What is the role of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in strengthening the rule of law and responding to new challenges in the protection of civil and political rights?
This question is at the centre of today’s Expert Discussion marking the 60th anniversary of the ICCPR, held as part of the Fifth Samarkand Forum on Human Rights.
The discussion brings together the Chair and a member of the UN Human Rights Committee with national and international experts and legal professionals. They will examine the place of the Covenant in the international legal order as the binding codification of the civil and political rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its status in the domestic legal order, and the conformity of national legislation and practice with its provisions.
The discussion also addresses the role of courts, prosecutors, administrative authorities and lawyers in applying and invoking the Covenant in light of the Human Rights Committee’s interpretations, mechanisms for giving effect to the Committee’s Views in domestic proceedings, and the place of the Covenant in legal education and professional training. It closes with the Committee’s contemporary practice and the use of its reporting and individual communications procedures by national actors.
The session is organized by the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Development Strategy Center and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, with the support of the European Union.
