The International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a United Nations treaty that the UK has ratified (meaning it is legally binding on the UK). However, as it is not part of domestic law, people can’t bring a court case against the UK if the rights within it are not being upheld. The UK has also not signed the Optional Protocol which would allow people to bring a complaint to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (CESCR).

The Committee does still monitor how well states are meeting their obligations under ICESCR. This is one of the main ways of holding the UK Government accountable. Every state signed up to ICESCR is reviewed by the Committee roughly every five years.

Human rights are sometimes thought about as being about as covering two areas: civil and political rights (protecting our freedoms), and economic, social and cultural rights (protecting our rights to live with dignity, safety and health). Traditionally our 16 Human Rights Act (HRA) rights have been called civil and political. However, as the European Court of Human Rights has itself noted, “there is no watertight division separating" economic, social and cultural rights away from the rights in the HRA. BIHR works on implementation of the HRA in everyday practice and many of the areas we work in are seen as economic, social and cultural, such as health, housing, care provision and social support. 

The HRA gives domestic effect and protection of many of the rights contained within ICESCR. This is particularly important because people can bring court cases under the HRA, which they can’t do under ICESCR.

Some of the mutual rights include: the right to family life (Article 8, HRA); the right to freedom from discrimination (Article 14, HRA); and the right to education (Article 2, Protocol 1, HRA). Importantly, many economic, social and cultural rights fall within the ambit of the HRA even if not explicitly named within it. For example, certain welfare benefits have found to be protected by the HRA right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions, supporting people’s right to social security. Similarly, the HRA right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment has been used to successfully challenge a refusal to fund vital healthcare, supporting people’s right to health.

In September 2024, Just Fair put out a new call for evidence asking for contributions to its follow-up report to CESCR. 

BIHR submitted evidence that highlighted that even though the Rights Removal Bill has now been abandoned, elements of it have been mirrored in new laws, such as those that disapply Section 3 of the HRA.

BIHR's submission emphasised the need for the UK Government to commit to protecting human rights in a real and practical way, both through the laws it passes and through providing the training, funding and education needed to support people to understand and act on their legally protected rights and duties.

Just Fair's full report will be sent to CESCR ahead of its review of the UK in February 2025.