Human rights treaties are often attached and complemented with Optional Protocols. The Optional protocol instruments are adopted after careful deliberation between different stakeholders including member states to human rights treaties. -/- The present document on Introduction to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights- Optional Protocol [OP-ICESCR] is an addition to the on-going work on the Human Rights Framework on ESC Rights. It covers basic information on the objectives of the OP and the key provisions dealing with (...) the redressal mechanisms and processes. Much emphasis is given to highlighting the expansion of the normative framework through the works of the Committee under the ICESCR. The document highlights a few of the important standards developed, interpreted and applied by the Committee in its dealing with member states. The document also mentions a few areas that need further study and analysis in order to understand the impact of the OP-ICESCR mechanisms within domestic jurisdictions, particularly of the member states. (shrink)

At this juncture, the relevance of the human right to science is undeniable. The right, for a long time, has been a subject matter of deliberation under Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR). Most of these deliberations emphasised the need for a concise meaning and scope of the right to science. In the year 2020, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) under the ICESCR made two interventions with (...) the objective of defining, advancing and mainstreaming the right to science. The two interventions include General Comment No. 25 on Science and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Statement on the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This paper concerns the above mentioned statements of the CESCR, in particular, the interpretations and standards being advanced by the Committee. (shrink)

The right to food is recognized as a basic right under international human rights law. The lack of implementation of the right is a challenge for societies around the world. The failures in implementation are leading stakeholder's to strongly advance more appropriate standards vis-a-vis the right to food. The concept of food sovereignty for instance has gained importance in this regard. The concept of food sovereignty is interpreted to be larger in scope than the right to food. Food sovereignty is (...) not limited to the making "provision" of food to the beneficiaries by the state. In addition, it also mandates the empowerment of communities by the adoption of policies to secure land, food production and consumption, etc. -/- In 2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food recognized the wider import of the right to food based on the concept of food sovereignty. The Rapporteur emphasised on the provision of land for instance as essential to right to food. The acceptance of food sovereignty as a benchmark for state performance is one of the most notable developments in the field of economic, social and cultural rights. This chapter discusses the role of the concept of food sovereignty, and how it is shaping international and domestic policy frameworks. (shrink)