International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CAT)
Convention
on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families (ICRMW)
|
Participant
|
Signature |
Ratification,
accession (a), succession (d) |
|
|
13 October 1966 |
30 September 1975 |
|
|
|
11 January 1973 (d) |
|
|
12 November 2001 |
|
|
|
25 October 1966 |
22 November 1972 |
|
|
|
27 January 1982 (a) |
|
|
|
17 March 1982 (d) |
|
|
|
16 February 1972 (a) |
Declarations and reservations:
"The Government of
Australia ... declares that
The reservation and
declarations formulated by the Government of the
"To the extent, if any,
that any law relating to elections in Fiji may not fulfil the obligations
referred to in article 5 (c), that any law relating to land in Fiji which
prohibits or restricts the alienation of land by the indigenous inhabitants may
not fulfil the obligations referred to in article 5 (d) (v), or that the school
system of Fiji may not fulfil the obligations referred to in articles 2, 3, or
5 (e) (v), the Government of Fiji reserves the right not to implement the
aforementioned provisions of the Convention.
"The Government of Fiji
wishes to state its understanding of certain articles in the Convention. It
interprets article 4 as requiring a party to the Convention to adopt further
legislative measures in the fields covered by sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c)
of that article only in so far as it may consider with due regard to the
principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the rights
expressly set forth in article 5 of the Convention (in particular the right to
freedom of opinion and expression and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly
and association) that some legislative addition to or variation of existing law
and practice in those fields is necessary for the attainment of the end
specified in the earlier part of Article 4.
Further, the Government of Fiji
interprets the requirement in article 6 concerning `reparation or satisfaction'
as being fulfilled if one or other of these forms of redress is made available
and interprets `satisfaction' as including any form of redress effective to
bring the discriminatory conduct to an and. In addition it interprets article
20 and the other related provisions of Part III of the Convention as meaning
that if a reservation is not accepted the State making the reservation does not
become a Party to the Convention.
"The Government of Fiji
maintains the view that Article 15 is discriminatory in that it establishes a
procedure for the receipt of petitions relating to dependent territories whilst
making no comparable provision for States without such territories."
Reservation:
"The Government of Papua New
Guinea interprets article 4 of the Convention as requiring a party to the
Convention to adopt further legislative measures in the areas covered by
sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of that article only in so far as it may
consider with due regard to the principles contained in the Universal
Declaration set out in Article 5 of the Convention that some legislative
addition to, or variation of existing law and practice, is necessary to give
effect to the provisions of article 4. In addition, the Constitution of
Papua New Guinea guarantees certain fundamental rights and freedoms to all
persons irrespective of their race or place of origin. The Constitution also
provides for judicial protection of these rights and freedoms. Acceptance of
this Convention does not therefore indicate the acceptance of obligations by
the Government of Papua New Guinea which go beyond those provided by the
Constitution, nor does it indicate the acceptance of any obligation to
introduce judicial process beyond that provided by the Constitution". (The reservation was circulated by the Secretary-General on 22
February 1982.)
Reservation:
"To the extent, [...],
that any law relating to land in Tonga which prohibits or restricts the
alienation of land by the indigenous inhabitants may not fulfil the obligations
referred to in article 5 (d) (v), [...], the Kingdom of Tonga reserves the
right not to apply the Convention to Tonga.
Declaration:
"Secondly, the
"Lastly, the
|
Participants
|
Signature |
Ratification,
accession (a), succession (d) |
|
|
18 December 1972 |
10 December 1975 |
|
|
12 November 1968 |
28 December 1978 |
|
|
|
17 March 1982 (d) |
Declarations and reservations:
"The Government of New Zealand
reserves the right not [to] apply article 8 to the extent that existing
legislative measures, enacted to ensure effective trade union representation
and encourage orderly industrial relations, may not be fully compatible with
that article.
... In a communication received
on 10 May 1982, the Government of Solomon Islands declared that
Upon signature:
"First,
the Government of the United Kingdom declare their understanding that, by
virtue of article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations, in the event of any
conflict between their obligations under article 1 of the Covenant and their
obligations under the Charter (in particular, under articles 1, 2 and 73
thereof) their obligations under the Charter shall prevail.
"Secondly,
the Government of the United Kingdom declare that they must reserve the right
to postpone the application of sub-paragraph (a) (i)
of article 7 of the Covenant in so far as it concerns the provision of equal
pay to men and women for equal work, since, while they fully accept this
principle and are pledged to work towards its complete application at the
earliest possible time, the problems of implementation are such that complete
application cannot be guaranteed at present.
Upon ratification:
"Firstly,
the Government of the
"The
Government of the
"The
Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right to postpone the application
of sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (a) of article
"The
Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right to postpone the application
of paragraph 1 of article
"The
Government of the
|
Participants |
Signature |
Ratification, accession (a), succession (d) |
|
|
18 December 1972 |
13 August 1980 |
|
|
12 November 2001 |
|
|
|
12 November 1968 |
28 December 1978 |
Declarations and
reservations:
Reservations:
Article 10
"In
relation to paragraph 2 (a) the principle of segregation is accepted as an
objective to be achieved progressively. In relation to paragraph 2 (b) and 3
(second sentence) the obligation to segregate is accepted only to the extent
that such segregation is considered by the responsible authorities to be
beneficial to the juveniles or adults concerned".
Article 14
"
Article 20
"Australia interprets the rights provided for by articles 19, 21 and 22 as consistent with article 20; accordingly, the Common wealth and the constituent States, having legislated with respect to the subject matter of the article in matters of practical concern in the interest of public order (ordre public), the right is reserved not to introduce any further legislative provision on these matters."
Declaration:
"
Reservations:
"The Government of New
Zealand reserves the right not to apply article 10 (2) (b) or article 10 (3) in
circumstances where the shortage of suitable facilities makes the mixing of
juveniles and adults unavoidable; and further reserves the right not to apply
article 10 (3) where the interests of other juveniles in an establishment
require the removal of a particular juvenile offender or where mixing is
considered to be of benefit to the persons concerned.
"The Government of New
Zealand reserves the right not to apply article 14 (6) to the extent that it is
not satisfied by the existing system for ex gratia
payments to persons who suffer as a result of a miscarriage of justice.
"The Government of New Zealand
having legislated in the areas of the advocacy of national and racial hatred
and the exciting of hostility or ill will against any group of persons, and
having regard to the right of freedom of speech, reserves the right not to
introduce further legislation with regard to article 20.
"The Government of New
Zealand reserves the right not to apply article 22 as it relates to trade
unions to the extent that existing legislative measures, enacted to ensure
effective trade union representation and encourage orderly industrial
relations, may not be fully compatible with that article."
|
Participants
|
Signature |
Ratification,
accession (a), succession (d) |
|
|
17 July 1980 |
28 July 1983 |
|
|
|
11 August 2006 (a) |
|
|
|
28 August 1995 (a) |
|
|
|
17 March 2004 (a) |
|
|
|
2 March 2006 (a) |
|
|
|
1 September 2004 (a) |
|
|
17 July 1980 |
10 January 1985 |
|
|
|
12 January 2995 (a) |
|
|
|
25 September 1992 (a) |
|
|
|
6 May 2002 (a) |
|
|
|
6 October 1999 (a) |
|
|
|
8 September 1995 (a) |
Declarations and
reservations:
Reservations:
"The
Government of Australia states that maternity leave with pay is provided in
respect of most women employed by the Commonwealth Government and the
Governments of New South Wales and Victoria. Unpaid maternity leave is provided
in respect of all other women employed in the State of
"The
Government of Australia advises that it is not at present in a position to take
the measures required by article 11 (2) to introduce maternity leave with pay
or with comparable social benefits throughout
.....
Declaration:
"
Reservations:
"The Government of the
The Government of the
(a) The armed forces which
reflect either directly or indirectly the fact that members of such forces are
required to serve on armed forces aircraft or vessels and in situations
involving armed combat; or
(b) The law enforcement forces
which reflect either directly or indirectly the fact that members of such
forces are required to serve in situations involving violence or threat of
violence.
The Government of the Cook
Islands reserves the right not to apply Article 2 (f) and Article 5 (a) to the
extent that the customs governing the inheritance of certain
Reservations:
"1.
The Government of the Federated States of Micronesia advises that it is not at
present in a position to take the measures either required by Article 11 (1)
(d) of the Convention to enact comparable worth legislation, or by Article 11
(2) (b) to enact maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits
throughout the nation;
2. The
Government of the Federated States of Micronesia, in its capacity as trustee of
the heritage of diversity within its States under Article V of its
Constitution, reserves the right not to apply the provisions of Articles 2 (f),
5, and 16 to the succession of certain well-established traditional titles, and
to marital customs
that divide tasks or decision-making in purely voluntary or consensual private
conduct; and
3. The
Government of the Federated States of Micronesia does not consider itself bound
by the provisions of Article 29 (1) of the Convention, and takes the position
that any dispute relating to the interpretation or application of the
Convention may only be submitted to arbitration or to the International Court
of Justice with the agreement of all parties to the dispute."
