40/29 Question of the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in all countries: the role of economic, social and cultural rights in empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality - Report of the Secretary-General

GE.19-01097(E)



Human Rights Council Fortieth session

25 February–22 March 2019

Agenda items 2 and 3

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Question of the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in all countries: the role of economic, social and cultural rights in empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality

Report of the Secretary-General*

Summary

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/13,

in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to prepare an annual report on the

question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights, with a

special focus on the role of economic, social and cultural rights in empowering people and

ensuring inclusiveness and equality.

In the report, the Secretary-General identifies linkages between economic, social

and cultural rights and the root causes of inequalities and power imbalances within

societies. He further considers the value of the normative framework of economic, social

and cultural rights and other related human rights in providing guidance for States and

other stakeholders in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in a more effective

and inclusive manner.

* Agreement was reached to publish the present report after the standard publication date owing to circumstances beyond the submitter’s control.

United Nations A/HRC/40/29

Contents

Page

I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3

II. Ensuring equality and inclusiveness .............................................................................................. 3

A. Understanding inequality from a human rights perspective.................................................. 3

B. Minimum core obligations of States for the realization of economic, social and

cultural rights ........................................................................................................................ 6

C. A human rights-based approach to ensuring equality and inclusiveness .............................. 7

III. Empowering people....................................................................................................................... 9

A. Right to education ................................................................................................................. 9

B. Rights to food, health, housing, water and sanitation ........................................................... 9

C. Right to work ........................................................................................................................ 10

D. Right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications .................................. 11

E. Rights to participation and information ................................................................................ 12

F. Empowerment through the justiciability of economic, social and cultural right .................. 13

G. Role of national human rights institutions ............................................................................ 14

H. Role of civic space ................................................................................................................ 15

IV. Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................................... 15

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/13,

in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to prepare an annual report on the

question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights, with a

special focus on the role of economic, social and cultural rights in empowering people and

ensuring inclusiveness and equality.

2. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a transformative and

integrated vision of sustainable development anchored in the indivisibility of all human

rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social, as well as the right to development.

By pledging that “no one will be left behind” and committing to “reach the furthest behind

first” (para. 4), Member States reaffirmed the importance of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights and other international instruments, and the commitment of States to respect,

protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of

any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or

social origin, property, birth, disability or other status, in conformity with the Charter of the

United Nations (para. 19).

3. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda are inspired by, and

follow closely, many of the provisions of the core international human rights treaties,

including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Goals

related to poverty eradication, food and nutrition, healthy lives and well-being, quality

education, water and sanitation for all, full and productive employment and decent work,

and inclusive and safe human settlements are clearly linked to human rights enshrined

under the Covenant. The attainment of other cross-cutting Sustainable Development Goals,

which relate to the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination, participation

and accountability and international cooperation, are also essential for creating the

necessary conditions for the realization of all human rights, including economic, social and

cultural rights.

4. The thematic focus of the present report mirrors that of the high-level political forum

on sustainable development in 2019 – “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and

equality”. The objective of the report is to inform the preparation and deliberations of the

high-level political forum, with a view to further strengthening the convergence between

efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and the realization of economic,

social and cultural rights.

II. Ensuring equality and inclusiveness

A. Understanding inequality from a human rights perspective

5. Rising inequalities have become one of the defining issues of our time. During the

past few decades, we have witnessed an extreme concentration of wealth and income in the

hands of a few. The richest 1 per cent of the global population now control as much wealth

as the other 99 per cent combined. According to Oxfam, 82 per cent of all of the growth in

global wealth in 2017 went to the top 1 per cent, whereas the bottom 50 per cent of the

population saw no increase at all.1

6. Such sharp increases in inequality within and among countries not only limit

economic growth but often contribute to an increase of instability, discontent and

grievances among their populations. There is evidence that many of the conflicts and

instances of social unrest in recent years have been sparked by measures or policies that

have led to increased inequalities and deterioration or violation of individuals’ economic,

social and cultural rights, such as rises in food prices and unemployment, diminished living

1 Oxfam, “Reward work, not wealth”, Oxfam briefing paper – January 2018, p. 8.

standards and unequal access to social services. The root causes of these inequalities lay in

deeply entrenched patterns of discrimination based on race, gender, religion, disability and

migrant status or country of origin (see E/2016/58, para. 27).

7. Recognizing the urgent need to address rising inequalities within and among

countries, enormous disparities of opportunity, wealth and power, and persistent gender

inequality, Member States put the imperative to combat discrimination and inequalities at

the heart of the 2030 Agenda, through: (a) an overarching commitment to leave no one

behind and focus on the furthest behind first; (b) dedicated goals and targets to combat

discrimination and inequalities (Goals 5, 10, 16 and 17); (c) a commitment to develop

specific indicators to measure progress in the implementation of laws, policies and actions

to address discrimination and inequalities; (d) special attention to specific groups, including

women, children, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, older persons and migrants;

and (e) a call for disaggregation of data on a broad set of grounds, including in target 17.18.

