[English translation of text adopted by the Arab Standing Committee for Human
Rights, 5-14 January 2004, but it is not certain whether this version is the
final text].
Proceeding from the faith of the Arab nation in
the dignity of the human person whom God has exalted since the Creation and that
the Arab nation is the cradle of religions and the homeland of civilizations
with lofty human values that affirm the human right to a life of dignity based
on freedom, justice and equality,
In implementation of the eternal
principles of fraternity, equality and tolerance among human beings imparted by
the noble Islamic religion and by the other divine religions,
Being proud
of the humanitarian values and principles that it has firmly established
throughout its long history and that have played a key role in spreading centres
of knowledge in the East and the West, making them destinations for the people
of the earth and for those searching for knowledge and wisdom,
Believing
in the unity of the Arab nation as it struggles for its freedom, defends the
right of nations to self-determination and to the protection of their wealth and
development, and believing in the sovereignty of the law and its role in the
protection of human rights in the most comprehensive sense of the term, and
believing also that the individual's enjoyment of freedom, justice and equality
of opportunity is a fundamental measure of any society,
Rejecting all
forms of racism and Zionism,of which constitute a violation of human rights and
a threat to international peace and security, recognizing the close link between
human rights and international peace and security, reaffirming the principles of
the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the provisions of the two International Covenants on civil and political rights
and on economic, social and cultural rights, and having regard to the Cairo
Declaration
on Human Rights in Islam.
Now therefore, the States
parties to the Charter have agreed as follows:
Article l
The
present Charter seeks in the context of the national identity of the Arab States
and their sense of belonging to a common
civilization, to achieve the
following objectives:
(a) To place human rights at the centre of the key
national concerns of the Arab States so as to make them lofty and fundamental
ideals that shape the will of individuals in the Arab States and enable them to
improve their lives in accordance with noble human values;
(b) To
inculcate in human beings in the Arab States a sense of pride in their identity
and attachment to the land, history and common interests of their homeland and
to imbue them with the culture of human brotherhood, tolerance and openness
towards others, in accordance with universal principles and values and with
those proclaimed in international human rights instruments;
(c) To
prepare the new generations in the Arab States for a free and responsible life
in a civil society that is characterized by
solidarity and founded on the
interdependence between awareness of rights and commitment to duties and
governed by the values of equality, tolerance and moderation;
(d) To
entrench the principle that all human rights are universal, indivisible,
interdependent and interrelated.
Article 2
(a) All peoples have
the right of self-determination and to control over their natural wealth and
resources, and the right to freely choose their political system and to freely
pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
(b) All peoples have the right to national sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
(c) All forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and
domination constitute an impediment to human dignity and a major barrier to the
exercise of the fundamental rights of peoples; all such practices must be
condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination.
(d) All
peoples have the right to resist foreign occupation.
Article 3
(a)
Each State party to the present Charter undertakes to ensure to all individuals
subject to its jurisdiction the right to enjoy the rights and freedoms set forth
herein, without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religious
belief, opinion, thought, national or social origin, wealth, birth or physical
or mental disability.
(b) The States parties to the present Charter shall
take the requisite measures to guarantee effective equality in the enjoyment
of all the rights and freedoms enunciated in the present Charter so as to
ensure protection against all forms of discrimination on any of the grounds
mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
(c) Men and women have equal human
dignity and equal rights and obligations in the framework of the positive
discrimination established in favour of women by the Islamic Shariah and other
divine laws and by applicable laws and international instruments. Accordingly,
each State party pledges to take all the requisite measures to guarantee equal
opportunities and effective equality between men and women in the enjoyment of
all the rights set out in this Charter.
Article 4
(a) In
exceptional situations of emergency which threatens the life of the nation and
the existence of which is officially proclaimed, the States parties to the
present Charter may take measures derogating from their obligations under the
present Charter, to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the
situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with their other
obligations under international law and do not involve discrimination solely on
the ground of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin.
(b)
In exceptional situations of emergency, no derogation shall be made from the
following articles: article 5, article 8, article 9, article 10, article 13,
article 14 (h), article 15, article 18, article 19, article 31, article 20,
article 22, article 27, article 28 and article 29. Likewise, the judicial
guarantees required for the protection of the aforementioned rights may not be
suspended.
(c) Any State party to the present Charter availing itself of
the right of derogation shall immediately inform the other States parties,
through the intermediary of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States,
of the provisions from which it has derogated and of the reasons by which it was
actuated. A further communication shall be made, through the same
intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such
derogation.
