In recent years there has been a surge ofinterest in economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) and moregenerally in the intersection of economic development and human rights.Neglected during the Cold War, ESCR haveassumed heightened significance in light of the persistence of systemicpoverty in the global economy. The failure of traditional developmentpolicies, seen in the increasing divide between rich and poor aroundthe world, has spurred new efforts to address economic deprivationthrough human rights strategies.
ESCR are now being taken up by humanrights, environmental, and development groups as well as by grassrootscommunity-based organizations. In response to public pressure duringthe 1990s, the international community of states convened at worldsummits on such issues as human rights, food security, and development.Major UN agencies, including UNDP andUnicef, have adopted new policies and programs on human rights andhuman development. Even powerful international financial institutionssuch as the World Bank, the WTO, and global corporations recently have been compelled to address the human rights impacts of their economic policies.
While providing a welcome break from the past history of neglect, this new-found interest in ESCR remainslargely at the level of rhetoric. The international community stillshows very little inclination to implement and enforce ESCR, asthis would require addressing the enormous and growing inequalities atall levels of human society, from local to global. The real impetus foraction and change is coming from "below," from NGOs and grassroots groups genuinely committed to using ESCR intheir social justice work. However, these groups often have difficultypioneering this new human rights discipline because of the lack ofresource materials explaining what ESCR are and how they can be used in concrete situations.
This paper seeks to address one part of the information gap by summarizing and explaining the basic legal framework of ESCR andits utility for social justice advocates. It is based on the mostrecent scholarship in the field, as well as the practical experience ofthe Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) in working with localpartners on projects in Latin America, the Middle East, and the UnitedStates. The paper's limited focus on the legal framework excludesdiscussion of other important ESCR issues -for example, how to monitor and assess rights compliance through socialscience research and how to empower affected communities througheducation and training.
The paper is divided into the following six sections: