Opponents of ESCR, regrettably including some in the human rights field, argue that ESCR are not judicially enforceable and that they are too vague to monitor effectively. Yet most sovereign states have enshrined ESCR in their constitutions, and there are numerous examples of courts applying domestic and international law to protect ESCR. Vagueness has also not prevented international development agencies from producing immense volumes of research on global social and economic conditions. These include standardized methodologies for comparing conditions in different countries and regions – the UNDP’s human development index and gender-related indices, UNICEF’s rate of progress measurements, and the World Bank’s World Development Reports, to name a few.
Historical neglect of ESCR cannot be attributed to methodological obstacles. While there is always a need for additional indicators to measure compliance in specific rights, it must be emphasized that the definition of all rights, even freedom from torture, changes and expands over time through concrete practice. The main obstacle to realizing ESCR remains a lack of political will and commitment on the part of states, international institutions and NGOs whose responsibility it is to respect, protect and promote these rights for the benefit of all human beings.
The following list provides just a few examples of ESCR violations that are already being tried in courts around the world:
- Forcible evictions
- Terminating an employee without cause
- Deliberate poisoning of a water supply
- Discrimination in access to medical care, work, housing, education etc.
- Banning unions
- Depriving children of adequate food and water
- Failing to provide any primary level education
- Failing to provide basic health care facilities
- Educational institutions in such poor condition that they are a risk to safety
- Housing in such poor condition that it is a risk to safety