Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism Fact Sheet No

(b) What is a “public emergency which threatens the life of the 
nation”?
The ability to derogate under article 4 (1) of the Covenant is triggered 
only in a time of “public emergency which threatens the life of the 
nation.” In its general comment N° 29, the Human Rights Committee has 
characterized such an emergency as being of an exceptional nature. Not 
every disturbance or catastrophe qualifies as such. The Committee has 
commented that, even during an armed conflict, measures derogating 
from the Covenant are allowed only if and to the extent that the situation 
constitutes a threat to the life of the nation. Whether or not terrorist acts 
or threats establish such a state of emergency must therefore be assessed 
case by case.
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(c) Permissible extent of derogations
Any derogation under article 4 (1) of the Covenant may only be “to the 
extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation.” Key to this 
requirement is the temporary nature of any derogation. The Human Rights 
Committee has said that the restoration of a state of normalcy where full 
respect for the Covenant can again be secured must be the predominant 
objective of a State party derogating from the Covenant. Any measure 
derogating from the Covenant must be necessary and proportional.
Article 4 (1) specifies that any derogation of rights in times of emergency 
may not involve discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex, 
language, religion or social origin. It also provides that any derogating 
measures must not be inconsistent with the derogating State’s 
obligations under international law, which would include obligations 
under international human rights, international humanitarian law and 
international criminal law. Article 5 (1) is of relevance as well. It clarifies 
that nothing in the Covenant (including the article 4 ability to derogate) 
can be interpreted as implying any right to engage in activity aimed at the 
destruction of the rights and freedoms set out in it.
Finally, as with limitations described above, any derogation must comply 
strictly with the principles of necessity and proportionality.

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