International

Covenant on
Economic, Social
and Cultural
Rights

Tricia P. Superable
Background

– It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 2200A
(XXI) on December 16, 1966 and came in force on January 3, 1976.
– It commits its parties to work towards the granting of economic, social, and cultural
rights to the Non-Self-Governing and trust territories and individuals, including labor
rights, the right to health, the right to education and the right to an adequate
standard of living.
– The ICESCR is a part of the International Bill of Human Rights, along with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Convention on
Civil and Political Rights.
– Monitored by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural rights.
Five Parts of ICESCR

– Part I – recognition of the right to self-determination

– Part II – the definition of the general nature of state parties’ obligations under the Covenant

– Part III – Specific guarantees

– Part IV – International implementation of the Convention’s provisions

– Part V – customary final provisions with respect to human rights treatises

PART I (Article I)

- recognizes the right of all peoples to self-determination, including the

right to “freely determine their political status”, pursue their economic, social and
cultural goals, and manage and dispose of their own resources.

It recognizes a negative right of the people not to be deprived of its means of

subsistence, and impose on those parties still responsible for non-self governing
and trust territories to encourage and respect their self-determination.
PART II (Articles 2-5)

- It establishes the principle of “progressive realization”. It also requires

the rights to be recognized without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status. It also undertakes to ensure the equal rights of men and
women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth in this
Covenant. The rights can only be limited by law, in a manner compatible with the
nature of the rights, and only for the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a
democratic society.
 Principle of Progressive Realization

Article 2
to take steps , individually and through international assistance and cooperation,
especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a
view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the
present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of
legislative measures.

-Acknowledges that some of the rights may be difficult in practice to achieve in a

short period of time, and that states may be subject to resource constraints, but
requires them to act as best as they can within their means.
 PART III (Articles 6-15)

These includes the right to:

– Work, under just and favourable conditions, with the right to form and join trade unions;
– Social security, including social insurance;
– Family life, including parental leave and the protection of children;
– An adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and the
“continuous improvement of living conditions”;
– Health, specifically the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;
– Education, including free primary education, generally available and accessible
secondary education and an equally accessible higher education;
– Participation in cultural life.
 Right to work

– The right of everyone to an employment opportunity;

– The right of everyone to freely choose his employer;
– The right to just and favorable conditions of work.

Work
- decent work.

Article 7
- recognizes the right of everyone to a just and favorable working conditions. These are in turn
defined as fair wages with equal pay for equal work, sufficient to provide a decent living for
workers and their families; safe working conditions; equal opportunity in the workplace; and
sufficient rest and leisure, including limited working hours and regular, paid holidays.
Right to Social Security

– It requires parties to provide some form of social insurance scheme to protect

people against the risk of sickness, disability, maternity, employment injury,
unemployment or old age; to provide for survivors, orphans, and those who
cannot afford health care; and to ensure that families are adequately
supported.
– benefits from this must be adequate, accessible to all, and provided without
discrimination.
Right to Family Life

– natural and fundamental group unit of society.

– Parties must ensure that their citizens are free to establish families.
– Parties must also provide paid leave or adequate social security to mothers
before and after childbirth.
– Parties must also take special measures to protect children from economic or
social exploitation.
Right to Adequate Standard of Living

– includes, but is not limited to, the right to adequate food, clothing, housing, and
continuous improvement of living conditions.

Right to Food
- the availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary
needs of individuals, free from adverse substances, and acceptable within a given culture.

Right to Housing
is the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity.
Right to Health

– Health is understood not just as a right to be healthy, but as a right to control

one’s own health and body, and be free from interference such as torture or
medical experimentation.

– The right to health is inclusive right extending not only to timely and
appropriate health care, but also to the underlying determinants of health, such
as access to safe and potable water and an adequate sanitation, an adequate
supply of safe food, nutrition and housing, healthy occupational and
environmental conditions.
Right to Education

– This is to be directed towards the full development of the human personality and
the sense of its dignity, and enable all persons to participate effectively in society.

– Education is seen both as human right and as an indispensable means of realizing

other human rights.
Right to Participation in Cultural Life

– Right of everyone to participate in cultural life, enjoy the benefits of scientific

progress, and to benefit from the protection of the moral and material rights to
any scientific discovery or artistic work they have created.
– Parties must work to promote the conservation, development and diffusion of
science and culture, respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research
and creative activity and encourage international contacts and cooperation in
these fields.
PART IV (Articles 16-25)

– Governs reporting and monitoring of the Covenant and the steps taken by the
parties to implement it. It also allows the monitoring body, the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to make general recommendations to the
UN General Assembly on the appropriate measures to realize these rights.
 PART V (Articles 26-31)

– Governs the ratification, entry into force, and amendments of the Covenant.
Optional Protocol to the ICESCR

– - is a side-agreement to the Covenant which allows its parties to recognize the

competence of the Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights to
consider complaints from individuals.
– -adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 2008 and was entered
into force on May 5, 2013.
Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights
-is a body of experts tasked with monitoring the implementations of the
Covenant. It consists of 18 independent experts, elected for four-year terms, with
half the members elected every two years.

-established by the Economic and Social Council.

-all state parties are required to submit regular reports to the Committee
outlining the legislative, judicial policy and other measures they have taken to
implement the rights affirmed in the Covenant.