Article 5
(a) Every human being has the inherent right
to life.
(b) This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be
arbitrarily deprived of his life.
Article 6
Sentence of death may
be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the laws in force
at the time of commission of the crime and pursuant to a final judgement
rendered by a competent court. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to
seek pardon or commutation of the sentence.
Article 7
(a) Sentence
of death shall not be imposed on persons under 18 years of age, unless otherwise
stipulated in the laws in force at the time of the commission of the
crime.
(b) The death penalty shall not be inflicted on a pregnant woman
prior to her delivery or on a nursing mother within two years from the date of
her delivery; in all cases, the best interests of the infant shall be the
primary consideration.
Article 8
(a) No one shall be subjected to
physical or psychological torture or to cruel, inhuman, degrading or humiliating
treatment.
(b) Each State party shall protect every individual subject to
its jurisdiction from such practices and shall take effective measures to
prevent them. The commission of or participation in such acts shall be regarded
as crimes that are punishable by law and not subject to any statute of
limitations. Each State party shall guarantee in its legal system redress for
any victim of torture and the right to rehabilitation and
compensation.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to medical or
scientific experimentation or to the use of his organs without his free consent
and full awareness of the consequences and provided that ethical, humanitarian
and professional rules are followed and medical procedures are observed to
ensure his personal safety pursuant to the relevant domestic laws in force in
each State party.
Trafficking in human organs is prohibited in all
circumstances.
Article 10
(a) All forms of slavery and trafficking
in human beings are prohibited and are punishable by law. No one shall be held
in slavery and servitude under any circumstances.
(b) Forced labour,
trafficking in human beings for the purposes of prostitution or sexual
exploitation, the exploitation of the
prostitution of others and all other
forms of exploitation or the exploitation of children in armed conflict are
prohibited.
Article 11
All persons are equal before the law and
have the right to enjoy its protection without discrimination.
Article
12
All persons are equal before the courts and tribunals. The States
parties shall guarantee the independence of the judiciary and protect
magistrates against any interference, pressure or threats. They shall also
guarantee every person subject to their jurisdiction the right to bring
proceedings before all courts of law.
Article 13
(a) Everyone has
the right to a fair trial that affords adequate guarantees before a competent,
independent and impartial court that has been constituted by law to hear any
criminal charge against him or to decide on his rights or his obligations. Each
State party shall guarantee to those without the requisite resources legal aid
to enable them to defend their rights.
(b) Trials shall be public, except
in exceptional cases that may be warranted by the interests of justice in a
society that respects human freedoms and rights.
Article 14
(a)
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be
subjected to arbitrary arrest, search or detention without a legal
warrant.
(b) No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such
grounds and in such circumstances as are determined by law and in accordance
with such procedure as is established thereby.
(c) Anyone who is arrested
shall be informed, at the time of arrest, in a language that he understands, of
the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against
him. He shall be entitled to contact his family members.
(d) Anyone who
is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall have the right to
request a medical examination and must be informed of that right.
(e)
Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly
before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and
shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. His release
may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial. It shall not be the general
rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody.
(f) Anyone
who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take
proceedings before a competent court in order that it may decide without delay
on the lawfulness of his arrest or detention and order his release if the arrest
or detention is not lawful.
(g) Anyone who has been the victim of
arbitrary or unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to
compensation.
Article 15
No crime and no penalty can be
established without a prior provision of the law. In all circumstances, the law
most favourable to the defendant shall be applied.
Article
16
Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty by a final judgement rendered according to
law. In the course of prosecution and trial, he shall enjoy the following
minimum guarantees:
(a) To be informed promptly, in detail and in a
language which he understands, of the nature and cause of the charge against
him;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his
defence and to communicate with his family;
(c) To be tried in his
presence before an ordinary court and to defend himself in person or through
legal assistance of his own
choosing and to communicate with his legal
counsel freely and in confidence;
(d) To have the free legal assistance
of a defence lawyer, if he cannot defend himself or if the interests of justice
so require, and to have the right to the free assistance of an interpreter if he
cannot understand or speak the language used in court;
(e) To examine, or
have examined, the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and
examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses
against him;
(f) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to
confess guilt;
(g) To have the right, if convicted of a crime, to file an
appeal according to law before a higher tribunal;
(h) To have the right
to respect for his person and his privacy in all circumstances.
