Which of the following statement/s is/are correct? Select the correct answer from the codes given below
A) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was accepted on December 10, 1948.
(B) On December 16, 1968 the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR), ICCPR and optional protocol were accepted.
(C) The International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) and the optional protocol came into effect on March 28, 1976.

Question

Which of the following statement/s is/are correct? Select the correct answer from the codes given below 
A) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was accepted on December 10, 1948. 
(B) On December 16, 1968 the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR), ICCPR and optional protocol were accepted. 
(C) The International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) and the optional protocol came into effect on March 28, 1976.

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:
Statement (A) is correct because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was indeed adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, in Paris. This date is one of the most critical foundational facts in the study of international human rights law, leading to December 10th being recognized globally as Human Rights Day. The UDHR is a milestone document that outlines fundamental human rights that should be universally protected. Although it is not a legally binding treaty, its acceptance marked the first time that the international community agreed on a comprehensive set of inalienable human rights, serving as the basis for numerous subsequent treaties and national constitutions, and establishing the moral and political foundation for the rest of the International Bill of Human Rights.

The incorrect option is 2:
Option 2 suggests that only (A) and (B) are correct, but statement (B) contains a factual error regarding the date of acceptance for the Covenants. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), along with the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, were **adopted** by the UN General Assembly on December 16, **1966**, not 1968. There is a two-year discrepancy in the date provided in the statement, making the entire statement (B) factually incorrect. Although December 16 is the correct day, the year 1968 is wrong; 1966 marks the true moment these two core human rights treaties were opened for signature and ratification by member states.

The incorrect option is 3:
Option 3 suggests that only (B) and (C) are correct. As established above, statement (B) is incorrect because the Covenants were accepted (adopted) in 1966, not 1968. Furthermore, statement (C) is also incorrect as it provides an inaccurate date for the entry into force of the ICCPR and its optional protocol. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its First Optional Protocol did not come into effect on March 28, 1976. The ICCPR actually entered into force slightly earlier, on **March 23, 1976**. The small difference in the date—March 23rd versus March 28th—is significant when testing precise knowledge of historical legal milestones, confirming that statement (C) is factually inaccurate regarding the date of entry into force.

The incorrect option is 4:
Option 4 claims that (A), (B), and (C) are all correct. We have already determined that while statement (A) is perfectly correct, both statement (B) and statement (C) contain factual errors regarding the precise dates of the adoption and entry into force of the two International Covenants. Specifically, (B) incorrectly states the year of adoption as 1968 instead of 1966, and (C) incorrectly states the day of entry into force as March 28 instead of March 23. Since only statement (A) holds up to historical and legal scrutiny, this composite option must be rejected. Therefore, Option 1, which isolates the UDHR's acceptance date, remains the single correct choice.