Thirty-five years ago, on 16 December 1966, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted without a vote the two International Covenants on Human Rights. Together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Cove-nant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including its two Optional Protocols, form what is often referred to as the International Bill of Human Rights. Both Covenants entered into force ten years later. At present, 145 States have ratified or acceded to the Interna-tional Covenant on...