HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

General Comment No. 36 on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – Right to life.

The Committee commenced the process of drafting the General Comment with a half day of general discussion during the 114th session, on 14 July 2015. For that event, the Committee invited interested members of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), civil society, and academia to participate and focused its discussions on the views provided (submissions provided for the purposes of that discussion can be found at the following link. 

During its 115th session, the Committee commenced its first reading of the draft and completed its review at the 120th session. In July 2017, during its 120th session, the Human Rights Committee invited all interested stakeholders to comment on the Committee’s draft. 

Various stakeholders, including Member States, other UN and regional human rights mechanisms, UN organisations or specialised agencies, National Human Rights Institution, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), research institutions, and academics have submitted comments. All the submissions received on time (before the deadline of 6 October 2017) have been posted below.

The General Comment No. 36 was adopted on 30 October 2018.
General Comment No. 36 on Article 6 - on Right to life (CCPR/C/GC/36)

States

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• Denmark
• Egypt
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Japan
• Malta
• Namibia
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Russian Federation
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• The Netherlands
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

UN organizations, specialized agencies, and experts

• Committee on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD)
• Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
• Rule of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch, OHCHR
• Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
• Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice

Academia and other professionals

• Adil Haque, Professor of Law
• Andreea POPESCU, human rights expert
• Aristi Volou, PhD Candidate
• Carmen Montanía, LL.M. en Derecho, Profesora de la Escuela Judicial del Paraguay
• Catherine Frazee OC, D.Litt., LLD. (Hon.)
• Centre for Human Rights at Birmingham City University, UK
• Clínica Jurídica en Discapacidad y Derechos Humanos de la pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Dr. Abi Dymond, Criminology Lecturer
• Dr Natasa Mavronicola, Senior Lecturer in Law
• Dra. Rosalinda Cruz de Williams
• Euclid University
• Hemispheric Congress of Parliamentarians
• Instituto de Investigación en Población
• Joint submission by Kazimierz Ujazdowski, Member of the European Parliament and 88 other Lawyers, Practitioners and Academics
• Ka Lok Yip, PhD candidate
• Kirk Allison, PhD, MS
• María Emilia Montejano Hilton, Profesor-investigador
• Martin Scheinin, Professor of international law and human rights
• Cécile Derains, Avocat
• Mónica Cáceres L.S. , Abogada, Profesora
• Parliamentarians United for Africa
• Parliamentarians United for Africa (Kenyan legislators)
• Patrick J. Flood, Ph.D
• Political Network for Values
• Population Research Institute
• Prof. Noam Lubell and Dr. Daragh Murray, University of Essex School of Law and Human Rights Centre
• Regent Law Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law and others
• Richard Stith J.D. (Yale), Ph.D.(Yale)
• Stephen L. Mikochik, Professor Emeritus
• Stéphane Caporal-Greco, Professeur agrégé de droit public
• Víctor Mosquera Marín, Abogado
• Vito Todeschini (PhD), Postdoctoral Fellow
• VU University Amsterdam

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and other national institutions

• Commission nationale consultative des droits de l’homme (French NHRI)
• Indonesian National Commission on Violence against Women
• The United States Congress

NGOs

• AbortionInformation.eu
• ACLU, Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic, ICJ, the Open Society Justice Initiative and Rights Watch
• ADF International
• Advocates for Human Rights, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and FIACAT
• Al-Haq
• Amnesty International
• Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND)
• Article 36, Toxic Remnants of War Project and the Women’s League for International Peace and Freedom
• Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development
• Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women
• Asociación Civil Enlace
• Asociacion Hazte Oiìr
• Asociación La Familia Importa
• Asociacion Paraguaya de Medicina y Cuidados Paliativos
• Asociación Sí a la Vida
• Association for Reformed Political Action (“ARPA”) Canada
• Association 'In the Name of the Family' (Croatia
• Association of Catholic Doctors of Bucharest
• Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII
• ATD Fourth Monde
• Be’ad Chaim Pro-Life Israel
• Campaign for Truth in Advance Care Planning
• Campaña28 de Septiembre Bolivia and Pacto Nacional por la despenalización del Aborto Bolivia
• Canada Silent No More
• Catholic Medical Association (UK)
•  Catholic Nurses Association (UK)
• Catholic Union of Great Britain
• Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam) and Civil Society for the Family
• Center for Reproductive Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists and Ipas
• Centre européen pour le droit et la justice
• Centro de Bioética, Persona y Familia
• Centro de Investigación Social Avanzada
• Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
• Children Education Society
• Choice is an Illusion
• Christian Action Research & Education (CARE)
• Christian Medical Fellowship
• Christian Legal Centre
• CitizenGO Foundation
• Comisión Mexicana de Derechos Humanos
• Comunidad y Justicia
• Contra Nocendi International
• Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide
• Corporación Femm
• Culture of Life Africa
• Defend Human Life
• Denise Mountenay, UN Representative for Endeavour Forum Inc.
• Early Institute, A.C. y el Centro de Estudios y Formación Integral de la Mujer, A.C. (CEFIM)
• European Federation "One of Us"
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• European Humanist Federation
• Family & Life
• Family Watch International and others
• Femina Europa
• Fondation Jérôme Lejeune
• Frente Joven
• Fundación Pro- Derechos Humanos
• Fundación Valores y Sociedad
• Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Human Dignity Center, Hungary
• Human Rights and Freedoms Forever!
• Human Rights Watch
• Instituto de Análisis de Política Familia
• International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms and others
• International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
• International Commission of Jurists
• International Disability Alliance
• International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus
• International Lesbian, Gay, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and others
• International Organization for the Family
• Irish Family Planning Association
• International Planned Parenthood Federation and others
• Interessenvertretung ungeborener Menschen (IVUM - Germany)
• Joint submission by Marcosur Feminist Articulation (AFM) and others
• Just Planet, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and others
• Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre
• La Red Familia Colombia
• La Red Familia México
• Law in Action (Peru)
• Life Network Foundation Malta
• Life Research Unit Malta
• Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Education Fund
• National Catholic Bioethics Center
• No To Assisted Suicide (NTAS)
• North West Pro Life
• Not Dead Yet (USA)
• ONG Enraizados
• Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture and others
• Peace Movement Aotearoa
• Priests for Life
• Pro Life Campaign
• Reprieve
• Right Here Right Now
• Right to Life
• Shout For Life
• Society of Catholic Social Scientists and International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute
• Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
• Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet
• Transatlantic Christian Council
• Unidos por la Vida
• Union internationale des guides et scouts d’Europe
• United Families International
• We're All Equal
• Women Enabled International
• Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
• Women’s Link Worldwide
• WOOMB International
• World Youth Alliance

Comments submitted after the adoption of the General Comment

• France