International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ICESCR

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is one of the nine core United Nations (UN) human rights treaties (seven of which have been ratified by the UK). It forms part of the International Bill of Human Rights alongside the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UK ratified ICESCR in 1976.

ICESCR rights are crucial to enable people to live with dignity. This treaty covers important areas of public policy, such as the right to:

work
fair and just conditions of work
social security
an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing
health
education

The full text of the ICESCR is available on the UN Human Rights website.

How the ICESCR treaty cycle works

Each treaty operates on its own unique timetable. We are now in a period of follow-up activity for the ICESCR where we will be working with the government and civil society organisations to implement the Committee's recommendations (‘Concluding Observations’), adopted in 2016.

Flow chart showing the various milestones in the ICESCR treaty cycle

Work by the Commission relevant to ICESCR

We have produced the following reports and research as part of our ICESCR treaty monitoring activity:

the Commission’s voluntary update report on progress on socio-economic rights in Great Britain (March 2018)
the Commission’s updated submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (April 2016)
our Oral Statement at the pre-sessional working group of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (October 2015)
our submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on socio-economic rights in the UK (August 2015)

We have produced the following work related to this treaty:

a final report on the cumulative impact of tax and welfare reforms between 2010 and 2018 (March 2018)
a summary interim report on the impact of tax and welfare reforms between 2010 and 2017 (November 2017)
in collaboration with the University of Nottingham we have produced a series of video tutorials (YouTube) and written materials (University of Nottingham website) to help raise awareness and understanding of socio-economic rights
we have written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Damian Green MP, with our recommendations for the ‘Improving lives: helping workless families’ policy
we have written to the Justice Secretary, Rt Hon Liz Truss MP, encouraging the government to implement the recent concluding observations (December 2016)
letter from Sir Oliver Heald QC MP, Minister of State for Courts and Justice, in response to our letter (January 2017)
Mid-term Universal Periodic Review report – covering conditions of work of migrant workers, the gender pay gap, welfare reform and tackling inequality (August 2014)
Research Report 94: Cumulative Impact Assessment – measuring the impact of the 2010 Spending Review on people with protected characteristics (the groups that are protected under the Equality Act 2010) (Summer 2014)
The Invisible Workforce: Employment practices in the cleaning sector (August 2014)
inquiry into fairness, dignity and respect in SME workplaces (October 2015)

Next steps

Following the Concluding Observations of July 2016, the Commission is implementing a programme of work to make sure that the UK and devolved governments take concrete action to put into place the changes recommended by the UN. Our work includes engagement with government, Parliament, civil society and other stakeholders.

The next state report by the UK Government under ICESCR is due by June 2021.

What are the main areas of concern in implementing ICESCR in the UK?

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights published its concluding observations in June 2016 and highlighted the following priority areas:

any new British Bill of Rights should be aimed at enhancing human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.
there should be a human rights impact assessment of the recent changes to the tax system, particularly for marginalised and disadvantaged groups
there should be an assessment on the impact of social security reforms since 2010
austerity measures should comply with human rights – measures should be temporary, necessary, proportionate, not discriminatory and respect the core content of rights
public authorities’ should commence their socio-economic duty under Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010
disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups should have access to justice and legal aid
there should be a better regulatory framework to ensure companies operating in the UK fully respect economic, social and cultural rights
everyone should be guaranteed labour and social security rights in law and in practice – people should have decent work opportunities that offer job security and an adequate protection of labour rights
there should be a thorough review of the Trade Union Act 2016 to ensure that all workers enjoy their trade union rights without undue restrictions or interference
measures should be taken to address the housing deficit, bad housing or sub-standard housing conditions and inhabitability, and to reduce the exceptionally high levels of homelessness
there should be sufficient resources for the mental health sector to ensure the accessibility, availability and quality of mental health care
measures should be taken to reduce educational attainment gaps, particularly among children belonging to low-income families, and to tackle discrimination and segregation of students based on their religion, national or social origin, as well as their economic background
the Government should consider the impact on human rights in their international development work

The UN Special Rapporteurs on Housing, Disabilities, Poverty and Food have written a joint letter to the UK Government on the human rights concerns they have with the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 (April 2016).

How is ICESCR monitored?

ICESCR is monitored by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN CESCR), a body made up of 18 independent experts drawn from states that have ratified the treaty.

Governments submit reports to this Committee every five years. These ‘state reports’ explain the steps taken to implement the treaty and how these have affected people in the UK.

The Committee also considers evidence from other sources. As one of the UK’s National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), the Commission submits information to this process in what is known as a ‘shadow report’.

The Committee identifies a ‘list of issues’ that they want the states to provide further information on. NHRIs and civil society can also respond to these issues.

It then examines the UK’s state report and the responses to the list of issues, and produces its own report with recommendations for action. These are called the ‘Concluding Observations’. States are required to publish these recommendations, act on them and report on progress.

More information about this procedure can be found on the UN Human Rights website.

Read the UK’s most recent State Report (2014). All documents, including the UN’s Concluding Observations and the shadow reports from the last examination in 2016 can be found on the UN Human Rights website.

What does the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights do?

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights sometimes issues ‘General Comments’ which explain the application of the ICESCR in particular situations and set out the Committee’s interpretation of specific treaty provisions. You can find these General Comments on the UN website.

Last updated: 19 Mar 2018