UN/TED NATIONS Distr.

GENERAL
ECONOMIC
E/CK.V702/Add.6
AND 9 April 195^

SOCIAL COUNCIL ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Tenth session
Agenda item 3

DRAFT INTERNATIONAL COVENANTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

AND MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Observations of non-governmental organizations received by the

Secretary-General in pursuance; of resolution pOI B (XVI) of the
Economic and Social Council

Comments on the draft International Covenants on Human Rights under

resolution 501 B (XVI) of the Economic and Social Council have been received
from the International Federation, of Business and Professional Women and are
reproduced below.

XXXIV. International Federation of Business and Professional Women

(Non-governmental organization with consultative status Category B)
The International Federation of Business and Professional Women maintains
its earlier position (E/CN.4/NG0,8-20-35-48) regarding the right of petition
which in its considered view should not be restricted to States only, but should
be extended to include individuals and non-governmental organizations granted
consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. In this connexion,
a resolution was adopted at the Sixth Congress (Stockholm, July, 1953) a s
follows :
"Believing in the principle of the protection of the rights of the
indiTidual enunciated in the Draft Covenants on Human Rights, this
Congress re-affirms its position that the proposed Human Rights Committee
should be authorized to receive and consider communications concerning

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the non-observance of any provision by States Parties to the Covenants,

from non-governraental organizations in. consultative relationship with
the Economic and Social Council, from groups of individuals and from
individuals.
It believes also that the proposed Human Rights Committee should
be empowered to adopt its own rules concerning the admissibility of
communications. "

The resolution includes the following passage on discrimination:

"Having noted that the Draft Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights in Article 2 paragraph 2 provides that "The States parties
hereto undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in this
Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind, such
as race, colour, sex, etc., it re-affirms the position taken by the
International Board Meeting in 1952 that the new Article adopted at
the Ninth Session of the Commission on Human Rights specifying the
equal rights of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and
political rights in the Covenant is redundant and weakens the force
of Article 2 paragraph 2 on non-discrimination."

Finally the Sixth Congress expressed its appreciation that in the Draft
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, articles were included concerning
equal suffrage, and concerning marriage noting with regard to the latter
a recommendation that the legislation of the States Parties to the Covenant
should be directed towards equality of rights and responsibilities of the
spouses, as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.