HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONTINUES DISCUSSION ON THE DRAFT GENERAL COMMENT ON THE RIGHT TO LIFE

The Human Rights Committee today continued the second reading of its draft General Comment no. 36 on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the right to life. The Committee adopted paragraphs 56-64, and it began discussing paragraph 65 of the fifth part of the draft General Comment on the relationship of article 6 with other articles of the Covenant and other legal regimes.

Yuval Shany, Committee Chairperson and Rapporteur for the draft General Comment, presented the changes made to paragraph 56 on the overlap and interaction of article 6 with other Covenant provisions, which the Committee had started discussing during the previous session. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 56.

Introducing paragraph 57 on the adequate protection of human rights defenders against threats, Mr. Shany explained that the Committee had received some comments from States and non-governmental organizations, asking for better distinguishing between legal practices, and that various categories of human rights defenders be included in the paragraph. The Committee Experts agreed that a reference to a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders should be added. They also debated the placement of the paragraph in the draft General Comment. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 57.

Turning to paragraph 58 on the link between torture and ill-treatment and the right to life, Mr. Shany informed that some States had expressed concern about the overlap between the work of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture. The Committee Experts agreed that it was within the purview of the Human Rights Committee to deal with the issue of torture and ill-treatment. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 58.

On paragraph 59 on the link between non-refoulement and the right to life, Mr. Shany informed that the Committee had not received many reactions from stakeholders. Some States had expressed concern about the extraterritorial application of the Covenant and international refugee law. The Committee Experts discussed the possibility of cross-referencing paragraph 59 with paragraphs 34 and 35, which elaborated on the duty of States to respect the principle of non-refoulement in connection to the real risk of a violation of an individual’s right to life in the State of origin. The Experts also debated how to properly refer to the violations of articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 59.

Moving on to paragraph 60 on the effect of the application of the death penalty on families and relatives, Mr. Shany noted that some States had raised concern that the Committee was extrapolating general rules from specific cases. Some non-governmental organizations suggested that the paragraph capture not only executions but also killings by the State. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 60.

As for paragraph 61 on the interplay between article 6 and article 9 (liberty and security of person), Mr. Shany informed that the submitted reactions raised concern about exceeding the scope of the Covenant (i.e. with potential reference to enforced disappearances). The Committee Experts debated defining extreme forms of arbitrary detention. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 61.

Turning to paragraph 62 on the connection between article 6 and article 20 (propaganda for war and incitement to violence and hostility), Mr. Shany informed that a non-governmental organization had proposed to elaborate on the grounds of discrimination, which the Committee decided not to take on aboard. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 62.

On paragraph 63 on the connection between article 6 and article 24 (the best interest of the child), Mr. Shany said that some States had cautioned against reading into article 6 every aspect of international law. Some stakeholders had asked for a reference to the institutionalization of children with psycho-social disabilities, as well as to abortion, which the Committee Experts found unnecessary because the draft General Comment dealt with those issues in previous paragraphs. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 63.

Moving on to paragraph 64 on the equal application of legal protections for the right to life, Mr. Shany informed that the Committee had received many comments from stakeholders. Their concerns included discrimination o-n the basis of stages of fetal development, and the use of terms which had not been universally agreed upon, such as femicide, albinism, caste-based discrimination, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Committee Experts debated Mr. Shany’s proposal to insert a reference to intersecting forms of discrimination, belonging to ethnic or indigenous groups, and discrimination on the grounds of poverty or socio-economic status. Mr. Shany warned that the Committee should not create too many categories of grounds for discrimination to avoid making the text unreadable. The Committee then adopted draft paragraph 64.

As for paragraph 65 on the interaction between article 6 and international environmental law, Mr. Shany noted that some States had observed that the Human Rights Committee should not be dealing with climate change and environmental degradation, which were dealt with in other international fora. Specifically, some States objected that the Committee was adding new obligations from human rights law to environmental law. Some non-governmental organizations had suggested that the Committee mention the negative contribution of private actors to environmental degradation.

The Committee will resume discussing paragraph 65 at its next meeting.

The drafting of the General Comment started on 14 July 2015 with a half day of general discussion, and the first reading of the draft was completed at the Committee’s one hundred and twentieth session in July 2017. The second reading of the draft started on 27 October 2017 (summary), and was followed by discussions on 1 November 2017 (summary), 2 November 2017 (summary), 28 March 2018 (summary), 5 April 2018 (summary), 3 July 2018 (summary), 6 July 2018 (summary), 18 July 2018 (summary), 24 July 2018 (summary), and on 26 July 2018 (summary). Further information about draft General Comment No. 36 can be obtained here.

The Committee will next meet in public on Monday, 15 October, at 3 p.m. when it will begin its consideration of the initial report of Belize (CCPR/C/BLZ/1).


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CCPR18/031E