Article
17
Each State party shall ensure in particular to any child at risk or
any delinquent charged with an offence the right to a special legal system for
minors in all stages of investigation, trial and implementation of sentence, as
well as to special treatment that takes account of his age, protects his
dignity, facilitates his rehabilitation and reintegration and enables him to
play a constructive role in society.
Article 18
No one who is
shown to be unable to pay a debt arising from a contractual obligation shall be
imprisoned.
Article 19
(a) No one may be tried twice for the same offence. Anyone
against whom such proceedings are brought shall have the right to challenge
their legality and to demand his release.
(b) Anyone whose innocence is
established by a final judgement shall be entitled to compensation for the
damage suffered.
Article 20
(a) All persons deprived of their
liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity
of the human person.
(b) Accused persons shall be segregated from
convicted persons and shall be subject to a treatment appropriate to their
status as unconvicted persons.
(c) The penitentiary system shall comprise
treatment of prisoners the aim of which shall be their reformation and social
rehabilitation.
Article 21
(a) No one shall be subjected to
arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour or his
reputation.
(b) Everyone has the right to the protection of the law
against such interference or attacks.
Article 22
Everyone shall
have the right to recognition as a person before the law.
Article
23
Each State party to the present Charter undertakes to ensure that any
person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an
effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by
persons acting in an official capacity.
Article 24
(a) Every citizen has the right to freely pursue a
political activity.
(b) Every citizen has the right to take part in the
conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen
representatives.
(c) Every citizen shall have the right to stand for
election or to choose his representatives in free and impartial elections, on
the basis of equality among all citizens and guaranteeing the free expression of
his will.
(d) Every citizen has the right of equal access to public
service in his country on the basis of equality of opportunity.
(e) Every
citizen has the right to freely form and join associations with
others.
(f) Every citizen has the right to freedom of association and
peaceful assembly.
(g) No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of
these rights other than those which are prescribed by law and which are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or
public safety, public health or morals or the protection of the rights and
freedoms of others.
Article 25
Persons belonging to minorities
shall not be denied the right to enjoy their own culture, to use their own
language and to practise their own religion. The exercise of these rights shall
be governed by law.
Article 26
(a) Everyone lawfully within the
territory of a State party shall, within that territory, have the right to
freedom of movement and to freely choose his residence in any part of that
territory in conformity with the laws in force.
(b) No State party may
expel an alien lawfully in its territory, other than in pursuance of a decision
reached in accordance with law and after that person has been allowed to seek a
review by the competent authority, unless compelling reasons of national
security preclude it. Collective expulsion of aliens is prohibited under all
circumstances.
Article 27
(a) No one may be arbitrarily or
unlawfully prevented from leaving any country, including his own, nor prohibited
from residing, or compelled to reside, in any part of that country.
(b)
No one may be exiled from his country or prevented from returning
thereto.
Article 28
Everyone has the right to seek political
asylum in another country in order to escape persecution. This right may not be
invoked by persons facing prosecution for an offence against public order under
ordinary law. Political refugees may not be extradited.
Article
29
(a) Everyone has the right to nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily
or unlawfully deprived of his nationality.
(b) States parties shall take
such measures as they deem appropriate, in accordance with their domestic laws
on nationality, to allow a child to acquire the mother's nationality, having due
regard, in all cases, to the best interests of the child.
(c) No one
shall be denied the right to acquire another nationality in accordance with the
domestic legislation in his country.
Article 30
(a) Everyone
has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. No restrictions
may be imposed on the exercise of such freedoms except as provided for by
law.
(b) The freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs or to perform
religious observances, either alone or in community with others, shall be
subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a
tolerant society that respects human rights and freedoms to protect public
safety, public order, public health or morals or the fundamental rights and
freedoms of others.
(c) Parents or guardians have the freedom to ensure
the religious and moral education of their children.
Article
31
Everyone has a guaranteed right to own private property, and shall not
under any circumstances be arbitrarily or unlawfully divested of all or any part
of his property.
Article 32
(a) The present Charter guarantees the
right to information and to freedom of opinion and expression, as well as the
right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media,
regardless of frontiers.
(b) Such rights and freedoms shall be exercised
in conformity with the fundamental values of society and shall be subject only
to such limitations as are required to ensure respect for the rights or
reputation of others or the protection of national security, public order and
public health or morals.
