Human rights treaties are often attached and complemented with Optional Protocols. The Optional protocol instruments are adopted after careful deliberation between different stakeholders including member states to human rights treaties. -/- The present document on Introduction to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights- Optional Protocol [OP-ICESCR] is an addition to the on-going work on the Human Rights Framework on ESC Rights. It covers basic information on the objectives of the OP and the key provisions dealing with (...) the redressal mechanisms and processes. Much emphasis is given to highlighting the expansion of the normative framework through the works of the Committee under the ICESCR. The document highlights a few of the important standards developed, interpreted and applied by the Committee in its dealing with member states. The document also mentions a few areas that need further study and analysis in order to understand the impact of the OP-ICESCR mechanisms within domestic jurisdictions, particularly of the member states. (shrink)

The ‘dignity and worth of the human person’ emphasised in international human rights instruments resonate strongly in relation to the world’s ageing population, which is projected to be the fastest growing population group in the world and often among the most vulnerable. While elderly persons as a group are heterogeneous and their socio-economic life situation varies significantly between individuals, the need for universal support mechanisms such as non-contributory old-age benefits have been recognised by many states, and currently, over 100 countries (...) around the world provide some form of social pension targeted towards the elderly populations. This article appraises a sample of these old-age pension schemes from the perspective of the right to social security, with particular emphasis on the dignity and worth of the human person as espoused within the international human rights regime. (shrink)

Based on a critical analysis of relevant case law and desk-based comprehensive legal research, this article examines the judicial enforcement of the right to adequate housing against local government in South Africa. The article focuses on how courts hold local government accountable in fulfilling the right measured against the baseline factors outlined in General Comment 4 of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The factors that determine whether a certain form of shelter amounts to ‘adequate housing’ (...) encompass seven integral components: security of tenure; availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure; affordability; habitability; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy. General Comment 4 specifically expounds on the right to adequate housing as enshrined in article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. South Africa is a state party to ICESCR. Domestically, the right to access adequate housing, as guaranteed by section 26(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, imposes a legally binding duty on the state. These duties are varyingly shared by the three spheres of government: the national, provincial, and local governments. However, Schedule 4A of the Constitution allocates the functional area of housing as a ‘concurrent competency’ of the national and provincial governments. Subject to the prerequisite for competently administering national housing programmes, local government may ultimately be assigned to fulfil housing functions and powers by the national and provincial governments. Nonetheless, with an overstretched fiscus, municipalities are hesitant to assume housing delivery roles. Key findings reveal that numerous court cases bind municipalities by assigning to them increased rights-based responsibilities that they may not be adequately equipped or empowered to implement. Thus, despite courts not explicitly referencing General Comment 4, judicial enforcement of the right is consistent with the baseline factors. (shrink)

Chapter 2 introduces binding international instruments that set out the parameters of the right to self-determination in international law. The first section assesses the UN Charter, particularly Articles 1 and 55, Chapter XI on Non-Self-Governing Territories, and Chapters XII and XIII on the International Trusteeship System, which succeeded the League of Nations Mandate System. The next section considers the two international human rights covenants—the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural (...) Rights (ICESCR)—with a focus on common article 1 of the ICCPR and ICESCR, which codify the right to self-determination. The final section of this chapter addresses regional instruments with provisions on self-determination. (shrink)

I discuss the right to participate in science in UNDHR (1948) and ICESCR (1966). My goal is to clarify how fulfilling this right requires engaging with varieties of local knowledges that are too often severed in scientific narratives. I tease out three main varieties of local knowledges and highlight their distinctive features and intersectionalities. I argue that a more careful appreciation of varieties of local knowledges is key for the fulfilment of the right to participate in science and other (...) human rights too, such as e.g. the right to food, right to clean water, and also so-called rights of nature. (shrink)

After having received little attention over the past decades, one of the least known human rights—the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications—has had its dust blown off. Although included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)—be it at the very end of both instruments -this right hardly received any attention from States, UN bodies and programmes and academics. The role of science (...) in societies and its benefits and potential danger were discussed in various international fora, but hardly ever in a human rights context. Nowadays, within a world that is increasingly turning to science and technology for solutions to persistent socio-economic and development problems, the human dimension of science also receives increased attention, including the human right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. This contribution analyses the possible legal obligations of States in relation to the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, in particular as regards health. (shrink)

