THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

An Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 2008 and it came into force on 5 May 2013. The protocol gives individuals the right to raise complaints about violations of their rights which are enshrined by the covenant. Although, an optional protocol regulating the complaint procedure for its sister treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, was entered into force in 1976, it was postponed for ICESCR until 2013 because of the historic debate discussing whether these rights are justiciable or not. This division between the treaties left the protection of the ESCR in the background. This essay will analyse the extent to which the protocol resolved the historical concerns about the protection of economic, social and cultural rights under international human rights law.

___

  • Ahmed T, ' Semminar 5 of International Human Rights Module' 2013, University of Reading.
  • 'Background Information on the ICESCR' (ESCR-Net (International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights) ) accessed 01.02.2014.
  • CESCR General Comment No. 9, The Domestic Application of the Covenant, (Nineteenth Session, 1998), U.N. Doc. E/C.12/1998/24 (1998).
  • Coomans F, 'The Ogoni Case before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights' [2003] International and Comparative Law Quartely, pp. 749-760.
  • 'Definitions and Classifications: First, Second and Third Generations Rights' (Icelandic Human Rights Centre ) accessed 27.01.2014.
  • Kaime T, 'Whose Rights are They Anyway? A Critical Analysis of the International Supervision Mechanisms for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' (ZAMLII ) accessed 02.02.2014
  • Karan U, 'Sosyal Hakların Güçlendirilmesi Açısından Bir İmkan: 'Bütüncül Yaklaşım'( An Opporunity for Strenghtening Social Rights)' [2007] Amme İdaresi Dergisi, s.31-62.
  • 'Key Concepts on ESCRs - What are the Obligations of States on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?' (United Nations Human Rights 2012) accessed 29.01.2014.
  • Langford M, 'An Introduction to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' [2009] Nordic Journal of Human Rights, pp. 1-28.
  • Mahon C, 'Progress at the Front: The Draft Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' [2008] Human Rights Law Review, 617.
  • Nolan A, Porter B, Langford M, 'The Justiciability of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: An Updated Appraisal' [2007] CHRGJ Working Paper 1.
  • Odello M & Seatzu F, The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1st, Routledge, USA 2013) 5.
  • The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,(2008).
  • Rubin S, 'Economic and Social Human Rights and the New Interna-tional Economic Order' [1986] American University International Law Review, pp. 67-96.
  • Stanton S, 'Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria: "Ogoni 9" Trial against Shell to Begin April 27 in New York' (Centrre for Economic and Social Rights 2009) accessed 29.01.2014.
  • 'The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' (United Nations Treaty Collection 2014) accessed 01.02.2014.
  • The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1st, Geneva Academy, Geneva 2013) 3 (footnotes).
  • The Secretary of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, ' (Centre for Economic and Social Rights ) accessed 29.01.2014.
  • 'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: History of the Document' (United Nations) accessed 25.01.2014.
  • Vandenbogaerde A. & Vandenhole W , 'The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: An Ex Ante Assessment of its Effectiveness in Light of the Drafting Process' [2010] Human Rights Law Review, pp. 207- 237.
Erzincan Binali Yıldırım Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi-Cover
  • ISSN: 2651-494X
  • Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 2 Sayı
  • Başlangıç: 2002
  • Yayıncı: Erzincan Binali Yıldırım Üniversitesi
Sayıdaki Diğer Makaleler

Ayşe CEBECİOĞLU