Article 6 of the Covenant recognises the individual's "inherent right to life" and

requires it to be protected by law. It is a "supreme right" from which no derogation

can be permitted, and must be interpreted widely. It therefore requires parties to
take positive measures to reduce infant mortality and increase life expectancy, as
well as forbidding arbitrary killings by security forces.

While Article 6 does not prohibit the death penalty, it restricts its application to the
"most serious crimes" and forbids it to be used on children and pregnant
women[21] or in a manner contrary to the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The UN Human Rights Committee
interprets the Article as "strongly suggest[ing] that abolition is desirable", and
regards any progress towards abolition of the death penalty as advancing this right.
The Second Optional Protocol commits its signatories to the abolition of the death
penalty within their borders.

Article 7 prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. As with

Article 6, it cannot be derogated from under any circumstances. The article is now
interpreted to impose similar obligations to those required by the United Nations
Convention against Torture, including not just prohibition of torture, but active
measures to prevent its use and a prohibition on refoulement. In response to Nazi
human experimentation during WW2 this article explicitly includes a prohibition
on medical and scientific experimentation without consent.

Article 8 prohibits slavery and enforced servitude in all situations. The article also
prohibits forced labour, with exceptions for criminal punishment, military service
and civil obligations.