At this juncture, the relevance of the human right to science is undeniable. The right, for a long time, has been a subject matter of deliberation under Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR). Most of these deliberations emphasised the need for a concise meaning and scope of the right to science. In the year 2020, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) under the ICESCR made two interventions with (...) the objective of defining, advancing and mainstreaming the right to science. The two interventions include General Comment No. 25 on Science and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Statement on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This paper concerns the above mentioned statements of the CESCR, in particular, the interpretations and standards being advanced by the Committee. (shrink)

Jessica William’sWilliams, Jessica K. advocacy has been, in part, shaped by personal experiences of arrest, incarceration, and male violence, which have fueled a strong commitment to advancing women’s rights. Her focus has been particularly on advocating for incarcerated and ex-incarcerated women and girls. Since moving from the United States of America to Australia in November 2010, her advocacy, lobbying, and research have extended across these countries, including the United Kingdom, highlighting the global dimensions of these critical issues. This chapter addresses (...) the problems confronting women in the criminal justice system, particularly in the context of imprisonment. Women enter prison on charges that take few men to prison, the system operating from an age-old perspective that sees women in conflict with the law as not only transgressing the law but failing to comply with the stereotypical “requirements” that women be respectable, compliant, and “good,” as in good daughters, wives, mothers. Ironically, imprisonment takes women away from their children, with most incarcerated women being mothers despite the contention that “having children” is a barrier to women being sent to prison and hence advantaged over men. Conditions in prisons, violence, and body searches, which are in themselves a form of violence against women, as well as lack of educational programs or opportunities for employment when incarcerated, leave women at a disadvantage when they are released. The need for political action to address the conditions that lead to women’s incarceration in the first place is a given. International instruments and standards established under them, including CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) (NMR), United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) (BGR), and the third and fourth Geneva Conventions in relation to women deprived of their liberty should operate to ensure women’s safety and security whether in prison or outside it. Yet as this chapter shows, laws—whether domestic, national, or international—are simply not enough. (shrink)

