Editorial Note

For the exhaustive deliberations of the Third Committee on the Draft Covenant (including the question of insertion of a self-determination article), November 30–December 21, 1951 and January 14–30, 1952, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, Third Committee, pages 67–150 and pages 235–403 (hereafter cited as GA (VI), Third Committee). For the complicated parliamentary history of this item in committee, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, Annexes, fascicule for Agenda item 29 (hereafter cited as GA (VI), Annexes).

The General Assembly considered the Report of the Third Committee on the Draft Covenant at plenary meetings on February 4 and 5, 1952. For the proceedings, see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, Plenary Meetings, pages 501–520 (hereafter cited as GA (VI), Plenary). For texts of the resolutions concerning human rights adopted by the General Assembly on February 5, Resolutions 543 (VI)–549 (VI), see United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixth Session, Resolutions, pages 36 and 37 (hereafter cited as GA (VI), Resolutions).

The essential components of the resolutions were as follows: The General Assembly decided that two draft covenants should be formulated [Page 772] for the consideration of the Assembly at its Seventh Session, one to contain civil and political rights and the other to contain economic, social, and cultural rights (Resolution 543 (VI)). Resolution 544 (VI) requested the Commission on Human Rights to improve the wording of the economic, social, and cultural articles, taking into account the views expressed during the Sixth Session of the General Assembly. The General Assembly decided to include in the International Covenant or Covenants on Human Rights an article on self-determination, and formulated a draft text relating thereto (Resolution 545 (VI)) (see documentation immediately following). Resolution 549 (VI) requested the Economic and Social Council to hold a special session to precede the Eighth Session of the Human Rights Commission, “at which it shall take the necessary action to enable the Commission to complete the work entrusted to it … before the end of the Council’s fourteenth session, so that the Council may submit the drafts to the General Assembly at its seventh regular session together with its recommendations.”