8. Addressing economic inequality is necessary but insufficient alone to eradicate

extreme poverty or to achieve other Goals and targets. Poverty is multidimensional and

affects an individual’s ability to enjoy a wide range of human rights. It can be defined in

human rights terms as a human condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation

of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an

adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights

(E/C.12/2001/10, para. 8). Therefore, efforts to reduce poverty and economic inequality

will not achieve their objective without also combating political, social and environmental

inequality.2

9. Human rights offer an analytical framework to better understand these multiple

dimensions of inequality and their underlying causes, as well as their impacts on

individuals and communities leading to the perpetuation of extreme poverty. Power

imbalances within societies increase inequalities through laws, policies and decision-

making processes that favour the richest and the most powerful. In many instances, parts of

society, such as people living in informal settlements and homeless people, are left

voiceless and unaccounted for in surveys and statistics. In other places, openly

discriminatory laws criminalize poverty and homelessness and put up barriers to the

realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goals 1, 6, 10 and 11.

Gentrification and the rise of segregated cities resulting from urban renewal processes have

shifted the power balance and exacerbated inequalities. The poor are increasingly being

priced out of city centres and pushed into peripheral areas, making it harder for them to

access essential services and decent work (E/2018/57, para. 48).

10. Even laws, regulations, policies or practices that seem neutral at face value can in

effect lead to discrimination and exclusion. For instance, requiring a municipal registration

certificate to subscribe to the local water provider may seem neutral but may in fact

discriminate against persons that live in informal settlements and who lack security of

tenure.

11. Human rights offer normative guidance for States and other stakeholders in

addressing these inequalities. While many dimensions of economic, social and cultural

rights are to be realized progressively, States have an immediate obligation to ensure

equality and non-discrimination in law and practice. The Committee on Economic, Social

and Cultural Rights stated that guarantees of non-discrimination and equality in

international human rights treaties mandate both de facto and de jure equality.3

12. For example, gender bias results in discrimination and inequality both in law and in

practice. Some civil and customary legal systems contain provisions granting “marital

power” to one spouse – generally the male over the female. It assumes that “husbands are

2 In his 2017 report (A/72/502), the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights pointed

out that when the situation of people living in poverty is addressed in development or human rights

frameworks their civil and political rights are often completely ignored.

3 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 16 (2005) on the equal

right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights, para. 7.

the heads of the households, or legal representatives of households, with the authority to

make decisions on behalf of the couple or family without the consent of their spouse/s,

including exclusive rights to administer property”.4 Such legal provisions obviously run

deeply counter to the right to equality between men and women and Sustainable

Development Goal 5. They have been repealed in many countries through legal reforms,

including in Botswana, where the Abolition of Marital Power Act of 2004 provides for

equality of marital powers for couples married in community of property. Similarly,

Mozambique adopted a new Family Law in 2004 establishing gender equality in all aspects

of family law, after an extensive consultation process guided by the Ministry of Justice

involving various sectors of society, including women’s organizations.

13. Even when formal laws and policies appear to contain no evidence of gender

discrimination, gender-biased attitudes can be dominant. In several countries, single and

divorced women wishing to buy or rent houses continue to face many obstacles without a

male guarantor. Even if a State policy or decision may not seem discriminatory on paper, in

reality it may affect women disproportionally. Consequently, in developing policies to

ensure the affordability of housing, as a key element of the right to adequate housing, States

are required to ensure that housing-related costs are commensurate with income levels. In

other words, personal or household costs associated with housing should not compromise

the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs. In defining affordability, States

therefore need to consider women’s economic conditions and status, including as a result of

gender wage gaps or unpaid work.

14. The normative framework of human rights also requires that both horizontal and

vertical inequalities are identified and addressed in order to discern systematic patterns of

inequality and discrimination that amount to violations of economic, social and cultural

rights. Horizontal inequalities occur between different social groups, defined, for example,

by gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social origin, political or other opinion, property, birth

or other status. While not all horizontal inequalities can be considered unjust or

discriminatory, some systematic inequalities that are beyond an individual’s control are

likely to be so, such as lower wages for women than men or consistently unequal health

outcomes for minorities. Vertical inequalities include inequalities between individuals

across a range of opportunities and outcomes, for example those related to income and

wealth, education and health, which have direct implications for the realization and equal

enjoyment of human rights.

15. In the 2030 Agenda the importance of collecting and disaggregating data to measure

and monitor inequalities and discrimination and to ensure that no one is left behind is

recognized. Data disaggregation is essential for monitoring the progressive realization of

the economic, social and cultural rights associated with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The obligation of non-discrimination under the Covenant also requires States to move

towards greater data disaggregation. International human rights bodies have encouraged the

disaggregation of data on the basis of the kinds of discrimination that are prohibited, such

as on the basis of sex, age, economic and social situation, race, colour, language, religion,

political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability, health status,

nationality, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, place of

residence and other kinds of status.

16. Human rights indicators, which are based on international legal standards, offer

essential tools in analysing data, unlike conventional socioeconomic statistics, which are

insufficient if not properly compiled and analysed in the light of human rights standards

(A/HRC/31/31, para. 65). At the same time, collecting and disaggregating data can pose

substantial risks to the protection of the rights of the populations concerned and, therefore,

appropriate safeguards are needed.5

4 United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Realizing Women’s Rights to Land and

Other Productive Resources, 2013, p. 36.

5 See OHCHR, A Human Rights-based Approach to Data: Leaving No One Behind in the 2030 Agenda

for Sustainable Development (Geneva, 2018).