Article 33
(a) The family is the natural
and fundamental group unit of society; it is based on marriage between a man and
a woman. Men and women of full age have the right to marry and to found a family
according to the rules and conditions of marriage. No marriage can take place
without the full and free consent of both parties. The laws in force regulate
the rights and duties of the man and woman as to marriage, during marriage and
at its dissolution.
(b) The State and society shall ensure the protection of the family, the
strengthening of family ties, the protection of its members and the prohibition
of all forms of violence or abuse in the relations among its members,
particularly against women and children. They shall also ensure the necessary
protection and care for mothers, children, older persons and
persons with
special needs and shall provide adolescents and young persons the most ample
opportunities for physical and mental development.
(c) The States parties
shall take all necessary legislative, administrative and judicial measures to
guarantee the protection, survival, development and well-being of the child in
an atmosphere of freedom and dignity and shall ensure, in all cases, that the
child's best interests are the basic criterion for all measures taken in his
regard, whether the child is at risk of delinquency or is a juvenile
offender.
(d) The States parties shall take all the necessary measures to
guarantee, particularly to young persons, the right to pursue a sporting
activity.
Article 34
(a) The right to work is a natural right of
every citizen. The State shall endeavour to provide, to the extent possible, a
job for the largest number of those willing to work, while ensuring production,
on the freedom to choose one's work and equal opportunities, without
discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, religion, language,
political opinion, union affiliation, national or social origin, disability or
other status.
(b) Every worker has the right to the enjoyment of just and
favourable conditions of work which ensure appropriate remuneration to meet his
essential needs and those of his family, and regulate working hours, rest and
holidays with pay, as well as the rules for the preservation of occupational
health and safety and the protection of women, children and disabled persons in
the place of work.
(c) The States parties recognize the right of the
child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work
that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to
be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social
development. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of other
international instruments, States parties shall in particular:
1. Provide
for a minimum age for admission to employment; 2. Provide for appropriate
regulation of the hours and conditions of employment; 3. Provide for appropriate
penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of these
provisions.
(d) There shall be no discrimination between men and women in
their enjoyment of the right to effectively benefit from training, employment
and job protection and the right to receive equal remuneration for equal
work.
(e) Each State party shall ensure to workers who migrate to its
territory the requisite protection in accordance with the laws in
force.
Article 35
(a) Every individual has the right to freely
form trade unions or to join trade unions and to freely pursue trade union
activity for the protection of his interests.
(b) No restrictions shall
be placed on the exercise of these rights and freedoms except such as are
prescribed by the laws in force and that are necessary for the maintenance of
national security, public safety or order or for the protection of public health
or morals or the rights and freedoms of others.
(c) States parties to the
present Charter guarantee the right to strike within the limits laid down by law
in accordance with the
international labour criteria.
Article
36
The States parties shall ensure the right of every citizen to social
security, including social insurance.
Article 37
The right to
development is a fundamental human right and all States are required to
establish the development policies and the measures necessary to guarantee this
right. They have a duty to implement the values of solidarity and cooperation
among them and at the international level with a view to eradicating poverty and
achieving economic, social, cultural and political development. Pursuant to this
right, every citizen has the right to participate in the realization of
development and to enjoy the
benefits and fruits thereof.
Article
38
Every person has the right to an adequate standard of living for
himself and his family, that ensures their well-being and a decent life,
including food, clothing, housing, services and the right to a healthy
environment. The States parties shall take the necessary measures commensurate
with their resources to guarantee these rights.
Article 39
(a) The
States parties recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health and the right of the citizen
to free basic health-care services and to have access to medical facilities
without discrimination of any kind.
(b) The measures taken by States parties shall include the following:
1.
Development of basic health-care services and the guaranteeing of free and easy
access to the centres that provide these services, regardless of geographical
location or economic status; 2. Efforts to control disease by means of
prevention and cure in order to reduce the mortality rate; 3. Promotion of
health awareness and health education; 4. Suppression of traditional practices
which are harmful to the health of the individual; 5. Provision of basic
nutrition and safe drinking water for all; 6. Combating environmental pollution
and providing proper sanitation systems; 7. Combating smoking and abuse of drugs
and psychotropic substances.
Article 40
(a) The States parties
undertake to ensure to persons with mental or physical disabilities a decent
life that guarantees their dignity, and to enhance their self-reliance and
facilitate their active participation in society.
(b) The States parties
shall provide social services free of charge for all persons with disabilities,
shall provide the material support needed by those persons, their families or
the families caring for them, and shall also do whatever is needed to avoid
placing those persons in institutions. They shall in all cases take account of
the best interests of the disabled person.
