Rights and Humanity has worked closely with the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, helping it to identify the core components of specific rights. Our practical expertise of development has been particularly useful in advocating strategies for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights. We have helped publicise the Committee’s work and prompted wider NGO participation.

Rights and Humanity’s launch coincided with the establishment by the United Nations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which monitors states’ compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) by reviewing periodical reports submitted by States Parties. Rights and Humanity sent a team of volunteer lawyers to follow the Committee’s early sessions. They produced analytical reports which we used to publicise the work of the Committee.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, we hosted a series of regular workshops in Geneva to coincide with the Committee’s meetings in order to give a platform for its members to explore in greater depth the theoretical and practical implications of the Covenant. These workshops were open to both governmental representatives and NGOs and played an important part in widening appreciation of the importance of economic, social and cultural rights to human development and wellbeing.

Recommendations to the Committee

Rights and Humanity recommended to the Committee in the early years that it:

• give priority attention to the poor and marginalised sectors of society
• enter into “constructive dialogue” with states when they present their reports to the Committee, rather than using a condemnatory approach
• invite NGOs to participate in its work.

All of these recommendations were adopted by the Committee and have long formed an essential basis for its work.

At the same time we publicised the work of the Committee and encouraged UN agencies to take up a similar positive human rights agenda and to participate in the work of the Committee. We also encouraged other NGOs to participate in the Committee’s activities, for instance through the preparation of “shadow” reports of the situation in specific countries to complement the reports of governments and provide a fuller picture of the reality of peoples’ lives.

Expert Contributions
Rights and Humanity has been a regular expert contributor to the meetings of the Committee and over the years, and has contributed to a number of the Committee’s Days of General Discussion to analyse and help develop the meaning of specific rights contained in the Covenant.

| Print | E-mail