice. 2024. Vol. 16. №. 2. P. 489-511.

7. Elkins Z., Ginsburg T., Simmons B. Getting to rights: Treaty ratification, constitutional convergence, and human rights practice. – Harv. Int'l LJ. 2013. Vol. 54. P. 61-95.

8. Hennebel L, Tigroudja H. International Human Rights Law: A Treatise. Cambridge University Press. 2025. 1152p.

9. Heyns C.H., Viljoen F. The impact of the United Nations human rights treaties on the domestic level. – Human Rights Quarterly. 2001. Vol. 23. №. 3. P. 483-535.

10. Hong M.H. Legal commitments to United Nations human rights treaties and higher monitoring standards in the Universal Periodic Review. – Journal of Human Rights. 2018. Vol. 17. №. 5. P. 660-673.

11. Joseph S. International covenant on civil and political rights (ICCPR). – Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022. P. 178-187.

12. Kartashkin V.A. 55-letie Paktov o pravah cheloveka i tendencii razvitiya mezhdunarodnogo mekhanizma zashchity prav cheloveka [The 55th Anniversary of the Human Rights Covenants and Trends in the Development of the International Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights]. – Sovremennoe pravo [Modern Law Journal]. 2021. № 3. P. 98-106. (In Russ.).

13. Runtunuwu Y. B., Tjahyadi I. Promoting Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: Challenges and Opportunities in International Human Rights Law. – The Easta Journal Law and Human Rights. 2023. Vol. 1. №. 03. P. 158-165.

14. Lesch M., Reiners N. Informal human rights law-making: How treaty bodies use ‘General Comments’ to develop international law. – Global Constitutionalism. 2023. Vol. 12. №. 2. P. 378-401.

15. Mulesky S., Sandholtz W., Zvobgo K. Do human rights treaty obligations matter for ratification? – Journal of Human Rights. 2024. Vol. 23. №. 1. P. 1-18.

16. Neumayer E. Do international human rights treaties improve respect for human rights? – Journal of conflict resolution. 2005. Vol. 49. №. 6. P. 925-953.

17. Solntsev A.M. The Growing Importance of Human Rights Treaty Bodies in Environmental Dispute Resolution. Ed. by C. Voigt, C. Foster. – International courts versus non-compliance mechanisms. Comparative Advantages in Strengthening Treaty Implementation. Cambridge University Press. 2024. 361-382 p.

18. Temirbekov Zh. International Human Rights: Divisible or Indivisible? International Human Rights: Divisible or Indivisible? – Law and State. 2024. № 4 (105). P. 23-34.

19. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: a common standard of achievement. Ed. Alfredsson G., Eide A. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. 2023. 775 p.

20. US ratification of the international covenants on human rights. Ed. by D.D. Fischer, H. Hannumю. Brill pub. 2023. 356 p.