Statement by Navanethem Pillay at the Signing Ceremony for the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

New York, 24 September 2009


Distinguished Delegates,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to join you in this ceremony which marks the opening for signature and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. I wish to extend my warm thanks to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal for his participation at this landmark event.

Six decades ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights promised universality, indivisibility and equal value of all human rights for all people. Its framers wisely chose not to rank rights. On the contrary, they recognized that political and civil rights go hand in hand with economic, social and cultural rights. They did so because all rights are inextricably linked. Violations of a set of rights reverberate on other rights and undermine them all. Indeed, economic, social and cultural rights, like other human rights, are the birthright of every human being. A child excluded from primary school because of school fees, a woman paid less than her male colleague for the same work, a family forcibly evicted from their home, a man left to starve when food stocks lie unused—these are all instances of individuals denied their economic, social and cultural rights.

Yet, for far too long economic, social and cultural rights were not given the same attention and status in law, and were deprived of the same vehicles for enhancement and resources devoted to civil and political rights. On 10 December 2008, this historic gap in the protection of economic, social and cultural rights was finally addressed. The Optional Protocol reaffirms the equal importance of economic, social and cultural rights with civil and political rights. It will enable victims to seek justice for violations of their economic, social and cultural rights at the international level for the first time, through the submission of communications before the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Thus, the Optional Protocol represents a veritable milestone in the international human rights system.

The Optional Protocol also incorporates an inter-state communications procedure and an inquiry procedure similar to those provided by other human rights instruments.

Distinguished Delegates,

National experiences of judicial protection of economic, social and cultural rights were of pivotal importance in the adoption of the Optional Protocol during the sessions of the Open-Ended Working Group responsible for drafting the present text. In many jurisdictions, the introduction of legal remedies in cases of violation of economic, social and cultural rights has clearly benefited right-holders. It also brought clarity regarding the content of such rights and the State obligations stemming from them.

In South Africa, my country of origin, as in many other countries, the Constitution has substantively drawn from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It has also recognized the justiciability of socio-economic rights enshrined in the South African Constitution Bill of Rights. The experience of the South African Constitutional Court, has generally been considered by observers as an example of the path that international human rights law should take in the area of economic, social and cultural rights. Courts in many other countries, such as Argentina, Colombia, Finland, India, Nepal or Portugal, to name a few, have also rendered justice to these rights.

When the Optional Protocol on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force, the ensuing jurisprudence that it will stimulate can offer guidance, with the benefit of concrete examples, regarding the interpretation of economic, social and cultural rights. It will thus clarify the scope of application of these rights by national tribunals and adjudicating bodies.

Among the innovative features of the Optional Protocol, allow me to mention the inclusion of a specific standard of review for the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is “reasonableness”, which reflects the existing experience of national and regional courts and bodies in the field of economic, social and cultural rights. The Optional Protocol also contains a specific clause on international assistance and cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is a historic moment in the evolution of the protection of human rights and in providing access to remedies to victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights. With the adoption of the Optional Protocol, the United Nations has now been able to come full circle on the normative architecture envisaged by the Universal Declaration. I call on all States to promptly sign and ratify this crucial new human rights instrument.

Thank you.