Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in Action

On 16 December 1966 the United Nations adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This was the first global treaty that established legal obligations on states to protect a range of important economic, social and cultural rights. 40 years later the vast majority of States have ratified this treaty. Despite this history, there remains considerable debate, both within the literature and within the international community generally, about the concept and application of economic, social and cultural rights. This collection gives a coherent analysis of many of the key issues, both in concept and in application, relevant to economic, social and cultural rights.

The authors of the chapters, many of whom are leading scholars in their fields with significant experience in practice, examine how the obligations to protect these rights have been applied today, including their application to the Security Council and to non-state actors, as well as in the context of development and dispossession. They provide important universal and regional comparative perspectives on the development and implementation of these rights, and consider some of the contemporary issues relating to these rights, such as trade, health and social security.

Robert McCorquodale is Professor of International Law and Human Rights in the School of Law at the University of Nottingham. Previously he was a Fellow at St. John's College, Cambridge and at the Australian National University. Before embarking on an academic career he worked as a lawyer with leading law firms in Sydney and London. Robert's teaching and research interests are in the areas of international law and human rights law. He has provided advice to governments, corporations, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and peoples concerning human rights issues, including advising on the drafting of new constitutions and conducting human rights training courses. Mashood Baderin is Reader in International Human Rights Law in the School of Law at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol. He is the Director of the International Law and Human Rights Unit of the School of Law, UWE. Mashood's teaching and research interests are in the areas of international law, human rights law and Islamic law. He has provided advice to government departments and training programmes on human rights and Islamic law.