The report of the Third Session of the Commission on Human Rights, held May 24th to June 18th, will be discussed at the Seventh Session of the Economic and Social Council. The work of the Commission at its Third Session was confined to a revision of the draft International Declaration of Human Rights. The draft International Covenant on Human Rights, which will be a binding document when accepted, had been considered in detail by a drafting committee of the Human Rights Commission, and the Commission did not have time to consider it further,.

In Canada, the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms discussed the unrevised declaration and considered briefs presented by various Canadian organizations. In its report to Parliament on June. 25th, the Committee made general recommendations and asked that the Government, in presenting its views to the United Nations, have in mind the views of members of the Committee as reported in the record of proceedings and evidence, If you agree, the Canadian Delegation to the Economic and Social Council, in. accordance with the report of the Parliamentary Committee, will state that the Declaration would be more effective if shorter and more direct, and will comment. favourably on the draft declaration submitted by China as being of an appropriate. length yet embodying all the essential principles. The delegation will support the deletion of redundant articles from the present draft. It will also support the elimination, as far as possible, of articles such as those on social security, which give a detailed definition of governmental responsibilities. The Committee feels that these articles have no place in a declaration of human rights. The Canadian Delegation will also attempt to give effect to the opinion of the Committee that the name of God should be embodied in the first article of the Declaration. It is probable that only the Declaration will be considered at the Seventh Session of the Council and the Canadian Delegation will support postponing discussions on the Covenant until it is further revised by the Commission on Human Rights.

The general instructions to the delegation will be supplemented by a detailed account of the Committee's views on each article.

ESCOTT REID