Reservations:
"The
Government of New Zealand, the Government of the
(a) the Armed Forces which reflect either directly or indirectly
the fact that members of such forces are required to serve on armed forces
aircraft or vessels and in situations involving armed combat
or
(b) the law enforcement forces which reflect either directly or
indirectly the fact that members of such forces are required to serve in
situations involving violence or threat of violence.
|
Participants
|
Signature |
Ratification,
accession (a), succession (d) |
|
|
10 December 1985 |
8 August 1989 |
|
|
12 November 2001 |
|
|
|
14 January 1986 |
10 December 1989 |
Declarations and reservations:
Reservation:
"The Government of New
Zealand reserves the right to award compensation to torture victims referred to
in article 14 of the Convention Against Torture only
at the discretion of the Attorney-General of
|
Participants |
Signatures |
Ratification, accession (a),
succession (d) |
|
|
22 August 1990 |
17 December 1990 |
|
|
|
6 June 1997 (a) |
|
|
2 July 1993 |
13 August 1993 |
|
|
|
11 December 1995 (a) |
|
|
14 April 1993 |
4 October 1993 |
|
|
|
5 May 1993 (a) |
|
|
|
27 July 1994 (a) |
|
|
1 October 1990 |
6 April 1993 |
|
|
|
20 December 1995 (a) |
|
|
|
4 August 1995 (a) |
|
|
30 September 1990 |
2 March 1993 |
|
|
30 September 1990 |
29 November 1994 |
|
|
|
10 April 1995 (a) |
|
|
|
6 November 1995 (a) |
|
|
|
22 September 1995 (a) |
|
|
30 September 1990 |
7 July 1993 |
Reservation:
"
Reservations:
"The Government of the
Cook Islands reserves the right not to apply the provisions of article
With respect to article 10, the
Government of the Cook Islands reserves the right to apply such legislation, in
so far as it relates to the entry into, stay in and departure from the Cook Islands
of those who do not have the right under the law of the Cook Islands to enter
and remain in the Cook Islands, and to the acquisition and possession of
citizenship, as it may deem necessary from time to time.
The Government of the
Declarations:
Domestically, the Convention
does not apply directly. It establishes State obligations under international
law that the
Article 2 paragraph (1) does
not necessarily imply the obligation of States automatically to guarantee
foreigners the same rights as their nationals. The concept of
non-discrimination on the basis of national origin should be understood as
designed to rule out all arbitrary conduct but not differences in treatment
based on objective and reasonable considerations, in accordance with the
principles prevailing in democratic societies.
The Government of the Cook
Islands will take the opportunity afforded by its accession to the Convention
to initiate reforms in its domestic legislation relating to adoption that are
in keeping with the spirit of the Convention and that it considers appropriate,
in line with article 3 (2) of the Convention to ensure the well-being of the
child. While all adoptions now permitted under Cook Islands law are based on
the principle of the best interest of the child being of paramount
consideration and authorised by the High Court in accordance with applicable
law and procedures and on the basis of all pertinent and reliable information,
the principal aim of the planned measures will be to remove vestigial
discrimination provisions governing adoptions found in legislation enacted with
respect to the Cook Islands prior to the acquisition of sovereignty by the Cook
Islands in order to ensure non-discriminatory adoption arrangements for all
Cook Islands nationals."
Reservation:
"In respect of article 24 paragraphs (b,c,d,e and f), article 26 and
article 28 paragraphs (b,c and d), in accordance with
article 51 paragraph 1 of the Convention.
Declaration:
“The Republic of Kiribati considers that a
child's rights as defined in the Convention, in particular the rights defined
in articles 12-16 shall be exercised with respect for parental authority, in
accordance with the Kiribati customs and traditions regarding the place of the
child within and outside the family."
Reservations:
Nothing in this Convention
shall affect the right of the Government of New Zealand to continue to
distinguish as it considers appropriate in its law and practice between persons
accord ing to the nature of their authority to be in
New Zealand including but not limited to their entitlement to benefits and
other protections described in the Convention, and the Government of New
Zealand reserves the right to interpret and apply the Convention accordingly.
The Government of New Zealand
considers that the rights of the child provided for in article 32 (1) are
adequately protected by its existing law. It therefore reserves the right not
to legislate further or to take additional measures as may be envisaged in
article 32 (2).
The Government of New Zealand
reserves the right not to apply article 37 (c) in circumstances where the
shortage of suitable facilities makes the mixing of juveniles and adults
unavoidable; and further reserves the right not to apply article 37 (c) where
the interests of other juveniles in an establishment require the removal of a
particular juvenile offender or where mixing is considered to be of benefit to
the persons concerned.
Reservation:
"The Government of Western
Samoa whilst recognising the importance of providing free primary education as
specified under article 28 (1)(a) of the Convention on
the rights of the child
And being
mindful of the fact that the greater portion of schools within Western Samoa that
provide primary education are controlled by bodies outside the control of the
government
Pursuant
then to article 51, the Government of Western Samoa thus reserves the right to
allocate resources to the primary level sector of education in Western Samoa in
contrast to the requirement of article 28 (1)(a) to provide free primary
education."