The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under the context of the economic crisis

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to access the challenges and role of the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights under the context of the present economic crisis. This analysis entails a brief explanation of the root causes of the economic crisis and its impact on economic, social and cultural rights. Secondly, it is central to understand the nature of economic, social and cultural rights under the Covenant especially in what concerns the concepts of progressive realization, maximum of available resources, margin of discretion, international cooperation and justiciability, to assess if the Covenant is capable to meet the reality of an economic crisis or if there should be some changes adopted for times of economic distress. At last, in the context of the need for a human rights approach to the economic crisis, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural rights is briefly discussed in what concerns its role under the strategies to overcome the crisis.