Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: A Legal Resource Guide

Foreword

In my position as Chairperson of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, I have come to understand how the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (and other texts supporting these rights) are far from the listless and defeated documents that some commentators would like us to believe they are. The promise of the Covenant to the billions of people who cannot be said to enjoy the full spectrum of human rights, remains as much a source of hope as it was when adopted decades ago. Indeed, my faith in the Covenant and the legal, economic and social order it was designed to facilitate has only grown during my years working in the Committee. I am convinced that countries which wish to have societies where the social, economic and cultural rights of everyone are addressed, where income and wealth distribution are equitable enough to ensure that no one goes hungry or becomes homeless and where economic, social and cultural rights are treated as seriously as civil and political rights, can use the Covenant and the norms and principles it so eloquently establishes , as the basis for a framework of national social justice. However, for too many States and even human rights NGOs, economic, social and cultural rights have long been considered secondary to civil and political rights. While law and policy have widely recognised these rights (as evidenced by the contents of this resource guide), it remains far too easy for Governments to ignore their freelyundertaken obligations to secure these rights for those most in need. It is indeed true that much progress has been made in recent years with respect to ESC rights. However , it is equally true that despite these advances, the violations of ESC rights are still widely perceived as inevitabilities, as a “normal” state of affairs in an unfair world where goods, resources and power are divided in a grossly inequitable manner. I Wrmly believe that the years to come will see considerable legal progress, policy progress and even political progress with respect to ESC rights. The sheer scale of the denial of ESC rights in many parts of the world demands that such progress does indeed occur. What worries me much more than this, however, is the increasingly common view of those holding the reigns of power that the lack of enjoyment of ESC rights either has nothing to do with them or, worse yet, that it is the fault of the very people who suffer such Foreword Virginia B. Dandan indignities. Moves afoot in numerous cities in the world to apply criminal sanctions against homeless persons is but one example of this trend. If the movement for ESC rights is to continue to gain ground—on the ground—it must address this disturbing phenomenon with far greater resolve than it has in the past. My work as the Chairperson of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has enabled me to witness Wrsthand many of the views of Government delegations concerning their responsibilities to uphold ESC rights. While the performance of some States parties was sadly inadequate, I have more often than not been struck by the clear conviction of many delegates that ESC rights are not empty promises, but are in fact something to be taken very seriously indeed. While some of these sentiments may simply be diplomatic posturing, the longer I work with the Committee the more convinced I become that many Governments would do more to respect and protect ESC rights, if they could. While some States continue to resolutely oppose the very nature of ESC rights (fortunately, very few in number), I am increasingly of the belief that the vast majority of States are more committed to ESC rights than many people think. What stops these States from securing rights to housing, food, health and work is not always a lack of political commitment, but rather a global economic system that is heavily stacked against ESC rights. The past two decades have been hugely beneWcial to the privileged, but for the poor and disadvantaged, the last twenty years have been deplorable. Income inequality has never been so massive, and the gap between what is possible in terms of ESC rights, and the actual on the ground situation of ESC rights, has equally never been as large as at present. What is needed, therefore, are renewed and vigourous efforts to integrate ESC rights into laws and policies at the national and international levels. Instead of ignoring...