Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword – Philip Alston
- Preface
- PART ONE OVERVIEW
- PART TWO SELECT NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS
- PART THREE REGIONAL PROCEDURES AND JURISPRUDENCE
- PART FOUR INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROCEDURES AND JURISPRUDENCE
- 23 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- 24 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- 25 Human Rights Committee
- 26 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
- 27 Committee on the Rights of the Child
- PART FIVE SPECIAL TOPICS
- Notes on Contributors
- Table of Authorities
- Index
- References
23 - Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Past, Present and Future
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Edited by
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword – Philip Alston
- Preface
- PART ONE OVERVIEW
- PART TWO SELECT NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS
- PART THREE REGIONAL PROCEDURES AND JURISPRUDENCE
- PART FOUR INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROCEDURES AND JURISPRUDENCE
- 23 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- 24 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- 25 Human Rights Committee
- 26 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
- 27 Committee on the Rights of the Child
- PART FIVE SPECIAL TOPICS
- Notes on Contributors
- Table of Authorities
- Index
- References
Summary
INTRODUCTION
After the adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (‘UDHR’), which included a relatively full catalogue of human rights, the UN General Assembly instructed the Commission on Human Rights to commence the drafting of a single covenant on human rights. While the drafting of a treaty covering civil and political rights was completed in short time, disagreement over whether to include economic, social and cultural rights led the Economic and Social Council (‘ECOSOC’) to request guidance from the General Assembly. The General Assembly initially ordered the Commission to produce one covenant but later reversed its position due to mediocre drafting progress, further prompting from ECOSOC and opposition of some Western States to economic, social and cultural rights. In 1966, it approved the adoption of two Covenants: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the ‘Covenant’ or ‘ICESCR’), the latter lacking a complaints mechanism.
Two decades after this schism, the ‘renaissance’ of economic, social and cultural rights (‘ESC rights’) is partly attributable to the pioneering work of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (‘the Committee’). Established in 1987, the Committee has developed a ‘jurisprudence’ through its general comments and State-specific concluding observations. This work has been influential and catalytic in helping develop the conceptual framework of economic, social and cultural rights.
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- Information
- Social Rights JurisprudenceEmerging Trends in International and Comparative Law, pp. 477 - 516Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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