Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

66 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
men and women”. 174 The Committee also emphasized that
States could be held responsible for private acts if they “fail to
act with due diligence to prevent violations of rights, or to
investigate and punish acts of violence, and for providing
compensation”. 175
The UN Human Rights Committee has similarly affirmed the
duty to protect in relation to State obligations under the ICCPR.
In its General Comment 31, the Human Rights Committee
affirmed that, whilst the ICCPR cannot be viewed as a
substitute for domestic criminal or civil law, “the positive
obligations on States Parties to ensure Covenant rights will only
be fully discharged if individuals are protected by the State, not
just against violations of Covenant rights by its agents, but also
against acts committed by private persons or entities that
would impair the enjoyment of Covenant rights in so far as
they are amenable to application between private persons or
entities.” 176 The Committee affirmed that States failing to act
with due diligence to “prevent, punish, investigate or redress
the harm” that private persons have caused may give rise to
174
CEDAW General Recommendation No 28, above note 167,
paragraph 9.
175
CEDAW General Recommendation No 19, above note 170,
paragraph 9; and CEDAW General Recommendation No 28, above
note 167, paragraph 13: “Article 2 is not limited to the prohibition of
discrimination against women caused directly or indirectly by States
parties. Article 2 also imposes a due diligence obligation on States
parties to prevent discrimination by private actors. In some cases, a
private actor’s acts or omission of acts may be attributed to the State
under international law. States parties are thus obliged to ensure that
private actors do not engage in discrimination against women as
defined in the Convention. The appropriate measures that States
parties are obliged to take include the regulation of the activities of
private actors with regard to education, employment and health
policies and practices, working conditions and work standards, and
other areas in which private actors provide services or facilities, such
as banking and housing.”
176
Human Rights Committee, General Comment No 31, “The Nature of
the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the
Covenant”, UN Doc CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13 (2004), paragraph 8.