B. Minimum core obligations of States for the realization of economic,

social and cultural rights

17. The concept of minimum core obligations under the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights offers an important entry point for ensuring

inclusiveness and equality. It is based on the understanding that everyone is entitled,

without discrimination, to enjoy minimum essential levels of each of the rights under the

Covenant. Like the obligations to ensure equality and non-discrimination, ensuring

minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights is considered to be of

immediate effect. If a State fails to ensure such minimum levels of rights can be enjoyed by

its population because of a lack of resources, it must demonstrate that it has made every

effort to use all available resources to satisfy, as a matter of priority, its core obligations.

Even if a State has clearly inadequate resources at its disposal, the Government must still

introduce low-cost and targeted programmes to assist those most in need so that its limited

resources are used efficiently and effectively.6

18. Examples of minimum core obligations of States under the Covenant, highlighted by

the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its general comments, include:

(a) Ensuring the right of access to employment, especially for disadvantaged and

marginalized individuals and groups, enabling them to live in dignity;

(b) Guaranteeing access to the minimum essential food which is sufficient,

nutritionally adequate and safe, to ensure freedom from hunger for everyone;

(c) Ensuring access to basic shelter, housing and sanitation, and an adequate

supply of safe drinking water;

(d) Providing essential drugs, as defined under the World Health Organization

Action Programme on Essential Drugs;

(e) Ensuring free and compulsory primary education for all;

(f) Ensuring access to a social security scheme that provides a minimum

essential level of benefits that cover at least essential health care, basic shelter and housing,

water and sanitation, foodstuffs and the most basic forms of education.

19. The right to social security can serve as a tool in combating inequality and

discrimination. Social security plays an essential role in alleviating poverty and promoting

social inclusion. It guarantees a life in dignity and secures an income even for the poorest,

mitigating the negative impacts of steep economic inequality. National social protection

floors, when designed and implemented in accordance with human rights standards and

principles as laid down in International Labour Organization (ILO) Social Protection Floors

Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), have the potential to contribute significantly to gender

equality, respect for the minimum core of economic, social and cultural rights and the

protection of marginalized groups, such as children, older persons, persons with disabilities,

informal workers and non-nationals (A/HRC/28/35, para. 54).

20. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its general comment No.

16 (2005) on the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social

and cultural rights (para. 22), clarifies that addressing gender-based prejudices is a cross-

cutting obligation and, in its general comment No. 19 (2007) on the right to social security

(para. 32), that social security schemes should eliminate such factors that discriminate

against women. Social security programmes should address imbalances of power and the

multiple forms of discrimination that women experience (see, e.g., A/HRC/11/9, para. 68,

and A/65/259, paras. 45–66).7

6 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 3 (1990) on the nature of

States parties’ obligations, paras. 10–12.

7 See also Magdalena Sepúlveda and Carly Nyst, The Human Rights Approach to Social Protection

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, 2012), pp. 32–33.

21. Demands of unpaid care work often force women into informal jobs with precarious

employment status, no access to social insurance benefits, such as paid maternity leave,

unemployment insurance or pensions, and at times unsafe and unhealthy working

conditions.8 Even when women combine unpaid care work with formal sector employment,

their social insurance contributions are usually lower than those of men, owing to lower

wages and interrupted work histories as a result of child-rearing or other unpaid care work.

22. Human rights treaties require States parties to ensure unpaid care work does not

endanger women’s human rights (see A/68/293). For this reason, social insurance and

social assistance programmes that take into account women’s unequal burden of unpaid

care work, including child-rearing periods that prevented them from making equal

contributions, are effective tools to promote gender equality (ibid. paras. 48–53). For

example, Argentina introduced the Universal Child Allowance in 2009, consolidating

several non-contributory cash transfer schemes and targeting children whose parents were

unemployed or worked in the informal sector. The scheme aimed at ensuring the universal

protection of children and adolescents. The programme was later expanded in 2016 to cover

1.6 million children and adolescents and had a major impact on reducing extreme poverty

and inequality. The programme effectively implemented the provisions of the ILO Social

Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) and met the standards established in

the Convention on the Rights of the Child.9

23. The situation of persons with disabilities, who should enjoy all their rights on an

equal basis with others, including their rights to social security and an adequate standard of

living, can demonstrate how social security can combat inequality and non-discrimination.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires States parties to ensure

access of persons with disabilities to social protection and poverty reduction programmes

and the right of those living in poverty and their families to have access to assistance from

the State with disability-related expenses (art. 28).

