Introductory Note to General Comment No. 36 (2018) on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the Right to Life

Jul 10, 2026

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Introductory note analyzing the UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No. 36 (2018) on Article 6 of the ICCPR, which guarantees the right to life. The note explains the Committee’s interpretive, quasi-judicial role and how General Comments update earlier jurisprudence. It examines limits on lethal force in law enforcement, the role of “imminent threat,” abortion-focused protection centered on the mother’s life and welfare, and the Committee’s treatment of assisted suicide under strict safeguards. It also outlines socioeconomic obligations flowing from Article 6.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

Introduction

Law Enforcement

Abortion

Assisted Suicide

Socioeconomic Aspects of the Right to Life

© 2019 by The American Society of International Law DOI:10.1017/ilm.2019.31 INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO GENERAL COMMENT NO. 36 (2018) ON ARTICLE 6 OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, ON THE RIGHT TO LIFE (H.R. COMM.) BY SARAH JOSEPH* [October 30, 2018] Introduction In October 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) adopted General Comment 361 on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the guarantee of the right to life. The UNHRC is a part-time body made up of eighteen human rights experts from around the world, and it supervisesand monitors the implementation of the ICCPR. It is a quasi-judicial body rather than an international court, so its ﬁndings, including in documents like General Comment 36, are not strictly legally binding in international law. However, its ﬁndings are authoritative interpretations of a document that is legally binding, the ICCPR. General Comments normally constitute expanded interpretations of particular rights in the treaty, such as the right to life.2 General Comment 36 updates and replaces two earlier General Comments on Article 6, General Comment 6 (1982)3 and General Comment 14 (1984) .4 General Comment 36 is far more detailed than those earlier documents, reﬂecting the considerable developments in UNHRC jurisprudence on the right to life since the early 1980s. In this Note, I will concentrate on the most signiﬁcant of those developments, in particular those areas where the General Comment seems to extend the UNHRC ’s prior jurisprudence, or where further clariﬁcation is needed on the scope of the right to life.5 Law Enforcement Article 6(1) reads: “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No oneshall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” Hence, the right to life is not absolute. One can be deprived of one’s life under Article 6 in circumstances that are not arbitrary. One such circumstance is in the context of law enforcement, where a person poses a certain threat to others. On this point, the UNHRC states: The use of potentially lethal force for law enforcement purposes is an extreme measure, which should be resorted to only when strictly necessary in order to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat . . . . The intentional taking of life by any means is permissible only if it is strictly necessary in order to protect life from an imminent threat.6 Note must be taken of the use of the word “should” in the ﬁrst sentence. The word “should” arises numerous times in the General Comment. Its use seems to imply that the UNHRC is signaling its interpretation of a desirable or likely future development of the Article 6 obligation, rather than its view of the current scope of that obligation. In the above context, the recommendatory implication of the word is undone by the stronger mandatory language in the following sentences, including the words “permissible only” in the last sentence quoted above. The concept of an “imminent threat” is crucial to the compatibility with Article 6 of a death arising in the context of law enforcement. However, no guidance is given on what is meant by “imminence.” A (now former) UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has stated that the word refers to “a matter of seconds, not hours.”7 It is uncertain whether the UNHRC shares that interpretation. Abortion In addressing abortion, General Comment 36 focuses entirely on the life and welfare of the mother rather than of the fetus. Hence, no prohibition on abortion or protection for the unborn can be gleaned from it. Instead, the Comment focuses on the need for states “to ensure that women and girls do not have to undertake unsafe abortions.”8 In * Professor, Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University, Melbourne. fulﬁlling this duty, the UNHRC lists a number of desirable measures, though t

FAQs

What is the UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment 36 and what does it do?

General Comment 36 provides an expanded interpretation of Article 6 of the ICCPR, updating earlier General Comments and reflecting developments in the Committee’s jurisprudence. It is an authoritative interpretation, though not strictly legally binding in international law.

When can potentially lethal force be used under the right to life framework described here?

Potentially lethal force for law enforcement is characterized as an extreme measure used only when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat. Intentional taking of life is permissible only if strictly necessary for that purpose.

How does General Comment 36 address abortion and assisted suicide in relation to Article 6?

On abortion, it focuses on the life and welfare of the mother and emphasizes ensuring women and girls do not face unsafe abortions, including avoiding criminal sanctions tied to abortion. On assisted suicide, it implicitly allows states that permit medical professionals to facilitate termination in certain circumstances, while requiring rigorous safeguards for free, informed, explicit, and unambiguous consent.

Jul 10, 2026

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