Social and Economic Rights

Human rights queryfalse are typically presented in terms of entitlements, correlative duties, claims, “trumps,” and remedies. 1 These framings, which draw principally on law and philosophy, emphasi...

Introduction: Looking at Ourselves -Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann and Claude E. Welch, Jr. PART I. PHILOSOPHY, LAW, AND POLITICS OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS Justifying Socioeconomic Rights -Brian Orend 2. International Law of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A U.S. Perspective -David Weissbrodt 3. On the Margins of the Human Rights Discourse: Foreign Policy and International Welfare Rights -David P. Forsythe and Eric A. Heinze PART II. POVERTY 4. Homelessness in Canada and the United States -Barbara Wake Carroll 5. Welfare Racism and Human Rights -Kenneth J. Neubeck 6. The Movement to End Poverty in the United States -Mary Bricker-Jenkins and Willie Baptist PART III. CONTENTIOUS AND EMERGING ISSUES 7. So Close and Yet so Different: The Right to Health Care in the United States and Canada -Virginia A. Leary 8. International Labor Rights and North American Labor Law -James B. Atleson 9. Deconstructing Barriers: The Promise of Socioeconomic Rights for People with Disabilities in Canada -Sarah Armstrong, Mindy Noble, and Pauline Rosenbaum 10. The Economic Rights of Migrants and Immigrant Workers in Canada and the United States -Vic Satzewich PART IV. A EUROPEAN COMPARISON 11. The Netherlands: A Walhalla of Economic and Social Rights? -Peter R. Baehr Appendix 1. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Appendix 2. Excerpts from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, January 6, 1941 Appendix 3. Excerpts from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, January 11, 1944 Abbreviations Contributors Notes Index Acknowledgments

In this chapter, questions are asked relating to the character of economic, social and cultural rights, their relationship with civil and political rights, whether economic, social and cultural rights are judicially enforceable and what the obligations of states are in terms of international agreements which protect economic, social and cultural rights. The chapter focuses on the drafting of the International Covenants on Civil and Political and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This is followed by an examination of the arguments traditionally raised against economic, social and cultural rights. Two important arguments in support of economic, social and cultural rights are then analysed: firstly, the notion that all human rights are interdependent and indivisible, and secondly, the concept that all human rights impose on the state duties to 1) respect, 2) protect and 3) fulfill. Finally, the extent to which economic, social and cultural rights are justiciable is studied.Keywords: Bossuyt; Cranston; cultural rights; economic rights; right to education; social rights; Vierdag

In 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declared a wide range of human rights including economic, social and cultural rights as a ‘common standard of achievement’ for all peoples and all nations. At an international level, these rights were reinforced by a legally binding international treaty, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1966, and more recently by the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR as adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 2008, and opened for signature on 24 September 2009. Despite these positive developments, six decades after the UDHR, there are still questions regarding the status of economic, social and cultural rights as human rights in international law. In particular, four key questions regarding these rights, are addressed in this article: (1) what are the real human rights obligations of states parties to the ICESCR? (2) Are such obligations territorially limited or is there scope for extra-territorial obligations? (3) Are states permitted to derogate from (some) economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights during emergencies despite the fact that the ICESCR does not contain a derogation clause either permitting or prohibiting derogations? (4) Was it really necessary to adopt in 2008 an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR to provide for the competence of the committee monitoring the obligations of states parties under the ICESCR, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to receive and consider communications alleging violations of any of the rights protected by the ICESCR? And should states parties to the ICESCR sign and ratify this Optional Protocol without delay?

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The complex and often sensitive interrelationship between international human rights obligations and national governments and legislatures is the subject of debate in the Nordic countries. Criticism has been voiced against the dynamic interpretation of human rights norms and the limitations on legislatures resulting from the judicial activities at the international level, in particular the European Court of Human Rights. Against this background, this article discusses the interdependence between democratic legitimacy and the protection of fundamental rights, as illustrated by recent ECtHR case law. While the need for democracy to be capable of defending itself has been recognised, the ECtHR has emphasised the impact of the rule of law in the context of restrictions of rights as well as the responsibility of domestic authorities to exercise their legislative and other competences as a precondition for being granted the margin of appreciation. The distinction between civil and political rights and socio-economic rights has had significant influence on the discussion of human rights, democracy and the division of powers, and the animosity against entrusting power to settle legal disputes to judicial bodies is particularly strong with regard to socio-economic rights. Therefore, this traditional perception of the normative character of the two sets of human rights is being questioned, and the indispensable role of social, economic and cultural rights in developing stable and sustainable democracies is illustrated by reference to theory and practice applying an integrated approach to the various types of rights. The article concludes with some reflections on the impact of the criticism of dynamic human rights on the future protection of socio-economic rights, and the dilemmas inherent in domestic implementation of evolving international norms.

Corporations possess the economic power and resources to contribute positively to the realisation of human rights. However, they have been linked to human rights abuses, frequently affecting the environment and people residing in close proximity to their operations. This state of affairs challenges the traditional state-centric nature of international human rights law that recognises that the state is the sole actor bound by human rights obligations. While the African human rights system does not overhaul international human rights law by expressly holding corporations accountable for human rights violations, it does recognise their complicity. This article explores the African Commission’s integral role in holding states accountable for protecting individuals within their jurisdiction from corporate interference with their right to a healthy environment. Drawing insights from the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre and the Centre for Economic and Social Rights v Nigeria (SERAC), the article reveals the African Commission’s guidance to states on measures to safeguard the right to a healthy environment. Also, the Commission’s proactive stance in offering soft law guidance applicable to corporations is commended as it encourages a culture of accountability. While the African human rights system has made positive strides, the state remains the primary enforcer of corporate accountability, and there is still a great need for multifaceted efforts to foster accountability among corporations operating on the continent.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Rights or Privileges?

The Trust in Indicators: Measuring Human Rights

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The article is devoted to the impact of the concept of sustainable development on legal obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The object of the study is the obligations to implement basic economic and social human rights, which form the minimum core of obligations in the field of sustainable development. The author examines in detail the relationship between economic growth, as well as the rational use of available resources by the states parties and their fulfillment of their obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Particular attention is paid to the intergenerational dimension of human rights, which has been formed under the influence of the concept of sustainable development, which necessitates a new interpretation of obligations under existing international human rights treaties. The methodological basis of the study was the dialectical method, the comparative legal method and the method of system analysis. Based on a comparative legal analysis of the acts of the International Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the author concludes that the emphasis in its practice has shifted due to the increased relevance of the environmental and climate agenda for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. The study revealed that the impact of the concept of sustainable development on the legal obligations of states is manifested through the prism of the use and replenishment of resources, as well as due to the need to comply with the principle of intergenerational equity.The author concludes that there is a new category of obligations – intergenerational obligations – and examines how the concept of progressive realization and the concept of minimum core obligations developed by the International Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights can be used to determine their content.

The Patterns of Doctrinal Development in the Jurisprudence of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on State Obligations

International Human Rights in Anti-Poverty and Housing Strategies: Making the Connection

International Human Rights and Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: Making the Connection

Beyond the Rhetoric of Social Rights for the Poor: the Need to Promote a Methodology aimed at Reinforcing International and National Institutions