OPTIONAL PROTOCOL[1] TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
The States Parties to the present Protocol,
Considering that in order further to achieve the purposes of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Covenant) and the im plementation of its provisions it would be appropriate to enable the Human Rights Committee set up in part IV of the Covenant (hereinafter referred to as the Commit tee) to receive and consider, as provided in the present Protocol, communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1. A State Party to the Covenant that becomes a party to the present Protocol recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider com munications from individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation by that State Party of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant. No com munication shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party to the Covenant which is not a party to the present Protocol.
Article 2. Subject to the provisions of article 1, individuals who claim that any of their rights enumerated in the Covenant have been violated and who have ex hausted all available domestic remedies may submit a written communication to the Committee for consideration.
Article 3. The Committee shall consider inadmissible any communication under the present Protocol which is anonymous, or which it considers to be an abuse
- ↑ into force on 23 March 1976 in respect of the following States, i.e., three months after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession (the Covenant of 19 December 1966 on Civil and Political Rights having itself entered into force), in accordance with article 9 (1):*
State Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession (a) Costa Rica ......................(Signature affixed on 19 December 1966.) 29 November 1968 Ecuador ........................(Signature affixed on 4 April 1968.) 6 March 1969
Colombia .......................(Signature affixed on 21 December 1966.) 29 October 1969 Uruguay ........................(Signature affixed on 21 February 1967.) 1 April 1970
Madagascar .....................(Signature affixed on 17 September 1969.) 21 June 1971
Sweden ** ....................... (Signature affixed on 29 September 1967.) 6 December 1971 State Date of deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession (a) Denmark **......................(Signature affixed on 20 March 1968.) 6 January 1972 Norway ** .......................(Signature affixed on 20 March 1968.) 13 September 1972 Barbados ....................... 5 January 1973a Mauritius ....................... 12 December 1973a Finland .........................(Signature affixed on 11 December 1967.) 19 August 1975
Jamaica.........................(Signature affixed on 19 December 1966.) 3 October 1975
* Same procedure, mutatis mutandis, as for the Covenant itself: see note**, p. 173.** See p. 346 of this volume for the texts of the declarations and reservations made upon ratification or ac cession.
