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E/C.12/GC/17 page 16 14 See article 6 bis of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. 15 This prohibition, to some extent, duplicates the national treatment provisions contained in international conventions for the protection of intellectual property, the main difference being that articles 2, paragraph 2 and 3 of the Covenant apply not only to foreigners but also to a State party’s own nationals (see articles 6 to 15 of the Covenant: “everyone”). See also Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, thirty-fourth session, general comment No. 16 (2005) on the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights, 13 May 2005. 16 See paragraph 35 below. The need to strike an adequate balance between article 15, paragraph 1 (c), and other rights under the Covenant applies, in particular, to the rights to take part in cultural life (art. 15, para. 1 (a)) and to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications (art. 15, para. 1 (b)), as well as the rights to food (art. 11), health (art. 12) and education (art. 13). 17 See article 17, paragraph 2, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; article 21, paragraph 2, of the American Convention on Human Rights and article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 18 See general comment No. 3 (1990), at paragraph 9; general comment No. 13 (1999) on the right to education, at paragraph 43 and general comment No. 14 (2000) on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, at paragraph 30. See also the Limburg Principles on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Limburg Principles), at paragraphs 16 and 22, Maastricht, 2-6 June 1986. 19 See general comment No. 3 (1990), paragraph 9; general comment No. 13 (1999), paragraph 44; general comment No. 14 (2000), paragraph 31. See also Limburg Principles, paragraph 21. 20 See general comment No. 3 (1990), at paragraph 9; general comment No. 13 (1999), at paragraph 45 and general comment No. 14 (2000), at paragraph 32. 21 See general comment No. 13 (1999), at paragraphs 46 and 47, and general comment No. 14 (2000), at paragraph 33. See also Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Maastricht Guidelines), paragraph 6, Maastricht, 22-26 January 1997. 22 See article 15, paragraph 1 (c), of the Covenant, read in conjunction with article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. See also UNESCO, General Conference, nineteenth session, Recommendation on Participation by the People at Large in Cultural Life and Their Contribution to It, adopted on 26 November 1976, at paragraph I (2) (f).

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GENERAL COMMENT No. 17 (2005) The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (article 15, paragraph 1 (c), of the Covenant)

General Comments

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Rights Involved

Right to take part in cultural life
Rights of indigenous peoples

Issue

Non-retrogression
Progressive realization

International Human Rights Body

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Date: Jan 12, 2006

Summary: This CESR General Comment focuses on the normative content, states parties' obligations and violations, along with implementation at the national level, of the right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author, which is a human right. The Covenant obliges each State party to take the necessary steps to the maximum of its available resources. A State which is unwilling to use the maximum of its available resources for the realization of the right of authors to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from their scientific, literary and artistic productions is in violation of its obligations under article 15, paragraph 1 (c). If resource constraints render it impossible for a State to comply fully with its obligations under the Covenant, it has the burden of justifying that every effort has been made to use all available resources at its disposal to satisfy, as a matter of priority, the core obligations of this right.

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GENERAL COMMENT No. 17 (2005) The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (article 15, paragraph 1 (c), of the Covenant)

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