The Secretary-General received the following communication(s) related to the reservations made by Qatar: (May 22, 2019)
"The Government of Sweden has examined the statement and the reservation made by the State of Qatar upon accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In this context the Government of Sweden would like to recall, that under well-established international treaty law, the name assigned to a statement whereby the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty is excluded or modified, does not determine its status as a reservation to the treaty. Thus, the Government of Sweden considers that the statement made by the State of Qatar concerning Article 8, in the absence of further clarification, in substance constitutes a reservation to the [Covenant].
The Government of Sweden notes that the interpretation and application of Article 3 and Article 8 are made subject to in general terms to Islamic sharia and/or national legislation. The Government of Sweden is of the view that such reservations, which does not clearly specify the extent of the derogations, raises doubt as to the commitment of the State of Qatar to the object and purpose of the [Covenant].
According to customary international law, as codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the [Covenant] shall not be permitted. It is in the common interest of states that treaties to which they have chosen to become parties are respected, as to their object and purpose, by all parties and that states are prepared to undertake any legislative changes necessary to comply with their obligations under the treaties.
For this reason, the Government of Sweden objects to the aforementioned reservations made by the Government of Qatar. The [Covenant] shall enter into force in its entirety between the two States, without Qatar benefitting from its reservations."
Objection with regard to the declaration made by Myanmar upon ratification (October 4, 2018):
"The Government of Sweden has examined the declaration made by the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar upon ratification to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by which, with reference to Article 1, it declared that the term 'right to self-determination' does not apply to any section of people within a sovereign independent state and cannot be construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of a sovereign and independent state and also that the provision of the Covenant will only be applied in conformity with the Constitution of Myanmar.
In this context the Government of Sweden would like to recall, that under well-established international treaty law, the name assigned to a statement whereby the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty is excluded or modified, does not determine its status as a reservation to the treaty. Thus, the Government of Sweden considers that the declaration made by the Government of Myanmar, in the absence of further clarification, in substance constitutes a reservation to the Covenant.
The declaration concerning Article 1 places conditions on the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination not provided for in international law. To attach such conditions could undermine the concept of self-determination itself and would thereby seriously weaken its universally acceptable character.
Furthermore, the Government of Sweden notes that the declaration implies that Article 1 of the Covenant is made subject to a general reservation referring to domestic law of Myanmar.
Consequently, the Government of Sweden is of the view that the declaration raises doubts as to the commitment of Myanmar to the object and purpose of the Covenant and would recall that, according to customary international law, as codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty shall not be permitted. It is in the common interest of States that treaties to which they have chosen to become parties are respected as to their object and purpose, by all parties, and that States are prepared to undertake any legislative changes necessary to comply with their obligations under the treaties.
For this reason, the Government of Sweden objects to the aforementioned reservation made by the Government of Myanmar. This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the treaty between Sweden and Myanmar. The treaty enters into force in its entirety between Myanmar and Sweden without Myanmar benefiting from its reservation."
Objection with regard to the declaration made by Pakistan upon signature (March 1, 2005):
"The Government of Sweden would like to recall that the designation assigned to a statement whereby the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty is excluded or modified does not determine its status as a reservation to the treaty.
The Government of Sweden is of the view that although Article 2 (1) of the Covenant allows for a progressive realization of the provisions, this may not be invoked as a basis for discrimination.
The application of the provisions of the Covenant has been made subject to provisions of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This makes it unclear to what extent the Islamic Republic of Pakistan considers itself bound by the obligations of the treaty and therefore raises doubts as to the commitment of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the object and purpose of the Covenant. The Government of Sweden considers that the declaration made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in substance constitutes a reservation.
It is of common interest of States that all Parties respect treaties to which they have chosen to become parties and that States are prepared to undertake any legislative changes necessary to comply with their obligations under the treaties. According to customary international law, as codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty shall not be permitted.
The Government of Sweden therefore objects to the reservation made by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between Pakistan and Sweden, without Pakistan benefiting from its reservation."
Objection with regard to the declarations and reservation made by Turkey upon ratification (June 30, 2004):
"The Government of Sweden has examined the declarations and reservation made by the Republic of Turkey upon ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Republic of Turkey declares that it will implement the provisions of the Covenant only to the State Parties with which it has diplomatic relations. This statement in fact amounts, in the view of the Government of Sweden, to a reservation. The reservation of the Republic of Turkey makes it unclear to what extent the Republic of Turkey considers itself bound by the obligations of the Covenant. In absence of further clarification, therefore, the reservation raises doubt as to the commitment of the Republic of Turkey to the object and purpose of the Covenant.
