Jurisprudence of human rights treaty bodies
(Draft Article 18)

Accronyms:
CESCR: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
HRC (ICCPR): Human Rights Committee
CERD: Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
CEDAW: Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CAT: Committee Against Torture
CRC: Committee on the Rights of the Child

Related to Draft Article 18, paragraph (a)

Human Rights Committee, General Comment no. 25 (The right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access to public service):
4. Any conditions which apply to the exercise of the rights protected by article 25 should be based on objective and reasonable criteria. (…) For example, established mental incapacity may be a ground for denying a person the right to vote or to hold office.
10. The right to vote at elections and referenda must be established by law and may be subject only to reasonable restrictions, such as setting a minimum age limit for the right to vote. It is unreasonable to restrict the right to vote on the ground of physical disability…
11. States must take effective measures to ensure that all persons entitled to vote are able to exercise that right…
12. …Positive measures should be taken to overcome specific difficulties, such as illiteracy, language barriers, poverty, or impediments to freedom of movement which prevent persons entitled to vote from exercising their rights effectively. Information and materials about voting should be available in minority languages. Specific methods, such as photographs and symbols, should be adopted to ensure that illiterate voters have adequate information on which to base their choice. States parties should indicate in their reports the manner in which the difficulties highlighted in this paragraph are dealt with.
20. An independent electoral authority should be established to supervise the electoral process and to ensure that it is conducted fairly, impartially and in accordance with established laws which are compatible with the Covenant. States should take measures to guarantee the requirement of the secrecy of the vote during elections (…) Assistance provided to the disabled, blind or illiterate should be independent. Electors should be fully informed of these guarantees.

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