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Background Information

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was opened for signature by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 1966. It entered into force on March 23, 1976. As of June 3, 2005, it had been ratified by 154 countries.

Canada acceded to the ICCPR on May 19, 1976. The ICCPR requires periodic reports at the request of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations. Canada has submitted the following reports to date: the First Report (March 1979); a Supplemental Report (March 1983); the Second Report (July 1989); the Third Report (August 1990); the Fourth Report (April 1997); and the Fifth Report (October 2004).

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR-OP1) was opened for signature by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 1966. It entered into force on March 23, 1976. Canada ratified the ICCPR-OP1 on May 19, 1976. As of June 3, 2005, it had been ratified by 104 countries.

Under article 1 of the Optional Protocol, a State party to the Covenant that becomes a party to the Protocol recognizes the competence of the Human Rights Committee to receive and consider communications (complaints) from individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation by that State of any of the rights in the Covenant. Individuals who make such a claim, and who have exhausted all available domestic remedies, are entitled to submit a written communications to the Committee (article 2).

Communications that are determined to be admissible by the Committee (in addition to article 2, article 3 and 5(2) outline conditions for admissibility) are brought to the attention of the State party alleged to be violating a provision of the Covenant. Within six months, that State must submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and indicating the remedy, if any, that it may have applied (article 4).

The Human Rights Committee considers the admissible communications, at closed meetings, in light of all written information it has received from the individual and from the State party concerned. It then forwards its views to the State party and to the individual (article 5). A summary of the Committee's activities under the Optional Protocol is included in the report which it submits annually to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council (article 6).

Additional information on international complaints mechanisms available to individuals in Canada can be found here. Links to the Committee's decisions on communications involving Canada are available on this Web site.