The Government of Sweden notes that the interpretation and application of paragraphs 3 and 4 of article 13 of the Covenant is being made subject to a reservation referring to certain provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey without specifying their contents. The Government of Sweden is of the view that in the absence of further clarification, this reservation, which does not clearly specify the extent of the Republic of Turkey's derogation from the provisions in question, raises serious doubts as to the commitment of the Republic of Turkey to the object and purpose of the Covenant.
According to established customary law as codified by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty shall not be permitted. It is in the common interest of all States that treaties to which they have chosen to become parties are respected as to their object and purpose, by all parties, and that States are prepared to undertake any legislative changes necessary to comply with their obligations under the treaties.
The Government of Sweden therefore objects to the aforesaid reservations made by the Republic of Turkey to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between the Republic of Turkey and Sweden. The Covenant enters into force in its entirety between the two States, without the Republic of Turkey benefiting from its reservations."
Objection with regard to the statement made by China upon ratification (April 2, 2002):
"The Government of Sweden has examined the statement and would like to recall that, under well-established international treaty law, the name assigned to a statement whereby the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty is excluded or modified, does not determine its status as a reservation to the treaty. The Government of Sweden considers that the statement made by the Government of the People's Republic of China to article 8.1(a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in substance constitutes a reservation.
The Government of Sweden notes that the application of Article 8.1(a) of the Covenant is being made subject to a statement referring to the contents of national legislation. According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a party to a treaty may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to abide by the treaty. Furthermore, the right to form and join a trade union of one's choice is one of the fundamental principles of the Covenant. The Government of Sweden wishes to recall that, according to customary international law as codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty shall not be permitted.
The Government of Sweden therefore objects to the reservation made by the People's Republic of China to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between China and Sweden. The Covenant enters into force without China benefiting from the reservation."
Objection with regard to the declarations made by Bangladesh upon accession (December 14, 1999):
"In this context the Government of Sweden would like to recall, that under well-established international treaty law, the name assigned to a statement whereby the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty is excluded or modified, does not determine its status as a reservation to the treaty. Thus, the Government of Sweden considers that the declarations made by the Government of Bangladesh, in the absence of further clarification, in substance constitute reservations to the Covenant.
The declaration concerning article 1 places on the exercise of the rig of peoples to self-determination conditions not provided for in international law. To attach such conditions could undermine the concept of self-determination itself and would thereby seriously weaken its universally acceptable character.
Furthermore, the Government of Sweden notes that the declaration relating to articles 2 and 3 as well as 7 and 8 respectively, imply that these articles of the Covenant are being made subject to a general reservation referring to relevant provisions of the domestic laws of Bangladesh.
Consequently, the Government of Sweden is of the view that, in the absence of further clarification, these declarations raise doubts as to the commitment of Bangladesh to the object and purpose of the Covenant and would recall that, according to well-established international law, a reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty shall not be permitted.
It is in the common interest of States that treaties to which they have chosen to become parties are respected, as to their object and purpose, by all parties and that States are prepared to undertake any legislative changes necessary to comply with their obligations under these treaties.
The Government of Sweden therefore objects to the aforesaid general reservations made by the Government of Bangladesh to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
This objection does not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between Bangladesh and Sweden. The Covenant will thus become operative between the two States without Bangladesh benefiting from the declarations."
Objection with regard to the declarations and the reservation made by Kuwait upon accession (July 23, 1997):
"The Government of Sweden is of the view that these general reservations may raise doubts as to the commitment of Kuwait to the object and purpose of the Covenant.
The Government of Sweden regards the reservation concerning article 8(1)(d), in which the Government of Kuwait reserves the right not to apply the right to strike expressly stated in the Covenant, as well as the interpretative declaration regarding article 9, according to which the right to social security would only apply to Kuwaitis, as being problematic in view of the object and purpose of the Covenant. It particularly considers the declaration regarding article 9, as a result of which the many foreigners working on Kuwaiti territory would, in principle, be totally excluded from social security protection, cannot be based on article 2(3) of the Covenant.
It is in the common interest of all parties that a treaty should be respected, as to its object and purpose, by all parties.
The Government of Sweden therefore objects to the above-mentioned general reservations and interpretative declarations.
This objection does not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between Kuwait and Sweden in its entirety."
Declaration made upon ratification:
"Sweden enters a reservation in connection with article 7 (d) of the Covenant in the matter of the right to remuneration for public holidays."
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