Objectives

  The aim of economic, social, and cultural rights is to guarantee people their rights as whole people. These rights are founded on a belief that we can enjoy our rights, our freedoms, and economic justice all at the same time. The emphasis the UN places on these rights is easy to understand when you consider that

• a fifth of the developing world's population goes hungry every night
• a quarter lacks access to even a basic necessity like safe drinking water, and
• a third lives in a state of abject poverty at such a margin of human existence that words simply fail to describe it
• well over a billion people suffer from extreme poverty, homelessness, hunger/malnutrition, and chronic ill-health
• more than a billion and a half people don't have clean water to drink, or basic sanitation facilities
• more than a billion adults cannot read or write
• more than 500 million children cannot get even a primary education

  The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights seeks to achieve and protect the most basic human rights for all people.

Key Provisions

Chief among the rights the Covenant seeks to establish are:

• the right to work
• the right to form and join trade unions
• the right to just and favorable working conditions
• the right to an adequate standard of living
• the right to the best standards of physical and mental health
• the right to education
• the right of self-determination
• equal rights for men and women
• the right to social security and social insurance
• the right to take part in cultural life
• the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress

  The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights monitors how well countries establish or maintain these rights, and reports its findings to the Economic and Social Council each year. It draws information for these reports from many UN sources, including

• the International Labor Organization
• the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• the World Health Organization
• the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• the World Bank
• the International Monetary Fund
• the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• the United Nations Center for Human Settlements (Habitat)