A/HRC/4/WG.3/6
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135. CERD has specifically declared that the reach of the Convention extends to acts beyond
the public sphere.124 In its general recommendation No. 19 (1995) on article 3 of the Convention,
CERD affirmed that “… a condition of partial segregation may also arise as an unintended
by-product of the actions of private persons” and that “… a condition of racial segregation can
also arise without any initiative or direct involvement by the public authorities”.125
136. Article 17, paragraph 1 of ICCPR provides that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or
unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks
on his honour and reputation. Paragraph 2 further provides that everyone has the right to the
protection of law against such interference or attacks. The provisions of article 17 should be read
in the context of article 2 which provides that “Each State party to the present Covenant
undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its
jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such
as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.”
137. In this context, general comment No. 31 (2004) of the Human Rights Committee on the
nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant, is of great
relevance since it deals with the applicability of the entire Covenant to private actors as duty
bearers. The Committee stresses that “The article 2, paragraph 1, obligations are binding on
States [parties] and do not, as such, have direct horizontal effect as a matter of international law.”
The Committee goes on to state that “The Covenant cannot be viewed as a substitute for
domestic criminal or civil law. However, the positive obligations on States parties to ensure
Covenant rights will only be fully discharged if individuals are protected by the State, not just
against violations of Covenant rights by its agents, but also against acts committed by private
persons or entities that would impair the enjoyment of Covenant rights insofar as they are
amenable to application between private persons or entities.” The Committee further specifies
that “There may be circumstances in which a failure to ensure Covenant rights as required by
article 2 would give rise to violations by States parties of those rights …”.126
138. Some other international human rights instruments include similar provisions on the right
to privacy, namely CRC in article 16, and ICRMW in article 14. Three other international
treaties are also relevant in this regard, notably the 1962 Convention on Consent to Marriage,
Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, ILO Convention No. 111 of 1958 on
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation), and the 1960 United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention against Discrimination in
Education.
124
See also communication 17/1999.
125
Paragraphs 3 and 4.
126
Paragraph 8.
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