(c) The States parties shall
take all necessary measures to curtail the incidence of disabilities by all
possible means, including
preventive health programmes, awareness raising
and education.
(d) The States parties shall provide full educational
services suited to persons with disabilities, taking into account the importance
of integrating these persons in the educational system and the importance of
vocational training and apprenticeship and the creation of suitable job
opportunities in the public or private sectors.
(e) The States parties
shall provide all health services appropriate for persons with disabilities,
including the rehabilitation of these persons with a view to integrating them
into society.
(f) The States parties shall endeavour to enable persons
with disabilities to make use of all public and private services.
Article
41
(a) The eradication of illiteracy is a binding obligation upon the
State and every person has the right to education.
(b) The States parties
shall guarantee every citizen free education at least throughout the primary and
fundamental levels. All types and levels of primary education shall be
compulsory and accessible to all without discrimination of any kind.
(c)
The States parties shall take appropriate measures in all domains to ensure
partnership between men and women with a view to achieving national development
goals.
(d) The States parties shall guarantee to provide education directed to the
full development of the human person and strengthening respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms.
(e) The States parties shall endeavour to
incorporate the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms into formal
and informal education curricula and educational and training
programmes.
(f) The States parties shall guarantee the establishment of
the requisite mechanisms to provide ongoing education for every citizen and the
creation of national plans for adult education.
Article 42
(a)
Every person has the right to take part in cultural life and to enjoy the
benefits of scientific progress and its application.
(b) The States
parties undertake to respect the freedom of scientific research and creative
activity, and to ensure the protection of moral and material interests resulting
from scientific, literary and artistic production.
(c) The State parties
shall work together and enhance cooperation among them at all levels, with the
full participation of
intellectuals and creative artists and their
organizations, with a view to developing and implementing recreational,
cultural, artistic and scientific programmes.
Article 43
Nothing
in this Charter may be construed or interpreted as impairing the rights and
freedoms protected by the domestic laws of the States parties or those set forth
in the international and regional human rights instruments which the States
parties have adopted or ratified, including the rights of women, the rights of
the child and the rights of persons belonging to minorities.
Article
44
When their existing legislative or non-legislative measures do not
effectively ensure the implementation of the rights enunciated in this Charter,
the States parties undertake to take, in conformity with their constitutional
procedures and with the provisions of the present Charter, whatever legislative
or non-legislative measures that may be necessary for the implementation of
these rights.
Article 45
(a) Pursuant to this Charter, an "Arab Human Rights
Committee", hereinafter referred to as "The Committee", shall be established.
This Committee shall consist of seven members who shall be elected by secret
ballot by the States parties to this Charter.
(b) The Committee shall
consist of nationals of the States parties to the present Charter, who must be
highly experienced and competent in the Committee's field of work. The members
of the Committee shall serve in their personal capacity and with full
independence and impartiality.
(c) The Committee shall not include more than one member from a State party;
such a member may only be re-elected once. Due regard shall be given to the
rotation principle.
(d) The members of the Committee shall be elected for
a four-year term, although the mandate of three of the members elected during
the first election and selected by lot, shall be for two years.
(e) Six
months prior to the date of the election, the Secretary-General of the League of
Arab States shall invite the States parties to submit their nominations within
the following three months. He shall transmit the list of candidates to the
States parties two months prior to the date of the election. The candidates who
obtain the largest number of votes cast shall be elected to membership of the
Committee. If, because various candidates have an equal number of votes, the
number of candidates with the largest number of votes exceeds the number
required, a second ballot will be held between the persons with equal numbers of
votes. If the votes are again equal, the member or members shall be selected by
lottery. The first election for membership of the Committee shall be held at
least six months after the Charter enters into force.
(f) The
Secretary-General shall invite the States parties to a meeting at the
headquarters of the League of Arab States in order to elect the members of the
Committee. The presence of the majority of the States parties shall constitute a
quorum. If there is no quorum, the Secretary-General shall call another meeting
at which at least two-thirds of the States parties must be present. If there is
still no quorum, the Secretary-General shall call a third meeting, which will be
held regardless of the number of States parties present.
(g) The
Secretary-General shall convene the first meeting of the Committee, during the
course of which the Committee shall elect its Chairman, from among its members,
for a two-year term renewable only once and for a similar period. The Committee
shall establish its own rules of procedure and methods of work and shall
determine how often it shall meet. The Committee shall hold its meetings at the
headquarters of the League of Arab States. It may also meet in any other State
party to the present Charter at that party's invitation.
