CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________ 3.2 Ratification and implementation of standards and codes i. Summary of the CSAR 105. The CSAR does not deal with the international and regional instruments to which Benin subscribes. It also does not refer to the African Union Constituent Treaty or the NEPAD Strategic Framework Document. The sectoral document on political governance shows, however, that Benin has ratified most international conventions and treaties on human rights, but does not give a full list of those that have been ratified. The document mentions, for instance, the 1992 Convention on Slavery, the 1974 Convention on Apartheid and the 1981 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, but mentions the ratified instruments for illustrative purposes only. 106. The sectoral document on political governance rightly emphasises that the publication of a ratified instrument in a government gazette is a condition for a legal statement to be made before a judge. It cites cases where the grounds given by a plaintiff (albeit based on a treaty ratified by Benin) are rejected in court because the instrument has not been published in a government gazette. ii. Conclusions of the CRM 107. The mission noted that the Benin government has signed and ratified a number of international legal instruments as well as those initiated by the AU. The status of ratification is shown in the tables below: Table 3.1: UN Description and date adopted International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Date of coming into force Date of succession, ratification or membership by Benin 3 January 1976 12 March 1992 23 March 1976 22 March 1992 16 December 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 16 December 1966 60