Ehsan Kabir Solicitor is explaining The International Covenant on Economic, social, and cultural rights. He has great experienced in the law stream.

1. The International Covenant on
Economic, social and cultural
rights
Ehsan Kabir Solicitor

2. Since the second world war international
human rights law has been developing
in an unpredictable way and has become
a basic part of international law as a
whole International Organization, whose
concern is directed on the human person
or certain categories of human persons.

3. – With the creation of the United Nations in 1945, after the violence against
humanity of the Second World War, human rights became a matter of
international concern.
– The international community recognized the need to develop commonly-agreed
minimum standards for the treatment of persons by governments and agreed to
take measures to safeguard human rights.
International instruments
(General instruments).

4. – The UN Charter, an international treaty that is legally
binding to all Member States, contains important
provisions on human rights. The Charter recognizes
international cooperation in promoting and
encouraging respect for human rights for all as one of
the purposes of the organization.

5. The Charter states that the UN shall promote universal
respect for and observance of human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to
race, sex, language, or religion.
By joining the United Nations, Member States pledge
to take action in cooperation with the UN to
achieve respect for human rights.

6. In the framework of the United Nations, the
international community has engaged in a
process of setting standards for creating a legal
framework for the effective promotion and
protection of human rights .
This has led to the development of numerous
treaties, declarations, guidelines, and other
instruments that detail the contents of human
rights, the obligations of states, and the
mechanisms to protect them and monitor their
implementation.

7. Treaties, conventions, and covenants are legally binding
documents.
This means that if a state is party to a treaty, it has an
obligation to take measures to protect and promote the
rights contained therein.

8. The explanation of the generally-worded human rights clauses of the U.N.
charter took the form of the International Bill of Human Rights, which
contains:
( 1 ) The Universal Declaration of human rights of
1948.
( 2 ) The International Covenant on Economic,
social and cultural rights of 1966.
( 3 ) The International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights of 1966.

9. These instruments present with a view for
establishing a world-wide system for the
promotion and protection of human rights, in
recognition that " the dignity and the equal
rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom , justice and peace in the
world ".

10. Among the many instruments developed by the
international community, the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights form what is
known as the “International Bill of Rights.”
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted
by the United Nations General Assembly on 10
December 1948, represents the first comprehensive
agreement among nations as to the specific rights and
freedoms of all human beings.
International Bill of Rights

11. The rights and freedoms of all human beings include civil
and political rights, such as the rights to life, not to be
subjected to torture, to liberty, to equality before the law,
to a fair trial, to freedom of movement, to assembly, to
asylum, to freedom of thought, conscience, religion,
opinion and expression, and others.
They also include economic, social and cultural rights,
such as the rights to food, clothing, housing and medical
care, to social security, to work, to equal pay for equal
work, to form trade unions, to education, and others.

12. The Declaration is not, by itself, a legally binding
document (unlike the UN Charter and other
international treaties).
It contains legal, moral, and philosophical beliefs
believed by all people, it has a very strong moral
and political authority.
However, some of its provisions (for example, the
right to life, the prohibition of torture, and others)
are considered to be part of customary
international law and are legally binding for all
states.

13. The two International Covenants are treaties (The
International Covenant on Economic, social and
cultural rights of 1966.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
of 1966).
They sets legal obligations on states
parties. Most UN Member States have
ratified the two Covenants, thus committing
to take action to ensure that the rights
guaranteed by these treaties are effectively
implemented and enjoyed by people under
their jurisdiction.

14. Other instruments, covering a large number
of human rights, have been drown up at the
regional level .They are treaties that are
developed within a specific region and are
open for ratification only to the states
belonging to that region.
Regional Instruments

15. So far, there are human rights treaties for Africa,
Europe, and the Americas:
(1) The American declaration of the rights and
duties of man of 1948.
And the American convention on human
rights of 1969.
(2) The European convention of human rights
and fundamental freedoms of 1950 with its
five protocols and European social charter
of 1961.

16. (3) The African Charter on human and people's
rights of 1981.
"The regional convents represent an effort by the States
concerned to try out new methods of realizing human
rights in practice, and that, from this point of view, they
are justified".

17. There are also some specific instruments such as:
( 1 ) The convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime
of Genocide of 1948.
( 2 ) The international convention on the elimination of all forms of
racial discrimination of 1965 .
( 3 ) The international convention on the suppression and punished
of the crime of Apartheid of 1973 .
( 4 ) The convention of the elimination of all forms of discrimination
against women of 1979 .
( 5 ) The conventions and recommendation of the International Labor
Organization.
( 6 ) The conventions of the U.N.E.S.C.O
(Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of
armed conflict – the convention against discrimination in education)
3- Specific instruments

18. Thank You