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Human Rights Division

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Treaty/Convention

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  • HUMAN RIGHTS


Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that belong to each person in the world, from birth to death. They apply to each individual, regardless of his/her nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, religion, language or any other status. Human Rights are universal, interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the world's premier human rights instrument adopted by the United Nations in December 1948. Since then, Human Rights have evolved significantly and are now expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law, general principles and other sources of international law. In Mauritius, most of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual are guaranteed under the constitution.

One of the key tasks of the Human Rights Division is to prepare reports on Human Rights in line with State obligations.

Mauritius is party to 7 international instruments, 5 Optional Protocols, 4 Multilateral Treaties and 4 Regional Human Rights Instruments and has ratified and acceded same as follows:

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​​Accession/Ratification to Human Rights Conventions

SNTreaty/ConventionDate of accession/ratification
1International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)Acceded on 30 May 1972
2International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)Acceded on 12 December 1973
3International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)Acceded on 12 December 1973
4
International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)Acceded on 09 July 1984
5Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)Acceded on 26 July 1990
6Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)Acceded on 08 January 2010
7Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)Acceded on 09 December 1992


Accession/Ratification of Optional Protocols

SN​Optional ProtocolDate of accession/ratification
1
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR-OP1)Acceded on 12 December 1973
2Optional Protocol to the Convention against Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT- OP)Acceded on 21 June 2005
3Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW-OP)Ratified on  31 October 2008
4Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC-OP-AC)Ratified on 12 February 2009
5Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (CRC-OP-SC)Ratified on 14 June 2011

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​Accession/Ratification of Multilateral Treaties

SNMultilateral TreatiesDate of accession/ratification
1The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child AbductionAcceded on 23 March 1993
2Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against TransnationalAcceded on 24 September 2003
3United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised CrimeRatified on 21 April 2003
4Convention for the protection of individuals with regards to automatic processing of personal data (European Treaty 108)Ratified on 17 June 2016

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​Ratification of Regional Human Rights Instruments


​Regional Human Rights Instruments​
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1
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the ChildRatified on 14 February 1992
2African Charter on Human and Peoples' RightsRatified on 19 June 1992
3Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' RightsRatified on 03 March 2003
4Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in AfricaRatified on 16 June 2017​

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