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IP Treaties Collection
Contracting Parties International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights United Kingdom

Dates Signature: September 16, 1968 Ratification: May 20, 1976 Entry into force: August 20, 1976

Declarations, Reservations

Objection with regard to the reservation and statement made by Qatar upon accession: (May 21, 2019)
"The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has examined the reservation and declaration made by the State of Qatar on ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ('the Covenant'), done at New York on 16 December 1966, which read:
Reservation
The State of Qatar does not consider itself bound by the provisions of Article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for they contravene the Islamic Sharia with regard to questions of inheritance and birth.
Declaration
The State of Qatar shall interpret that what is meant by "trade unions" and their related issues stated in Article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Right[s], is in line with the provisions of the Labor Law and national legislation. The State of Qatar reserves the right to implement that article in accordance with such understanding.
In respect of the reservation to Article 3, the Government of the United Kingdom understands this to mean that the State of Qatar considers itself bound by the provisions of Article 3, except with regard to questions of inheritance and birth, and will interpret the State of Qatar's obligations under the Covenant accordingly.
The Government of the United Kingdom considers that the Government of the State of Qatar's declaration in respect of Article 8, which seeks to subject its obligations under the Covenant to the provisions of its own national legislation, is a reservation which seeks to limit the scope of the Covenant on a unilateral basis. The Government of the United Kingdom notes that a reservation to a convention which consists of a general reference to national law without specifying its contents does not clearly define for the other States Parties to the convention the extent to which the reserving State has accepted the obligations of the convention. The Government of the United Kingdom therefore objects to this reservation made by the Government of the State of Qatar.
This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the State of Qatar."

Objection with regard to the declaration made by Pakistan upon signature (August 17, 2005):
"The Government of the United Kingdom have examined the Declaration made by the Government of Pakistan on 3 November 2004 on signature of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (done at New York on 16 December 1966).
The Government of the United Kingdom consider that the Government of Pakistan's Declaration which seeks to subject its obligations under the Covenant to the provisions of its own Constitution is a reservation which seeks to limit the scope of the Covenant on a unilateral basis. The Government of the United Kingdom note that a reservation to a Convention which consists of a general reference to national law without specifying its contents does not clearly define for the other States Parties to the Convention the extent to which the reserving State has accepted the obligations of the Convention. The Government of the United Kingdom therefore object to this reservation made by the Government of Pakistan.
This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Pakistan."

Declaration made upon ratification:
"Firstly, the Government of the United Kingdom maintain their declaration in respect of article 1 made at the time of signature of the Covenant.
The Government of the United Kingdom declare that for the purposes of article 2 (3) the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Pitcairn Islands Group, St.Helena and Dependencies, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Tuvalu are developing countries.
The Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right to interpret article 6 as not precluding the imposition of restrictions, based on place of birth or residence qualifications, on the taking of employment in any particular region or territory for the purpose of safeguarding the employment opportunities of workers in that region or territory.
The Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right to postpone the application of sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (a) of article 7, in so far as it concerns the provision of equal pay to men and women for equal work in the private sector in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Bermuda, Hong Kong and the Solomon Islands.
The Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right not to apply sub-paragraph 1(b) of article 8 in Hong Kong.
The Government of the United Kingdom while recognizing the right of everyone to social security in accordance with article 9 reserve the right to postpone implementation of the right in the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands because of shortage of resources in these territories.
The Government of the United Kingdom reserve the right to postpone the application of paragraph 1 of article 10 in regard to a small number of customary marriages in the Solomon Islands and the application of paragraph 2 of article 10 in so far as it concerns paid maternity leave in Bermuda and the Falkland Islands.
The Government of the United Kingdom maintain the right to postpone the application of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 2 of article 13, and article 14, in so far as they require compulsory primary education, in the Gilbert Islands, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
Lastly the Government of the United Kingdom declare that the provisions of the Covenant shall not apply to Southern Rhodesia unless and until they inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations that they are in a position to ensure that the obligations imposed by the Covenant in respect of that territory can be fully implemented."

Declaration made 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.
Thirdly, the Government of the United Kingdom declare that, in relation to article 8 of the Covenant, they must reserve the right not to apply sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 1 in Hong Kong, in so far as it may involve the right of trade unions not engaged in the same trade or industry to establish federations or confederations.
Lastly, the Government of the United Kingdom declare that the provisions of the Covenant shall not apply to Southern Rhodesia unless and until they inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations that they are in a position to ensure that the obligations imposed by the Covenant in respect of that territory can be fully implemented."

 
 Territorial Information

With regard to the application of the Covenant to Hong Kong, the Secretary-General received communications concerning the status of Hong Kong from China and the United Kingdom. Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, China notified the Secretary-General that the Covenant with the reservation made by China will also apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Further, on April 20, 2001, the Secretary-General received from the Government of China the following communication:
1. Article 6 of the Covenant does not preclude the formulation of regulations by the HKSAR for employment restrictions, based on place of birth or residence qualifications, for the purpose of safeguarding the employment opportunities of local workers in the HKSAR
2. "National federations or confederations" in Article 8.1(b) of the Covenant shall be interpreted, in this case, as "federations or confederations in the HKSAR", and this Article does not imply the right of trade union federations or confederations to form or join political organizations or bodies established outside the HKSAR.

Communication made on January 13, 1988:
"The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rejects the statements made by the Argentine Republic, regarding the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, when ratifying the said Covenants and acceding to the said Protocol. The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has no doubt as to British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and its consequent right to extend treaties to those territories."

Objection made on February 28, 1985:
"The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have no doubt as to their right, by notification to the Depositary under the relevant provisions of the above-mentioned Convention, to extend the application of the Convention in question to the Falkland Islands or to the Falkland Islands Dependencies, as the case may be. For this reason alone, the Government of the United Kingdom are unable to regard the Argentine communication under reference as having any legal effect."

Territorial application to Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and Dependencies, Gibraltar, Gilbert Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Jersey, Montserrat, Pitcairn Island, St. Helena and Dependencies, Solomon Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands and Tuvalu notified on May 20, 1976.

 

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