International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Update: 02.05.2019

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

16 December 1966 (entry into force 3 January 1976).

Text of Treaty

German / French / Italian / English

Ratification

169 contracting states (as at 2 May 2019; current count)

Content

The ICESCR encompasses the economic, social and cultural human rights.

Content of the ICESCR
Information site on humanrights.ch

Obligation of Contracting States

The contracting states are obliged to implement all documented economic, social and cultural rights by exhausting all possible resources. This does not mean that the individual guarantees listed in the Covenant must be fulfilled immediately. Rather, the contracting states are subject to a progressive implementation obligation. This means that they must take, individually and in international co-operation, appropriate steps to achieve a gradual implementation of the rights listed in Covenant I. However, all guarantees resulting from minimum and realization obligations that do not require the use of state resources (omission obligations) are to be fulfilled immediately.

Monitoring Processes

The compliance of all contracting states with the duties of Covenant I are monitored within the framework of a reporting system: A responsibility rest of the states to give account of designed measures, achieved improvements and difficulties in the domestic implementation of guarantees (Art. 16, 17). The first report is released two years after entry into force and further reports follow if necessary. In practice, a report is released approximately every five years.

Committee on Economic and Social Rights
Theme page on humanrights.ch

General Comments

In 1989 the Committee began issuing General Comments.

General Comments on ICESCR
Page of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Optional Protocol of 2008: Individual Complaint Process

Text: English / French

On 5 May 2013, the Optional Protocol specified an individual complaints procedure to implement all rights enshrined in the ICESCR that entered into force. It was adopted on 10 December 2008 and presented for signing on 24 September 2009. So far, 23 states have ratified the Optional Protocol and 45 states have signed it (as of 2 May 2019). It needed to be ratified by ten states for it to be adopted.