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The Two Committees The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights differs from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in two major respects. First, the Human Rights Committee is mandated by the Covenant to interpret the Covenant and to oversee its implementation and second the Committee also examines individual complaints brought before it by citizens of those countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Covenant that provides for individual complaints. No such Committee was included in the articles of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The fact that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was only created in 1986 and that there is no Optional Protocol have not been helpful in enhancing the authority of the Committee. |