24. A social protection scheme that ensures adequate income support to persons with

disabilities would promote the autonomy and full participation in society of persons with

disabilities, in particular women, and therefore their inclusion and enjoyment of rights in

equality with others. National social protection floors aiming at the inclusion and

participation of persons with disabilities could play a critical role in enabling States to

comply with their obligations regarding the rights of persons with disabilities. However,

according to the latest estimates, only 27.8 per cent of persons with severe disabilities

worldwide receive a disability benefit to have a minimum level of income security.10

C. A human rights-based approach to ensuring equality and inclusiveness

25. Leaving no one behind is not only about reaching the poorest of the poor. It also

requires all stakeholders to work together, in a coherent and coordinated manner, in

combating discrimination and rising inequalities within and among countries. In 2017, the

United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination adopted a system-wide

framework to put the imperatives of addressing inequality and discrimination at the heart of

efforts to support Member States in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.11 The

framework emphasizes that progress for all population groups needs to be supported by

United Nations entities in-country, through the provision of legal, policy, institutional and

other measures aimed at promoting equality and non-discrimination in accordance with

international human rights. A human rights-based approach to leaving no one behind

entails, inter alia: (a) disaggregating data to identify who is being excluded or discriminated

8 See ILO, Women at Work: Trends 2016 (Geneva, 2016).

9 See ILO, “Universal social protection for children: Argentina”, fact sheet, December 2016; and

Promoting Inclusion through Social Actions: Report on the World Social Situation 2018 (United

Nations publication, Sales No. E.17.IV.2).

10 ILO, World Social Protection Report 2017-19: Universal Social Protection to Achieve the

Sustainable Development Goals (Geneva, 2017), p. 69.

11 Leaving No One behind: Equality and Non-discrimination at the Heart of Sustainable Development

(New York, 2017).

against, how and why, and who is experiencing multiple and intersecting forms of

discrimination and inequality; (b) identifying patterns of discrimination in law, policies and

practices, and addressing entrenched structural barriers and unequal power relations that

generate and perpetuate inequality over generations; and (c) supporting the free, active and

meaningful participation of all stakeholders, particularly the most marginalized, in the

implementation of policy and other measures to promote equality, so as to ensure

accountability, recourse and remedies for all. A number of emerging good practices by

stakeholders in adopting a human rights-based approach to ensuring equality and

inclusiveness have been identified.

26. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the Kenya National Commission on

Human Rights signed a memorandum of understanding in 2017 that provides the

framework for their institutional collaboration in the area of Sustainable Development Goal

indicators and data collection, with a focus on Goals 10 and 16. With technical support

from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),

the two institutions analysed recommendations from United Nations human rights

mechanisms, developed a list of 25 population groups that might be at the risk of being left

behind and identified 128 indicators for which data are available. In 2018, for the first time,

a set of indicators on albinism and self-identification of indigenous persons was included in

the population census, an approach that was hailed as a best practice by the Independent

Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism.

27. The city of Vienna has been monitoring the implementation of its integration

policies in various areas, including political participation, education, employment, social

protection and housing, for over a decade. The disaggregation and analysis of the data

collected has allowed the city to evaluate its policies and programmes and adapt to the

diverse needs of the population.12

28. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Equality and

Human Rights Commission, in partnership with the Scottish Human Rights Commission,

developed the Measurement Framework for Equality and Human Rights, covering England,

Scotland and Wales. The indicators developed were used in the Commission’s report Is

Britain Fairer? in relation to equality of opportunity and freedom from unlawful

discrimination and harassment. The areas covered by the study include: life; health;

education; standard of living; expression and self-respect; and participation, influence and

voice.13

29. Community-based initiatives are crucial for sustainable development. Experience

has shown that top-down approaches to development often result in disempowering

individuals and communities by treating them as passive observers rather than active

participants in designing their own vision of development. Supporting the free, active and

meaningful participation of all stakeholders begins with listening to communities. For

example, the National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda conducted participatory

enumerations in 2010 in five cities, which allowed people living in informal settlements,

who are generally left out of official surveys, to map their settlements, assess their needs

and priorities and measure their contribution to the local economy. Such participatory

exercises, also conducted in other countries such as Kenya, India and South Africa, have

transformed the capacity of communities and their relationship with local authorities and

other stakeholders, such as the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-

Habitat), and has allowed stakeholders and authorities to move from isolated interventions

to a more systematic approach to planning and implementing slum upgrading

programmes.14 Similarly, eviction impact assessments have allowed some communities to

12 See Monitoring Integration Diversity Vienna 2013–2016, available from

www.wien.gv.at/english/social/integration/facts-figures/monitoring.html (short version available in

English and German).

13 See www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/britain-fairer-2018.

14 See, for example, Makau, Dobson and Samia, “The five-city enumeration: the role of participatory

enumerations in developing community capacity and partnerships with government in Uganda”,

Environment and Urbanization, vol. 24, No. 1 (April 2012). Available from

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956247812438368.

assess the negative impact of evictions and the real costs of the loss of income and assets

for the community and their impoverishment, and to bring this information to court or to

use it to seek other means of redress.15

III. Empowering people

30. An essential aspect of a human rights-based approach to sustainable development is

building the capacity of rights holders to claim their rights. Knowledge of human rights,

including economic, social and cultural rights, enables individuals and communities to

voice their views and opinions and to participate in decision-making processes that affect

their lives. With this knowledge they can also better hold institutions accountable and seek

justice and remedies when their rights are violated.

A. Right to education

31. The importance of education, both as a right in itself and as a means for the

enjoyment of other rights, has been highlighted in multiple contexts. Education is a critical

factor in social mobility and accessing better employment opportunities. Education is also

critical for the robust functioning of democratic institutions and empowering women

against discrimination and is a determinant factor for health and nutrition.

