Strong Walk and Cheap Talk: The Effect of the International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights on Policies and Practices

Economic and social rights are understudied, and the core international treaty covering these rights—the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)—has rarely been analyzed. This paper examines the effect of the ICESCR on (1) labor rights in law and practice and (2) the constitutionalization of socioeconomic rights. Membership in the ICESCR paradoxically improves de facto labor practices but not de jure labor rights laws. This effect represents an instance of “substance without ceremony,” and is consistent with recent empirical findings on the effects of global institutionalization. Treaty membership also prompts countries to enact constitutional provisions regarding socioeconomic rights, albeit in purely aspirational language. Countries that ratify the ICESCR remain hesitant to formulate such rights in enforceable terms.