Resumo: O presente artigo sistematiza informações sobre a implementação do Programa Jovem de Futuro, PJF, na rede estadual de ensino no Pará, considerando suas implicações para o Direito Humano à Educação, DHE, de acordo com o proposto no Pacto Internacional sobre os Direitos Econômicos, Sociais e Culturais- PIDESC, que demarca quatro indicadores da ação estatal para a asseguramento do direito à Educação. São eles: Disponibilidade, Acessibilidade, Aceitabilidade, Adaptabilidade e, ainda, Controle Social incorporado na matriz de pesquisa. Em diálogo com tais (...) indicadores, coletamos informações em páginas oficiais da Secretaria Estadual de Educação do Pará e do ator privado responsável pela implementação do Programa, o Instituto Unibanco. Procedemos análise de documentos oficiais localizados nas referidas páginas, além de consultar a produção nacional sobre o PJF, com ênfase à sua consolidação no estado do Pará, no período de 2011-2018. A pesquisa de tipo qualitativa, apoiada em revisão bibliográfica, análise documental e coleta de dados de fontes primárias e secundárias, possibilitou a constatação de forte influência do setor privado na educação pública paraense, que direcionou a adoção de modelos de gestão empresarial para a obtenção de melhores resultados educacionais, com controle e monitoramento em todas as etapas do PJF, com sérias consequências ao DHE. Palavras-chave: Direito Humano à Educação; Jovem de Futuro; Instituto Unibanco; Privatização. The Jovem de Futuro program in Pará and the implications for the Human Right to Education – DHE Abstract: The article systematizes information about the implementation of the The Youth with a Future Program - PJF in the state education in Pará, considering its implications for the Human Right to Education - DHE, in accordance with what is proposed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - ICESCR, which outlines four indicators of state action to ensure the right to education. They are: Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, Adaptability and accountability incorporated in the research matrix. Related with these indicators, we collected information on official pages of the Pará State Department of Education and on the private actor responsible for implementing the Program, Instituto Unibanco. We proceeded to the analysis of official documents located on the referred pages, in addition to consulting the national academic production on the PJF, with emphasis on its consolidation in the state of Pará, in the period 2011-2018. Qualitative research, supported by a bibliographic review, document analysis and data collection from primary and secondary sources, made it possible to verify the strong influence of the private sector on public education in Pará, which led to the adoption of business management models to obtain better results. educational institutions, with control and monitoring at all stages of the PJF, with serious consequences for the DHE. Key-words: Human Right to Education; Future Youth; Unibanco Institute; Privatization. Programa Joven del Futuro en Pará y sus implicaciones al Derecho Humano a la Educación – DHE Resumen: La presente investigación sistematiza informaciones sobre la implementación del Programa Joven del Futuro – PJF en la red estatal de enseñanza de Pará, considerando sus implicaciones al Derecho Humano a la Educación – DHE, de acuerdo con lo propuesto en el Pacto Internacional sobre los Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales – PIDESC, que demarca cuatro indicadores de acción estatal para el aseguramiento del derecho a la Educación. Son ellos: Disponibilidad, Accesibilidad, Aceptabilidad, Adaptabilidad y, aún, Control Social incorporado en la matriz de investigación. En diálogo con tales indicadores, reunimos informaciones en páginas web oficiales de la Secretaria Estadual de Educação do Pará y del actor privado responsable por la implementación del Programa, el Instituto Unibanco. Procedemos el análisis de documentos oficiales localizados en las referidas páginas, así como consultamos la producción nacional sobre el PJF, con énfasis a las consolidaciones en Pará, en el período de 2011 hasta 2018. La investigación de tipo cualitativa, apoyada en revisiones bibliográficas, análisis documentales y recopilación de datos de fuentes primarias y secundarias, posibilitó la constatación de fuerte influencia del sector privado en la educación pública paraense, que direccionó la adopción de modelos de gestión empresarial para la obtención mejores resultados educacionales, con control y monitoreo en todas las etapas del PJF, con serias consecuencias al DHE. Palabras-clave: Derecho Humano a la Educación; Joven del Futuro; Instituto Unibanco; Privatización. Data de registro: 02/05/2022Data de aceite: 26/10/2022. (shrink)

This chapter emphasizes the role of international human rights law in guiding the integration of mental augmentation into clinical practice. Mental augmentation refers broadly to efforts aimed at improving human cognition and behavior through direct recording and manipulation of neural activity. Utilizing neurotechnologies, mental augmentation increasingly involves interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive and emotional functioning such as memory, attention, sensation, and problem-solving beyond innate capabilities. The chapter reviews relevant treaties, such as the Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights ( (...) class='Hi'>ICESCR), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which stress the importance of empowering individuals to meaningfully exercise their rights. The analysis grants special focus to the implications for persons in vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities and children, whose evolving decision-making capacities require robust safeguards and ongoing interdisciplinary dialogue. The commentary calls for ethical, legal, and regulatory frameworks that ensure that mental augmentation technologies support decision-making while upholding human rights. (shrink)

Housing is a human right (Article 25 UDHR; Article 11 ICESCR). Human dignity is sometimes seen as a right in itself and sometimes as a basis for rights. For the most part, national as well as international jurisprudence evaluates the right to housing without referring to human dignity. This chapter considers certain violations of the human right to housing through the lens of human dignity defined as non-humiliation. The chapter is based on the assumption that the human right to (...) housing cannot be fully implemented in the future. I focus on examples of the human right to housing at the threshold of autonomy and humiliation, where a person’s choice to live in poor housing conditions constitutes an avoidance of other human rights violations. I present a concept of human dignity that does not necessarily help to fulfill the human right to housing, but which stands for alleviating situations in which affected people experience being humiliated. (shrink)