32. Human rights instruments require that education be directed at enabling all persons

to participate effectively in a free society, promoting understanding, tolerance and

friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and furthering the

maintenance of peace. The Convention on the Rights of the Child adds to these aims the

development of the child’s talents and mental and physical abilities and the development of

respect for the child’s parents, cultural identity, language and values, the national values of

the country where he or she lives and of his or her country of origin and for the natural

environment.16

33. The right to education, therefore, has an impact on the enjoyment of other economic,

social and cultural rights because of its enabling nature. It empowers and enables

individuals to enjoy and exercise personal liberties and freedoms, to participate politically

and exercise responsible political citizenship, to participate in the labour market and in

economic activities and to enjoy and exercise social equality and the preservation of their

culture.

B. Rights to food, health, housing, water and sanitation

34. The well-being of individuals is a fundamental requisite for their empowerment. If a

person is chronically malnourished or in ill-health, or forced to live in precarious

environment without adequate housing, safe-drinking water and sanitation, he or she is

caught in a vicious cycle of poverty, exclusion and disempowerment. With the adoption of

the 2030 Agenda, the international community stepped up its commitment and efforts,

through the Sustainable Development Goals, to eradicate or significantly reduce poverty,

hunger and malnutrition, and to improve health, housing, water and sanitation.

35. The 2016 report of the Secretary-General on economic, social and cultural rights

(A/HRC/34/25) highlighted the linkages between economic, social and cultural rights and

the Sustainable Development Goals framework as two converging agendas. As the

Sustainable Development Goals effectively mirror the content of economic, social and

cultural rights, including the need to ensure their availability, accessibility, acceptability

15 See OHCHR and UN-Habitat, Losing Your Home: Assessing the Impact of Eviction (Nairobi, 2011);

and Assessing the Impact of Forced Eviction: Handbook (Nairobi, 2014).

16 See International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 13 (1); Convention on the

Rights of the Child, art. 29; and Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 1 (2001)

on the aims of education.

and quality, these rights can further guide efforts towards the implementation of the Goals

at the national level.

36. An example of the practical guidance offered by economic, social and cultural rights

to empower people is contained in the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive

Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security,

adopted by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

(FAO) in 2004. The Voluntary Guidelines contain 19 guidelines, which incorporate much

of the content of general comment No. 12 (1999) on the right to adequate food of the

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and additional provisions that should

be considered by Member States, non-governmental organizations and other actors for the

advancement of the right to food at the national level. For example, Guideline 7 on the legal

framework calls on States to recognize the right to food in their national law. Guideline 13

on support for vulnerable groups encourages States to systematically undertake

disaggregated analyses on food insecurity and vulnerability and to establish transparent and

non-discriminatory criteria for food assistance so that no one is left behind.

37. Since the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines, there has been significant

advancement in the legislative recognition of the right to food worldwide. Latin America

has led the way with Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala,

Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) adopting food and

nutrition laws containing elements of the right to food. Building on the Voluntary

Guidelines, FAO has outlined five steps for implementing the right to food at the national

level: (a) advocacy and training to empower individuals to claim their right to food; (b)

information and assessment to identify rights holders at risk of being left behind; (c) access

to justice for empowered rights holders to seek remedy when their rights are violated; (d)

effective action, strategy and coordination, with meaningful participation of rights holders

themselves; and (e) measuring impact by applying rights-based monitoring.17

38. Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is central to living a life in dignity and

upholding human rights. Yet billions of people still do not enjoy these fundamental human

rights. Women, and particularly girls, are most affected by the lack of safe drinking water

and sanitation facilities. Greater efforts are needed to provide them with opportunities to

enhance their capacities and engagement. This means alleviating them of the burden of

fetching water and providing dignity through adequate sanitation services. Lack of such

services often prevents girls from attending school and developing the means to empower

themselves.

39. As an illustrative example of a participatory approach to water management, in large

informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya, Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company installed

meter chambers at various points on their bulk water supply network and appointed master

operators, selected by each community, to run the water supply from those chambers. This

approach aimed at improving the water-provisioning services and facilitating greater

stakeholder participation in decision-making. Over time, the approach had a positive impact

on both the extent and quality of the services residents received. In 2012, the project served

around 64,000 people through 366 kiosks and 590 individual household connections. Prices

for water decreased from US$ 0.20 to US$ 0.03 per 20 litres and there were fewer water

shortages. Women and children travelled shorter distances and spent less time for water

collection. Residents were also empowered to influence decisions at the utility, while also

serving as master operators.

C. Right to work

40. Work, as a human right, is not only essential for realizing other human rights but is

an inseparable and inherent part of human dignity. 18 Decent work means more than

economic empowerment: it is key to equality, dignity, justice and human development and

17 The Right to Food in Practice: Implementation at the National Level (Rome, 2006).

18 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 18 (2005) on the right to

work, para. 1.

is important for social participation and individual and collective self-realization

(A/HRC/31/32, para. 56). Today, a startling number of young people, in particular women,

are not in education, employment or training. Many of those who find work are employed

in precarious or informal situations. When these young people cannot find jobs or are

forced to work in low-paid jobs and suboptimal conditions, their sense of dignity and hope

is shattered and their discontent and frustration intensify. Apart from making them more

prone to poverty and marginalization, such situations can also lead to social unrest and

extremism.

