ABSTRACT
It could be said that the dual concepts of non-discrimination and equality deriving from article 2(2) 'constitute the dominant single theme of the Covenant'. As the USSR representative commented, the Third Committee was 'elaborating principles of de jure equality; from these principles would arise the de facto equalization of human rights'. He continued, 'equality of rights went further than mere non-discrimination; it implied the existence of positive rights in all the spheres dealt with in the draft Covenant'. Not only is the scope of the non-discrimination provision considerably wider, the presence of article 3 merely reflects the preoccupation of the United Nations at the time of drafting with the issue of sexual equality. In its General Comment 18/37 it stated that the 'principle of equality sometimes requires States parties to take affirmative action in order to diminish or eliminate conditions which cause or help to perpetuate discrimination prohibited by the Covenant'.
