United Nations Commission on Human Rights
61th Session
Agenda Item 10
Oral Intervention
Mister Chairman,
The FIDH has been active for several years in advocating for the enforcement and justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights. The FIDH would like to draw the Commission’s attention on a few worrying situations.
In the Russian Federation, social benefits for vulnerable groups were recently replaced by insufficient cash payments, in breach of the principle of non-retrogression, provided for under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The FIDH remains very concerned at the fate of several millions of homeless people and the economic and social situation of conscripts in the Russian Army.
In the Peoples’ Republic of China, as pointed out by a forthcoming report by the FIDH, the right to the highest attainable standard of health of the majority of the population has been undermined by the collapse of the social safety network. Further, the authorities that covered up HIV/Aids infection through blood transfusions have benefited from total impunity. The FIDH is also concerned at the large number of forced evictions in major cities in violation of the right to adequate housing.
Following a collective complaint against France lodged by the FIDH in association with its French affiliate and the GISTI, the European Committee for Social Rights considered that under the European Social Charter, certain reform amounted to breaches to the right to health of thousands of migrants.
In order to put an end to the impunity concerning violations of economic, social and cultural rights, and to provide effective remedy to the victims, the FIDH supports the adoption of an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In particular, the FIDH recommends to the Commission to adopt the report of the second session of the "Open-Ended Working Group to consider options regarding the elaboration of an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights"[1].
The FIDH is also concerned with extreme poverty, a situation of such deprivation that it impedes persons and communities to exercise their human rights. The FIDH recommends to the Commission to decide to contribute to the elaboration of international standards on extreme poverty and human rights, for the full realization of human rights in the specific context of extreme poverty, taking into account their indivisibility and having in view their effective justiciability.
The ability of States to meet their obligations to guarantee economic, social and cultural rights is inextricably linked to international trade agreements. In particular the human right to food is closely interlinked to current negotiations in agriculture.. The FIDH would emphasize that States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights not only must respect Article 11 of that Covenant with respect to the populations on their national territory, but also should ensure that - especially in the negotiation of trade agreements - they do not create obstacles to other States complying with their obligations under this provision.
The FIDH recommends to the Commission to mandate the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake research, including multi-stakeholder consultations, with a view to clarifying the nature of human rights obligations of States in the framework of the the negotiation of international agreements, especially as they apply to the international trade in agriculture and respect for the human right to adequate food, including the right to water.
In general, the FIDH calls on the Commission to strengthen the means at the disposal of the mandate holders in the field of ESC rights, to enable them to undertake further missions in situ, as well as follow-up activities.
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