41. The right to work receives a broad recognition in international human rights law,

including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (arts. 23 and 24) and the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (arts. 6, 7 and 8). The right to work

encompasses the following interdependent and mutually reinforcing aspects: (a) the right of

every person to productive and freely chosen work that ensures a dignified life for him- or

herself and his or her family, without discrimination; (b) the right to economic and

environmental conditions in the workplace that are conducive to meeting the needs of the

individual and to realizing associated freedoms, including the right not to be arbitrarily

deprived of work; (c) adequate material conditions relating to safety, security and dignity in

the workplace; and (d) just and favourable social conditions that include labour rights,

family leave and gender equality.

42. The realization of the right to work and economic empowerment remain a

significant challenge for many women across the world. Unemployment rates in the

workforce are higher among women than men. Women are also disproportionately

represented in non-standard forms of employment, such as part-time and temporary

contracts or self-employment, as well as in the informal economy, which is characterized

by poor working conditions and a lack of job security and social protection (A/HRC/34/29,

para. 15). Discriminatory laws and practices and unpaid domestic and care responsibilities

inhibit women’s equal access to work opportunities and decent working conditions,

including equal pay. It is critical for the economic and social empowerment of women to

address the gender-related dimensions of the right to work, as the labour market reflects the

social prejudices and disadvantages that undermine equality and dignity. One measure to

improve the availability of work for women is to put in place specialized services that

would pay specific attention to the barriers women face and assist them in identifying and

securing available employment.19 These specialized services must promote equality and

accessibility, contributing to making the labour market open to everyone without

discrimination.

D. Right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications

43. We live in an increasingly interconnected world and are experiencing an

unprecedented scale and speed of transformation that has an impact upon all people at all

times. Science and technology play a central role in global and local linkages and

advancements and in our understanding of the world we inhabit and the ways in which we

live in it.

44. The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications is contained

in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 27) and the International Covenant

of Economic Social and Cultural Rights (art. 15 (1) (b)). It seeks to ensure equitable

distribution of the knowledge and tools that drive the economic and social advancement of

society. It also encompasses the right to access the material benefits of science, for example,

drugs, medical treatments, agricultural improvements and other technologies.

45. Until recently, neither the scientific nor the human rights community had given this

right much consideration; however, its implications are now being explored and its

19 Ibid., paras. 12 and 26.

potential discussed, including at the day of general discussion conducted by the Committee

on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in October 2018.20

E. Rights to participation and information

46. The right to participate is a key human rights principle that plays a crucial role in the

promotion of democracy, the rule of law, social inclusion and economic development,

reducing inequalities and social conflicts. It is an essential element of a human rights-based

approach to sustainable development aimed at empowering individuals and groups and

eliminating inequalities and discrimination and a key commitment under Goal 16 and its

target 16.10.

47. The right to public participation in decision-making is recognized under article 21 of

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 25 of the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights (art. 25).21 Those articles lay out the key elements of the right of

citizens to participate in public affairs, including decision-making processes that affect their

lives.22

48. Ensuring the timely and meaningful participation of various sectors of society allows

the authorities to deepen the understanding of the challenges and gaps in its existing

frameworks and instruments; identify potential impacts of policy options; develop

appropriate policies and strategies; and balance conflicting interests.

49. Addressing inequalities requires a focus on marginalized groups and individuals in

situations of vulnerability. In this perspective, participatory policymaking, including the

adequate representation of such groups and individuals, is an important tool to hear the

voices of those communities and groups and to address their concerns when drafting laws,

policies and programmes. As organizing genuine consultations and participation may have

financial implications, appropriate budgetary provisions should be made to facilitate civil

society participation in development planning processes at both the policy and

programmatic levels (A/HRC/39/51, para. 66).

50. In the case of Doctors for Life International v. The speaker of the National Assembly

and others, the Constitutional Court of South Africa highlighted the important question of

the role of the community in the law-making process and stated that involvement of the

community:

enhances the civic dignity of those who participate by enabling their voices to be

heard and taken account of. It promotes a spirit of democratic and pluralistic

accommodation calculated to produce laws that are likely to be widely accepted and

effective in practice. ... Participatory democracy is of special importance to those

who are relatively disempowered in a country like ours where great disparities of

wealth and influence exist.23

51. Ensuring meaningful participation requires that people have the necessary

information in advance to form and express their views and opinions and to make informed

choices and decisions. The right to freedom of expression provided under the Universal

20 See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CESCR/Pages/Discussion2018.aspx.

21 Similar provisions are also found in several other international treaties including: the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 8); Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination against Women (arts. 7 and 8); the International Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (art. 5 (c)); and the Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities (arts. 4 (3), 29, 33 (3)).

22 For more guidance, see the guidelines for States on the effective implementation of the right to

participate in public affairs (A/HRC/39/28), which the Council, in its resolution 39/11, encouraged

Governments and others to consider in formulating policies and measures concerning equal

participation in political and public affairs.

23 Maritza Prada Formisano, Empowering the Poor through Human Rights Litigation: Manual (Paris,

2011, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), p. 17.

Declaration of Human Rights (art. 19) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (art. 19) includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information.

