Two Covenants, Two Visions: The Cold War Split

Why did the Universal Declaration's rights end up in two separate treaties? During the Cold War, Western states tended to emphasize civil and political rights such as free speech, fair trials and elections, which they argued could be enforced immediately by restraining government. The Soviet bloc and many newly independent states emphasized economic and social rights such as work, housing and health, arguing that political freedom meant little without material security.

Many Western governments argued that social rights depended on resources and should be achieved gradually, so the economic covenant obliges states to work toward them 'progressively' using available resources, while the civil covenant demands immediate respect. Each side accused the other of hypocrisy: the West pointed to political repression in communist states, and the Soviet bloc pointed to poverty and racial discrimination in the West.

The 1993 Vienna Declaration tried to heal the split by declaring all rights indivisible, but the debate over priorities continues.