Article 46
(a) If, in the unanimous view of other members, a member of
the Committee has ceased to perform his functions for any reason other than
temporary absence, the Chairman of the Committee shall so inform the
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States who, in turn, shall declare
vacant the seat occupied by the member concerned.
(b) In the event of the
death or resignation of a Committee member, the Chairman shall immediately
inform the Secretary-General, who shall then declare vacant the seat occupied by
the member concerned as of the date of his death or that on which the
resignation took effect.
(c) Whenever a member's seat is declared vacant
pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) above and the term of
office of the member to be replaced does not expire within six months from the
date on which the vacancy was declared, the Secretary-General of the League of
Arab States shall refer the matter to the States parties to the present Charter
which may, within two months, submit nominations, pursuant to article 45, in
order to fill the vacant seat.
(d) The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States shall draw up an alphabetical list of all the duly nominated candidates, which he shall transmit to the States parties to the present Charter. The elections to fill the vacant seat shall be held in accordance with the relevant provisions.
e) Any member of the Committee elected to fill a seat declared vacant in
accordance with the provisions of (a) and (b) above shall remain a member of the
Committee until the expiry of the remainder of the term of the member whose seat
was declared vacant pursuant to the provisions of the two aforementioned
paragraphs.
(f) The Secretary-General of the League of Arab States shall
make provision within the budget of the League of Arab States for all the
necessary financial and human resources and facilities that the Committee needs
to discharge its functions effectively. The members of the Committee shall be
afforded the same treatment as experts recruited by the secretariat of
the
League of Arab States with respect to remuneration and reimbursement of
expenses.
Article 47
The States parties undertake to ensure that
members of the Committee shall enjoy the requisite immunities for their
protection against any form of harassment, moral or material pressure or
prosecution on account of the positions or statements they express in the
performance of their duties as members of the Committee.
Article
48
(a) The States parties undertake to submit reports to the
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States on the measures they have taken
to give effect to the rights and freedoms recognized in this Charter and on the
progress made towards the enjoyment thereof. The Secretary-General shall
transmit these reports to the Committee for its consideration.
(b) Each
State party shall submit an initial report to the Committee within one year from
the date on which the Charter enters into force and a periodic report every
three years thereafter. The Committee may request the States parties to supply
it with additional information relating to the implementation of the
Charter.
(c) The Committee shall consider the reports submitted by the
States parties pursuant to paragraph (b) of this article in the presence and
with the participation in the deliberations of the representative of the State
party concerned.
(d) In discussing the report, formulating its comments and submitting its recommendations for the necessary action, the Committee shall act in accordance with the objectives of the Charter.
(e) The Committee shall submit an annual report containing its comments and
recommendations to the Council of the League, through the intermediary of the
Secretary-General.
(f) The reports, final comments and recommendations of
the Committee shall be public documents which the Committee shall disseminate
widely.
Article 49
(a) The Secretary-General of the League of Arab
States shall submit the present Charter, once it has been approved by the
Council of the League, to the States parties for signature, ratification or
accession.
(b) The present Charter shall enter into effect two months
after the date on which the seventh instrument of ratification is deposited with
the secretariat of the League of Arab States.
(c) After its entry into force, the present Charter shall become effective,
for each State party, two months after it has deposited its instrument of
ratification or accession with the secretariat.
(d) The Secretary-General
shall notify the States parties of the deposit of each instrument of
ratification or accession.
Article 50
Any State party may submit
written proposals, though the Secretary-General, to amend the present Charter.
After the States members have been notified of these proposals, the
Secretary-General shall invite them to consider the proposed amendments before
submitting them to the Council of the League for adoption.
Article
51
The amendments shall take effect, with regard to the States parties
that have approved them, once they have been approved by two-thirds of the
States parties.
Article 52
Any State party may propose additional
optional protocols to the present Charter and they shall be adopted according to
the same procedures followed for the adoption of amendments to the
Charter.
Article 53
(a) Any State party when signing this Charter,
depositing the instruments of ratification or acceding hereto, may make a
reservation to any article of the Charter, provided that such reservation does
not conflict with the aims and purposes of the Charter.
(b) Any State
party that has made a reservation pursuant to paragraph (a) of this article may
withdraw this reservation at any time by means of a notification addressed to
the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.
(c) The
Secretary-General shall notify the States parties of reservations made and of
requests for their
withdrawal