52. The right to access information is not only a right in itself, but an essential means for

the realization of other rights. For example, in the context of human rights and the

environment, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its general

comment No. 15 (2002) on the right to water, stated that individuals should be given full

and equal access to information concerning water and the environment (para. 48). In

Europe, rights to participation and access to information are also an integral part of the

Protocol on Water and Health to the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Convention

on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (arts. 5

and 6) and of the ECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in

Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. In addition, in its general

comment No. 14 (2000) on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights highlighted information accessibility

as a key dimension of accessibility of the right to health, including the right to seek, receive

and impart information and ideas concerning health issues (paras. 11 and 12).

53. Availability of information and transparency in the formulation and implementation

of public policies allows for a better protection of people’s rights to basic services. Without

information about the status of their rights to health, housing or work, people are not able to

monitor the extent to which their rights are being respected, and they are therefore unable to

claim their rights. In various parts of the world, transparency in budget processes has

enabled an informed public debate about expenditures and has ultimately contributed to

more funds going to education, health, welfare, employment and housing. 24 Therefore,

facilitating the public’s access to information, including through legislation, is essential for

the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16.25

F. Empowerment through the justiciability of economic, social and

cultural rights

54. One of the unique features of economic, social and cultural rights is their potential to

empower people through legal avenues. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights affirmed that all Covenant rights possess at least some significant justiciable

dimensions26 and that “Covenant norms must be recognized in appropriate ways within the

24 See OHCHR, Realizing Human Rights through Government Budgets, 2017.

25 Examples of legislation on access to information passed since 2000 include: Argentina (Access to

Public Information Act, 2016); Armenia (Law on Freedom of Information, 2003); Azerbaijan (Law

on Access to Information, 2005); Bangladesh (Right to Information Ordinance, No. 50 of 2008);

Chile (Law on Access to Public Information, 2009); China (Regulations of the People’s Republic of

China on Open Government Information, 2007); Cyprus (Law on the Right of Access to Information

of the Public Sector, Law number 184(I)/2017); Dominican Republic (Law on Access to Public

Information, No. 200-04 of 2004); Ecuador (Transparency and Access to Information Law, 2004); El

Salvador (Law on Access to Public Information, 2011); Germany (Freedom of Information Law,

2005 and 2013); India (Right to Information Act, 2005); Iran (Islamic Republic of) (Law on

Dissemination of and Free Access to Information, 2008); Jamaica (Access to Information Act, 2002);

Liberia (Freedom of Information Act, 2010); Maldives (Right to Information Act, 2014); Pakistan

(Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002); Rwanda (Law Relating to Access to Information, Law

04/2013); Slovenia (Access to Public Information Act, 2003); South Africa (Promotion of Access to

Information Act, 2000); Sri Lanka (Right to Information Act No. 12, 2016); Tanzania (United

Republic of) (Access to Information Act, 2016); Turkey (Law on the Right to Information, 2003);

Uganda (Access to Information Act, 2011); and Zimbabwe (Access to Information and Privacy Act,

2002). Many of these countries have also made key budget documents available – thereby ensuring

that access to information can lead to effective citizen participation. The Open Budget Index

published by the International Budget Partnership in its Open Budget Survey 2017 lists the following

countries among those providing substantial budget information, with scores higher than 61 out of

100: Dominican Republic, Germany, Slovenia and South Africa.

26 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 9 (1998) on the domestic

application of the Covenant, para. 10.

domestic legal order, appropriate means of redress, or remedies, must be available to any

aggrieved individual or group, and appropriate means of ensuring governmental

accountability must be put in place”.27

55. In People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India and others, the Supreme

Court of India examined petitions regarding the occurrence of starvation-related deaths

despite an excess of grain in Government reserves for official times of famine. The Court

ruled the right to life, enshrined in article 21 of the Constitution, had been jeopardized as a

result of the failure of food schemes. The Court ordered that the famine code be

implemented, that ration shops provide grain at a set price to families living below the

poverty line, that ration cards for free grain be granted to all persons without means of

support, that publicity campaigns be established and that the state Governments

progressively implement midday meal schemes in schools. The case had a massive impact:

it opened a forum for debate on larger issues of starvation and undernourishment in India,

mobilized larger movements for the right to food, prompted Government action and set

lines of accountability at the regional and national levels.28

56. In South Africa, a Government policy restricted the ability of doctors at public

hospitals and clinics other than designated research and training sites to prescribe a drug

reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, even where it was medically indicated and

adequate facilities existed for testing and counselling pregnant women. In Minister of

Health and Others v. Treatment Action Campaign, in 2002, the Constitutional Court found

that that policy fell short of compliance with the right of everyone to have access to health-

care services under the Constitution. The Court ordered the Government to review its

policy on access to HIV/AIDS treatments, with a view to extending the availability of

Nevirapine – an anti-retroviral drug for HIV-positive pregnant women that could avert tens

of thousands of unnecessary infections and deaths – to hospitals and clinics; and to take

reasonable measures to extend the testing and counselling facilities throughout the public

health sector.29

57. In a positive step towards the recognition and protection of the rights of HIV-

positive women in Africa, in 2014 the Supreme Court of Namibia upheld the previous

ruling by the High Court that medical personnel at public hospitals violated the rights of

three HIV-positive women when it sterilized them without their consent. Forced and

coerced sterilization is a common problem in many countries. Women who have been

forcibly sterilized are often stigmatized and face a lifetime of public contempt. Although

the Court did not find sufficient evidence to determine that the women had been sterilized

due to their HIV-positive status, it determined that the women had proven that they had not

given proper consent to the sterilization procedures. The Court then emphasized that

