HL Deb 07 September 2004 vol 664 cc118-9WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will publish a list of those European states which have, and those which have not, accepted the First Optional Protocol to the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. [HL4014]

Lord Filkin

I understand that the following member states of the European Union have ratified the First Optional Protocol to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. The United Kingdom has not accepted the protocol.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which civil and political rights are protected by the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and not by the European Convention on Human Rights. [HL4015]

Lord Filkin

These instruments cover broadly similar areas but they are worded differently and the covenant appears in some respects to have wider scope. For example, Article 26 of the covenant appears to have a significantly broader compass than Article 14 of the convention (which is confined to discrimination in relation to the convention rights). Interpretation of the scope and application of the rights contained in the convention is a matter for the European Court of Human Rights. The covenant comes under a Human Rights Committee appointed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.