scholarly journals The Protection of Non-nationals’ Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in un Human Rights Treaties

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-290
Author(s):  
Claire Lougarre
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Human Rights Treaties

Abstract The decade of austerity policies resulting from the 2008 economic crisis significantly impeded the realisation of economic, social and cultural (esc) rights worldwide, especially for non-nationals who became targets of populist nationalist ideologies. The Coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic and its subsequent recession have heightened existing levels of inequalities, putting non-nationals’ access to health, housing, food, water and work under unprecedented strains. It is thus, crucial to analyse the extent to which un human rights treaties recognise non-nationals’ esc rights, in order to assess their ability to offer protection in this context. This article sheds light on the ambiguities of key un human rights treaties in this regard. It then analyses the attempts of relevant un treaty bodies to circumvent such issues; and finally suggests legal paths allowing un treaty bodies to further assert their protection of non-nationals’ esc rights during the covid-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Interpretation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by Human Rights Bodies in Times of Economic Distress. The case of Greece

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Saranti
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Case Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Economic Distress ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
Of Greece

Economic, social and cultural rights have borne the brunt of the recent economic crisis and the austerity measures adopted to counter it. Due to their gradual implementation and the need of positive measures to implement them, they were the first to be attacked. After discussing the possible ways of applying economic, social and cultural rights in the first part of the essay, I will then examine their application during economic crises with a special reference to Greece focusing mainly on two fields, labour rights and social security rights, and the case-law produced by international human rights bodies in that respect.

25. International Human Rights Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Rodley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
International Protection ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights

This chapter considers the background to, and current developments concerning the manner in which international law has engaged with the protection of human rights, including both civil and political rights and economic, social, and cultural rights. It looks at historical, philosophical, and political factors which have shaped our understanding of human rights and the current systems of international protection. It focuses on the systems of protection developed by and through the United Nations through the ‘International Bill of Rights’, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN human rights treaties and treaty bodies, and the UN Special Procedures as well as the work of the Human Rights Council. It also looks at the systems of regional human rights protection which have been established.

scholarly journals International Human Rights Law and the Response to the covid-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-269
Author(s):  
Sarah Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
Do So

Abstract States have duties under Article 12(2)(c) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to prevent, control and treat covid-19. Implementation of these three obligations is analysed, taking account of countervailing human rights considerations. Regarding prevention, lockdowns designed to stop the spread of the virus are examined. Control measures are then discussed, namely transparency measures, quarantine, testing and tracing. The human rights compatibility of treatment measures, namely the provision of adequate medical and hospital care (or the failure to do so), are then examined. Finally, derogations from human rights treaties in times of pubic emergency are discussed.

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the CRC: Is There a Legal Obligation to Cooperate Internationally for Development?

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter Vandenhole
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Development Assistance ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Human Rights Treaties

AbstractSeveral provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain references to international cooperation, sometimes in combination with a reference to the needs of developing countries. This article explores whether these references, in light of the interpretation given by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and of other human rights treaties which contain similar wording (in particular the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Disability Convention), amount to a legal obligation to cooperate internationally for development in the field of economic, social and cultural rights. While it is not possible to establish the existence of a legal obligation to provide development assistance in general – which would amount to an extraterritorial obligation to fulfil – legal obligations to respect and protect economic, social and cultural rights of children in third countries do apply. Moreover, the CRC Committee has clarified some specific obligations of fulfilment for donor countries, such as, amongst others, the allocation of 0,7 per cent of GDP to development assistance, and the adoption of a rights-based approach to development cooperation, in which children's rights are mainstreamed.

scholarly journals Conflict over Conflict: The Right to Strike in International Law

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane F Frey
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
International Labour Organisation ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

