Which one of the following is not an International Human Rights Treaty?

The correct answer is D, Declaration on the Right to Development. It is a resolution of the UN General Assembly, not a treaty that states sign and ratify.

A treaty, usually called a covenant or convention, becomes legally binding on a country once it ratifies it, and a committee of experts watches how each party carries it out. A declaration only states principles that members agree to; it creates no binding legal duty. The Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the General Assembly in 1986 and calls development an inalienable human right. The core UN human rights treaties include the two Covenants of 1966, CEDAW, the Convention against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the disability convention.

Option A is wrong because the ICCPR of 1966 is a core binding treaty. Option B is wrong because CEDAW, adopted in 1979, is a treaty often called the bill of rights for women. Option C is wrong because the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006, is also a binding treaty.

Exam tip: covenants and conventions bind; declarations only guide.