This article brings together the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and John McMurtry’s theory of value. In this perspective, the ICESCR is construed as a prime example of “civil commons,” while McMurtry’s theory of value is proposed as a tool of interpretation of the covenant. In particular, McMurtry’s theory of value is a hermeneutical device capable of highlighting: (a) what alternative conception of value systemically operates against the fulfilment of the rights enshrined (...) in the ICESCR; (b) the increased relevance of the ICESCR with regard to the current global economic crisis; (c) the parameters to determine the degree to which the rights at issue have been realized. Reflections on environmental implications of both the ICESCR and McMurtry’s axiology conclude the article. (shrink)

This study investigates the determinants of the ratification of International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). To do so, it proposes an explanation that postulates that states employ treaty ratification as a device to signal their resolve to implement polices required by the treaty at issue in order to appease demanding domestic constituencies, predicting that states with lower compliance capacity tend to commit faster than states with higher compliance capacity. Applying this explanation to the ICESCR leads (...) to two expectations. First, the larger government spending a proxy of high compliance capacity is hypothesized to delay the ratification process. Second, states with the unitary system are expected to ratify the ICESCR more promptly because the centralized power structure in unitary states significantly restricts the pursuit of the policy autonomy by minorities at local level that the right to self-determination entails. The Cox proportional hazard analysis lends support to both hypotheses. (shrink)

The right to self-determination is the right of peoples to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. Self-determination appears in Article 1 of the UN Charter and in Article 1 common to the the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Self-determination is a right to independence: the international aspect of the right addresses the freedom of peoples from outside interference to (...) exercise self-government and pursue their development. Self-determination is a fundamental human right: the domestic aspect of the right is concerned with the relation between a people and its government. Self-determination is recognized as an inalienable right giving rise to obligations in which the international community shares a common legal interest. Today, self-determination serves as an organizing principle for the international community of States. This book provides scholars and practitioners with a comprehensive resource on the right to self-determination in international law. The book is organized in three parts, respectively addressing the sources, content, and practice of the right to self-determination in international law. (shrink)

The International Covenant for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is widely considered a transformative instrument. Adopted at the cusp of a new world order, the Covenant was conceived as a tool to undo the economic scourges of colonialism. This chapter critically examines the Covenant through a racial lens. In doing so, it unveils how the Covenant—despite its anticolonial history—entrenches rather than combats racism. Despite its proscription of racisl discrimination, the Covenant is silent on the structural violence of racism, (...) instead choosing to attribute an unchallengeable naturality to race. The chapter argues that this is a result of the conjunctive relationship between eurocentrism and racism that underpins the drafting records and its implementation practices of the Covenant, seen most prominently in the continuing discourses of civilization and economic development. Ultimately, the chapter considers how the Covenant can be reimagined as an antiracist instrument. (shrink)

The right to food is recognized as a basic right under international human rights law. The lack of implementation of the right is a challenge for societies around the world. The failures in implementation are leading stakeholder's to strongly advance more appropriate standards vis-a-vis the right to food. The concept of food sovereignty for instance has gained importance in this regard. The concept of food sovereignty is interpreted to be larger in scope than the right to food. Food sovereignty is (...) not limited to the making "provision" of food to the beneficiaries by the state. In addition, it also mandates the empowerment of communities by the adoption of policies to secure land, food production and consumption, etc. -/- In 2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food recognized the wider import of the right to food based on the concept of food sovereignty. The Rapporteur emphasised on the provision of land for instance as essential to right to food. The acceptance of food sovereignty as a benchmark for state performance is one of the most notable developments in the field of economic, social and cultural rights. This chapter discusses the role of the concept of food sovereignty, and how it is shaping international and domestic policy frameworks. (shrink)

This chapter reconceptualizes the human right to health in light of emerging longevity science and technologies. Drawing on international legal frameworks such as the ICESCR and the WHO definition of health, it argues that the “highest attainable standard of health” must evolve to include the prevention and modulation of aging itself. The chapter explores how advances ranging from senolytics and gene therapies to AI-driven drug discovery are shifting the boundaries of what is medically possible and legally attainable. However, it (...) warns that without equitable access, these innovations risk deepening global health disparities. The chapter concludes by outlining legal reforms, public investment, and international cooperation needed to realize healthy longevity as a universal human right. It calls for a proactive, inclusive, and justice-oriented approach to embedding longevity within the evolving right to health. (shrink)