What rights are protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)?
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (ICCPR) elaborates the political and civil rights identified in the Universal Declaration, which include the rights to life, privacy, fair trial, freedom of religion, freedom from torture and equality before the law. Some of the rights can be suspended in times of ‘public emergency which threatens the life of the nation’, provided that the derogation will not involve discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin. If a country wants to ‘opt out’ in this way, it must immediately inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In no circumstances, in peace or war, is derogation permitted under the Covenant from the following fundamental rights: the rights to life, recognition before the law, freedom from torture and slavery, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, the right not to be imprisoned solely for inability to fulfill a contractual obligation, and the right not to be held