<p>The existence of a right to strike under international law has been challenged by the International Organization of Employers since the late 1980s. The employer group claims that no such right exists under international law and has been moving to undermine recognition of the right at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This article examines the right to strike in international human rights law. It considers specifically the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and finds that the right to strike exists in both of these treaties. Further, the article demonstrates that while the ILO employers group may challenge the existence of the right to strike, its government members have overwhelmingly ratified international human rights treaties contradicting the employer group's position that there is no such right.</p>

scholarly journals BRIDGING THE INTERNATIONAL GAP: THE ROLE OF NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES IN AFRICA

Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliyu Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
National Human ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
National Human Rights Institutions ◽  
Domestic Level

While most of the United Nations (UN) treaties have committees to monitor the implementation of their provisions among their States parties, one of the major challenges they encounter is their inability to independently verify the information provided by the States parties, on the level of fulfilling their obligations to the treaties. However, the establishment of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) by the majority of UN member states was meant to not only promote and protect human rights within the territories of States parties, but also to monitor the implementation of the provisions of treaties at the domestic level. This resulted in treaty bodies to encourage NHRIs, in monitoring and providing it with information on the level of implementation of the provisions of these treaties within the territories of respective States parties. This article examines whether these institutions in Africa have been able to discharge their mandates concerning the implementation of two treaties, namely, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which is monitored by the Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which is overseen by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). The NHRIs of South Africa, Morocco and Nigeria have been selected to test the effectiveness of these institutions. The study ultimately shows that the majority of these institutions are still far off from achieving their potential.

Human Rights

2019 ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Hurst Hannum
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Western Values ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
Human Rights Norms

This chapter focuses on human rights in Asia and the Pacific. On the level of purely legal commitments, the great majority of Asian and Pacific states have ratified both of the two major UN human rights treaties, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the most developed of the sub-regional organizations with respect to human rights, although that development has been fairly recent and, to date, relatively minimal. However, attempts to characterize or distinguish different approaches to human rights in Asia frequently include reference to a number of arguments put forward to justify Asian exceptionalism in this field. Perhaps the most widely asserted argument contends that ‘Asian values’ are different from the Western values that animate today’s international human rights norms.

scholarly journals Retrogression of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Mexico in the Context of Austerity and Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Pastora Melgar Manzanilla
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Member State ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Public Spending ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Economic Crises ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
Mexican Government

Mexico is facing a time of change in the allocation and distribution of public funds due to what the Mexican government has called “republican austerity”. Such change has caused public discordance since it is said to be regressive to human rights. The first article of the Mexican Constitution explicitly states the obligation of all authorities, within the scope of their powers, to promote, respect, protect and guarantee human rights in accordance with the principles of universality, interdependence, indivisibility, and progressivity. Also, Mexico is a member state of international covenants on human rights, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, from which some obligations derive. One of these obligations is the progressive realization of economic, social, cultural rights, and the prohibition of retrogression. Even though, limited economic resources require the careful allocation and redistribution of public spending, a practice that has led to the reduced allocation of public resources for some programs considered essential in the acquisition of human rights. The shift in the allocation of public spending in Mexico may ultimately deepen in the coming months and couple years, because of the imminent economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article analyses the extent to which the Mexican government can, based on austerity, redistribution, or economic crises, make decisions that imply retrogression of rights without violating the obligation to progressive fulfillment stated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Armed Groups and Treaty Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
African Union ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Optional Protocol ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Convention Against Torture

Chapter 8 employs the theories identified in Chapter 7 to consider whether it is possible to argue that armed groups are bound by the major human rights treaties. The chapter conducts detailed analysis of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It also examines the main human rights treaties which it argues hold most textual potential to bind armed groups, namely the Convention against Torture, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa.

Application of Human Rights Treaties Extraterritorially in Times of Armed Conflict and Military Occupation

2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Dennis
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Military Occupation ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
International Court ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Occupied Territories

Are obligations assumed by states under international human rights treaties applicable extraterritorially during periods of armed conflict and military occupation? This was one of the issues addressed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its advisory opinion Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Court indicated that the obligations assumed by Israel under the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC) applied in the occupied territories and that the construction of the security barrier constituted “breaches” by Israel of various of its obligations under these instruments.

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