Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 10 (Fall 1997): Efforts, East and West, to Improve Human Rights Assessments: Articles: Examples of Violations

Sep 5, 1997

Violations Resulting from Government Action, Policy, or Legislation

  • Refusal to grant the covenant full legal status under domestic legislation or to allow complainants to cite provisions of the covenant in cases before national courts and tribunals (Article 2(1)).
  • Interference with the rights of association, to form labor unions, and to strike (Article 8(1)).
  • Forced evictions and removals of persons from their homes by state agencies (Article 11(1)).
  • Coercive birth control practices, including abortions and large-scale sterilizations, as a matter of state policy to accomplish fertility control (Article 12).
  • Destruction of the cultural heritage of minority communities (Article 15).

Violations Related to Patterns of Discrimination

  • Failure to provide legal protection against discrimination consistent with the requirements of the covenant (Article 2).
  • Systematic discrimination against particular ethnic, religious, or cultural minorities (e.g., the Kurdish people in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey).
  • Failure to protect women’s equal rights to work or to the enjoyment of just and favorable conditions of work (Articles 6 and 7).
  • Persistence of gender differences in laws regulating marriage and family relations (Article 10).
  • In countries where single-sex schooling is common, a serious imbalance in the number of school places available and the quality of schools designated for boys and girls, resulting in a lack of equality of educational opportunity (Article 13).
  • The denial to ethnic and linguistic minorities of the right to use their language for schooling or broadcasting (Article 15(1a)).

Violations of Omission or State Failure to Fulfill Obligations

  • Failure of states parties to adopt legislative measures to implement provisions of the covenant into domestic law (Article 2).
  • Failure to implement laws and regulations related to obligations enumerated in the covenant. (For example, child labor continues in many countries despite laws prohibiting employment of children under the age of 14.)
  • Failure to universally implement the introduction of free and compulsory primary education (Article 13) and, for those countries that lack free and compulsory primary education, failure to develop a detailed plan of action within two years of becoming a state party (Article 14).
  • Failure to conform to the reporting requirements specified in Articles 16 and 17.

You may also like

NOV 6, 2026 • Podcast

Moral Courage, Individual Agency, and Institutional Trust

Former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa joins “Values & Interests” to discuss the ethical challenges facing public servants in an era of eroding institutional norms.

Clockwise: Nadav Avihay, Daniel A. Zarrilli, Janice Beecher, Rebecca Distler, Sylvana Q. Sinha, Jay Chaudhuri, Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, Molly Schaeffer, Jodi Vittori, Peter S. Goodman, Will Freeman, Joshua Acosta. CREDIT: Veronika Cernadas.

NOV 3, 2026 • Video

Carnegie Ethics Fellows Symposium 2026

Access expert panels on water ethics, AI in healthcare, economic and national security, and AI in humanitarian response, moderated by the Carnegie Ethics Fellows.

Left to Right: Asha Rangappa, JC de Swaan, Samira Siddique, Kat Duffy.

OCT 29, 2026 • Video

Re-centering Ethics: Finding a Path Forward in a Fragmented World

How does ethics shape the way we respond to the challenges of our time? Access this recording of Carnegie Council's Global Ethics Day 2026 flagship event.

Non traduit

This content has not yet been translated into your language. You can request a translation by clicking the button below.

Demande de traduction