Section 58p. 58

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME I

States Parties concerned, the Committee may, with the

prior consent of the States Parties concerned, appoint an

ad hoc Conciliation Commission (hereinafter referred to

as the Commission). The good offices of the Commission

shall be made available to the States Parties concerned

with a view to an amicable solution of the matter on the

basis of respect for the present Covenant;

(b)

The

Commission

shall

consist

of

five

persons

acceptable to the States Parties concerned. If the States

Parties concerned fail to reach agreement within three

months

on

all

or

part

of

the

composition

of

the

Commission,

the

members

of

the

Commission

concerning whom no agreement has been reached shall

be elected by secret ballot by a two-thirds majority vote of

the Committee from among its members.

2. The members of the Commission shall serve in their

personal capacity. They shall not be nationals of the

States Parties concerned, or of a State not Party to the

present Covenant, or of a State Party which has not made

a declaration under article 41.

3. The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and

adopt its own rules of procedure.

4. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be

held at the Headquarters of the United Nations or at the

United Nations Office at Geneva. However, they may be

held at such other convenient places as the Commission

may

determine

in

consultation

with

the

Secretary-General of the United Nations and the States

Parties concerned.

5. The secretariat provided in accordance with article 36

shall also service the commissions appointed under this

article.

6.

The

information

received

and

collated

by

the

Committee shall be made available to the Commission

and the Commission may call upon the States Parties

concerned to supply any other relevant information.

7. When the Commission has fully considered the matter,

but in any event not later than twelve months after

having been seized of the matter, it shall submit to the

Chairman of the Committee a report for communication

to the States Parties concerned:

(a)

If

the

Commission

is

unable

to

complete

its

consideration of the matter within twelve months, it shall

confine its report to a brief statement of the status of its

consideration of the matter;

(b) If an amicable solution to the matter on tie basis of

respect for human rights as recognized in the present

Covenant is reached, the Commission shall confine its

report to a brief statement of the facts and of the solution

reached;

(c) If a solution within the terms of subparagraph (b) is

not reached, the Commission's report shall embody its

findings on all questions of fact relevant to the issues

between the States Parties concerned, and its views on

the possibilities of an amicable solution of the matter.

This report shall also contain the written submissions and

a record of the oral submissions made by the States

Parties concerned;

(d)

If

the

Commission's

report

is

submitted

under

subparagraph (c), the States Parties concerned shall,

within three months of the receipt of the report, notify

the Chairman of the Committee whether or not they

accept the contents of the report of the Commission.

8. The provisions of this article are without prejudice to

the responsibilities of the Committee under article 41.

9. The States Parties concerned shall share equally all the

expenses

of

the

members

of

the

Commission

in

accordance

with

estimates

to

be

provided

by

the

Secretary-General of the United Nations.

10. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be

empowered to pay the expenses of the members of the

Commission, if necessary, before reimbursement by the

States Parties concerned, in accordance with paragraph 9

of this article.

Article 43

The members of the Committee, and of the ad hoc

conciliation commissions which may be appointed under

article 42, shall be entitled to the facilities, privileges and

immunities of experts on mission for the United Nations

as laid down in the relevant sections of the Convention on

the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

Article 44

The provisions for the implementation of the present

Covenant shall apply without prejudice to the procedures

prescribed in the field of human rights by or under the

constituent instruments and the conventions of the

United Nations and of the specialized agencies and shall

not prevent the States Parties to the present Covenant

from having recourse to other procedures for settling a

dispute

in

accordance

with

general

or

special

international agreements in force between them.

Article 45

The Committee shall submit to the General Assembly of

the United Nations, through the Economic and Social

Council, an annual report on its activities.

PART V

Article 46

Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as

impairing the provisions of the Charter of the United

Nations

and

of

the

constitutions

of the specialized

agencies which define the respective responsibilities of

the various organs of the United Nations and of the

specialized agencies in regard to the matters dealt with in

the present Covenant.

Article 47

Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as

impairing the inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and

utilize fully and freely their natural wealth and resources.

PART VI

Article 48

1. The present Covenant is open for signature by any State

Member of the United Nations or member of any of its

specialized agencies, by any State Party to the Statute of

the International Court of Justice, and by any other State

which has been invited by the General Assembly of the

United

Nations

to

become

a

Party

to

the

present

Covenant.

2.

The

present

Covenant

is

subject

to

ratification.

Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the

Secretary-General of the United Nations.

3. The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any

State referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.

4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an

instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the

United Nations.

5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall

inform all States which have signed this Covenant or

acceded to it of the deposit of each instrument of

ratification or accession.

Article 49

1. The present Covenant shall enter into force three

months

after

the

date

of

the

deposit

with

the

Secretary-General of the United Nations of the thirty-fifth

instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.

2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or

acceding

to

it

after

the

deposit

of

the

thirty-fifth

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