“individual autonomy and self-determination are the overriding principles towards which

our jurisprudence should move in this area of the law” and declared that “the patient has the

final say in deciding whether or not she should undergo an elective medical procedure”.30

G. Role of national human rights institutions

58. National human rights institutions have a critical role to play in empowering people

in terms of the realization of their economic, social and cultural rights by raising awareness,

monitoring implementation and providing technical advice, capacity-building and avenues

for remedy and redress. As the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights pointed

out, this potential has yet to be fully exploited as many such institutions lack the mandate or

capacity to do so or accord low priority to these rights.31

27 Ibid., para. 2.

28 OHCHR, Who will be accountable? Human Rights and the Post-2015 Development Agenda, p. 40.

29 See also OHCHR, Frequently Asked Questions on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, p. 31.

30 Government of the Republic of Namibia v. L.M. and others, case No. SA 49/2012, [2014] NASC 19,

paras. 105–106.

31 General comment No. 10 (1998) on the role of national human rights institutions in the protection of

economic, social and cultural rights, para. 3.

59. An increasing number of national human rights institutions has become actively

engaged in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals. In the 2015 Mérida

Declaration on the role of national human rights institutions in implementing the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted at the twelfth International Conference of

the Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of

Human Rights, national human rights institutions committed to collaborate in mutual

capacity-building and sharing of experiences to contribute to a human rights-based

approach to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

60. A number of national human rights institutions have been actively developing

synergies between human rights monitoring and the national implementation of the

Sustainable Development Goals. For example, in Argentina, the Ombudsman is playing a

unique role in bridging human rights protection and effective implementation of the

Sustainable Development Goals, in collaboration with civil society, universities, companies

and government agencies. As of July 2017, the Ombudsman’s office has initiated 57

investigations explicitly linked to the Sustainable Development Goals. It has mapped

overlapping issues between the recommendations made during the universal periodic

review and the Sustainable Development Goals to strengthen synergies in addressing them.

Similar mapping exercises have been conducted by a number of other national human rights

institutions.32

H. Role of civic space

61. The 2030 Agenda is “an Agenda of the people, by the people and for the people”

(para. 52), and civil society plays a critical role in upholding all three pillars of the Charter

of the United Nations: peace and security; development; and human rights. However, in

order for civil society to be able to contribute meaningfully to implementation of the

Sustainable Development Goals, it is essential to have an enabling environment in which it

can operate freely. A number of national human rights institutions have raised concerns

over an increasing trend worldwide for Governments to introduce restrictive laws and

policies that have contributed to shrinking civil society space. This has, in turn, hampered

more systematic engagement of civil society and national human rights institutions in all

stages of the implementation and monitoring processes for the Sustainable Development

Goals.33

62. Sustainable development can only succeed when there are open and free public

debates about activities to implement, monitor and follow up on the 2030 Agenda and its

Sustainable Development Goals that includes all relevant stakeholders – Governments, the

private sector, national human rights institutions and broader civil society – in order to

identify appropriate solutions for achieving the Goals at the national and local levels. This

requires effective measures to protect and monitor civic space and to ensure accountable,

participatory and transparent governance at all levels, which form part of the commitment

under Goal 16.

IV. Conclusions and recommendations

63. Empowering people and ensuring equality and inclusiveness are at the core of a

human rights-based approach to sustainable development. The normative framework

of economic, social and cultural rights and other related human rights offer guidance

for States and other stakeholders in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals

in a more effective and inclusive manner.

32 See Nadja Filskov, National Human Rights Institutions Engaging with the Sustainable Development

Goals (Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, 2017).

33 See Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, “Protecting and enlarging the space for

public debates and participation of all civil society actors for the implementation of the SDGs and

human rights”, background paper, 2016.

64. A number of actions that Member States and other stakeholders can take to

empower people and ensure equality and inclusiveness in the implementation of the

2030 Agenda are highlighted in the present report. These include:

(a) Using international human rights standards and the analysis and

recommendations of the human rights mechanisms to identify who is being left behind,

marginalized or discriminated against in each country context and the root causes, as

well as the necessary measures to combat, discrimination and inequalities;

(b) Strengthening capacities for the collection and analysis of data that is

disaggregated, as far as possible, by prohibited grounds of discrimination;

(c) Promoting the use of human rights indicators and a human rights-based

approach to data collection and disaggregation;

(d) Tackling the root causes of marginalization and exclusion by addressing

both de facto and de jure inequalities;

(e) Addressing multiple causes and types of inequalities in society, including

combating political inequality, social and environmental inequality and discrimination;

(f) Ensuring free, active and meaningful participation of all stakeholders,

particularly the most marginalized and those at risk of being left behind, in the

implementation of policy and other measures to implement the 2030 Agenda, so as to

ensure accountability, recourse and remedies for all;

(g) Further strengthening the role and capacity of national human rights

institutions to monitor civic space and contribute to national implementation of the

Sustainable Development Goals;

(h) Developing a culture of human rights, which can help build societies that

embrace dignity, equality, inclusion, respect for the rule of law, integrity and diversity.