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UNITED NATIONS

Press Release

 

 

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Closing a historic gap in human rights

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The UN General Assembly has achieved an important goal to strengthen international protection of human rights as it celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration


NEW YORK – The United Nations General Assembly adopted an important new human rights instrument to strengthen the protection of economic, social and cultural rights during its plenary sessions commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, on 10 December, 2008.

"The approval of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is of singular importance by closing a historic gap," stated the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in her address to the General Assembly

Under the Protocol, individuals will be able to complain to an independent human rights body at the international level about violations of rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Apart from providing a voice to victims of human rights violations, the Protocol also "makes them better equipped to enlist the international community's help to address their plight", Pillay said.

The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights represents a milestone in the history of universal human rights, making a strong and unequivocal statement about the equal value and importance of all human rights and the need for strengthened legal protection of economic, social and cultural rights.

"The Universal Declaration wisely chose not to rank rights. On the contrary, it recognized the equal status of political and civil rights with economic, social and cultural rights, and underlined that all rights are inextricably linked," Pillay added. "Violations of a set of rights reverberate on other rights and enfeeble them all."

As the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted, the recent food emergencies, the degradation of the natural environment, the current financial crisis and the unrest that they engender all underscore that those who are at the frontlines of hardship are also likely to be the victims of the ripple effects of human rights violations.

The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a key step forward towards a unified vision of human rights of the Universal Declaration. Importantly, it will enable victims to seek justice for violations of their economic, social and cultural rights at the international level for the first time.

The Protocol adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December, had been approved by the Human Rights Council in June and by the Third Committee last month. It will now be opened for signature during 2009 and enter into force once it has been ratified by ten States.

 

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UN International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights

 

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The Optional Protocol to the UN Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, will make it possible for individual, groups or organizations acting on their behalf to seek justice at the international level for violations of economic, social and cultural rights by submitting complaints to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The adoption of the Optional Protocol also provides support to efforts to get greater recognition of economic, social and cultural rights in domestic law and before courts, and will strengthen our monitoring role, as civil society organizations. The NGO Coalition for the Optional Protocol Steering Committee

 

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http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/91C1D8EE6730CD72C125746C00548987?OpenDocument

 

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ACHIEVES MILESTONE, ADOPTING OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

 

18 June 2008

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today congratulated the Human Rights Council on its adoption of an important new human rights instrument to strengthen the protection of economic, social and cultural rights.

“This is a highly significant achievement”, she said. “The Protocol will provide an important platform to expose abuses that are often linked to poverty, discrimination and neglect, and that victims frequently endure in silence and helplessness. It will provide a way for individuals, who may otherwise be isolated and powerless, to make the international community aware of their situation.”

The Optional Protocol will allow persons to petition an international human rights body about violations of rights guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Adopted by the Human Rights Council on 18 June, the Protocol is expected to get the final approval by the United Nations General Assembly later this year. Thereafter, the Protocol will enter into force once it has been ratified by 10 States.

“Since the adoption of the two core international human rights covenants in 1966, the lack of a complaint procedure for economic, social and cultural rights has been a missing piece in the international human rights protection system" Arbour said. "As we are celebrating the 60-year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Optional Protocol reaffirms our commitment to a unified and comprehensive vision of human rights, sending a strong, unequivocal message about the equal value and importance of all human rights.”

With its adoption of the Optional Protocol, the Human Rights Council brings to fruition a process set in motion by the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights prompting the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural rights to prepare a first draft optional protocol in 1996 and leading to the commencement of intergovernmental negotiations in 2004.





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