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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Argentina
Declaration made upon ratification:
"The Argentine Republic rejects the extension, notified to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 20 May 1976 by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 16 December 1966, to the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and reaffirms its sovereign rights to those archipelagos, which form an integral part of its national territory."
Objection made on October 3, 1983:
"The Government of Argentina makes a formal objection to the declaration of territorial extension issued by the United Kingdom with regard to the Malvinas Islands (and dependencies), which that country is illegally occupying and refers to as the "Falkland Islands". The Argentine Republic rejects and considers null and void the said declaration of territorial extension."
China
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.
Declaration made upon ratification:
"In accordance with the Decision made by the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China at its Twentieth Session, the President of the People's Republic of China hereby ratifies The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , which was signed by Mr.Qin Huasun on behalf of the People's Republic of China on 27 October 1997, and declares the following:...
2.In accordance with the official notes addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations by the Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations on 20 June 1997 and 2 December 1999 respectively, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights shall be applicable to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and shall, pursuant to the provisions of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, be implemented through the respective laws of the two special administrative regions."
Germany
".... The said Covenant shall also apply to Berlin (West) with effect from the date on which it enters into force for the Federal Republic of Germany except as far as Allied rights and responsibilities are affected."
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
On 6 July 2017, the Kingdom of the Netherlands notified the Secretary-General as follows of its decision to withdraw its reservation with respect to article 8 (1) (d) of the Covenant made upon ratification:
"… the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean part of the Netherlands (the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), withdraws the reservation made with respect to Article 8, paragraph 1, under d, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights…"
The reservation made upon ratification read as follows:
"Article 8, paragraph l(d)
The Kingdom of the Netherlands does not accept this provision in the case of the Netherlands Antilles with regard to the latter's central and local government bodies."
Territorial Application to Netherlands Antilles notified on December 11, 1978.
Reservation made upon ratification:
"[With respect to Article 8, paragraph 1 (d),] the Kingdom of the Netherlands does not accept this provision in the case of the Netherlands Antilles with regard to the latter's central and local government bodies. [The Kingdom of the Netherlands] clarify that although it is not certain whether the reservation (...) is necessary, [it] has preferred the form of a reservation to that of a declaration. In this way the Kingdom of the Netherlands wishes to ensure that the relevant obligation under the Covenant does not apply to the Kingdom as far as the Netherlands Antilles is concerned."
New Zealand
On September 5, 2003, the Government of New Zealand informed the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw the following reservation in respect only of the metropolitan territory of New Zealand. The reservation reads as follows:
"The Government of New Zealand reserves the right to postpone, in the economic circumstances foreseeable at the present time, the implementation of article 10 (2) as it relates to paid maternity leave or leave with adequate social security benefits."
Moreover, the Government of New Zealand notified the Secretary-General of the the following territorial exclusion:
"Declares that, consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account the commitment of the Government of New Zealand to the development of self-government for Tokelau through an act of self-determination under the Charter of the United Nations, the withdrawal of this reservation shall not extend to Tokelau unless and until a Declaration to this effect is lodged by the Government of New Zealand with the Depositary on the basis of appropriate consultation with that territory."
Portugal
In its notification of territorial application to Macau, the Government of Portugal stated the following:
"... The Covenants are confirmed and proclaimed binding and valid, and they shall have effect and be implemented and observed without exception, bearing in mind that:
Article 1. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ratified, respectively, by Act No. 29/78 of 12 June, and by Act No. 45/78 of 11 July, shall be applicable in the territory of Macau.
Article 2 . 1. The applicability in Macau of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and in particular of article 1 in both Covenants, shall in no way effect the status of Macau as defined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic and in the Organic Statute of Macau.
2. The applicability of the Covenants in Macau shall in no way affect the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Macau, signed on 13 April 1987, especially with respect to the provision specifying that Macau forms part of Chinese territory and that the Government of the People's Republic of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Macau with effect from 20 December 1999, and that Portugal will be responsible for the administration until 19 December 1999.
Article 3. Article 25 (b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights shall not apply to Macau with respect to the composition of elected bodies and the method of choosing and electing their officials as defined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, the Organic Statute of Macau and provisions of the Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau.
Article 4. Article 12 (4) and article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights shall not apply to Macau with respect to the entry and exit of individuals and the expulsion of foreigners from the territory. These matters shall continue to be regulated by the Organic Statute of Macau and other applicable legislation, and also by the Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau.
Article 5. 1. The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that are applicable to Macau shall be implemented in Macau, in particular through specific legal documents issued by the organs of government of the territory.
Subsequently, on October 21, and December 3, 1999, the Secretary-General received communications concerning the status of Macao from Portugal and China. Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Macao, China notified the Secretary-General that the Covenant with reservation made by China will also apply to the Macao Special Administrative Region as well as with the following declaration:
"1. The application of the Covenant, and its article 1 in particular, to the Macao Special Administrative Region shall not affect the status of Macao as defined in the Joint Declaration and in the Basic Law.
2.The provisions of the Covenant which are applicable to the Macao Special Administrative Region shall be implemented in Macao through legislation of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
The residents of Macao shall not be restricted in the rights and freedoms that they are entitled to, unless otherwise provided for by law. In case of restrictions, they shall not contravene the provisions of the Covenant that are applicable to the Macao Special Administrative Region.
Within the above ambit, the Government of the People's Republic of China will assume the responsibility for the international rightsizes that place on a Party to the Covenant."
Territorial application to Macau notified on April 27, 1993.
United Kingdom
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.