The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted in 1966, covers a wide range of civil and political rights, such as the right to life, the right to a fair trial, freedom of expression, equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination.
Individual rights that can be invoked before the Human Rights Committee are set out in Part III of the Covenant (articles 6 to 27).
The mechanism for filing and reviewing complaints of alleged violations of these articles is provided for by the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant, a separate treaty open to States parties to the Covenant. States that have become parties to the Optional Protocol recognize the authority of the Human Rights Committee, a group of 18 independent experts that meets three times a year, to receive complaints from individuals within their jurisdiction about alleged violations of their rights under the Covenant.