A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

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Appendix B
From an ethical perspective, the rights provided in the UDHR and further developed in other
human rights treaties spring not from positive law but rather are a component of “the inherent
dignity and . . . the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” 37 The
American Convention on Human Rights also expressly recognizes “that the essential rights of
man are not derived from one’s being a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes
of the human personality.” 38 The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights recognizes
“that fundamental human rights stem from the attitudes of human beings, which justifies their
international protection.” 39 In this respect, states must provide human rights to all individuals within
their jurisdiction, and these rights cannot be suspended even in emergency situations. For example,
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that the rights provided under the American
Convention on Human Rights cannot be suspended even in emergency situations because they are
“inherent to man.” 40
ii. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was adopted
by the U.N. General Assembly in 1966 and entered into force in January 1976. 41 As of June 11,
2009, 160 states are party to the ICESCR. 42 The U.N. Economic and Social Counsel (ECOSOC)
is formally entrusted under the ICESCR with the task of monitoring compliance by state parties
but since 1987 this task has been carried out by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights. 43
The ICESCR addresses a state’s obligation to provide certain economic, social, and cultural rights
to its citizens. Each State Party to the ICESCR “undertakes to take steps, individually and through
international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum
of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights
recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption
of legislative measures.” 44 The ICESCR also provides that state parties agree “to guarantee that the
rights enunciated in the . . . Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status.” 45
The ICESCR guarantees, inter alia, the following rights:
• the equal right of both women and men to the enjoyment of all rights set forth in the
convention;
• to work in just and favorable conditions;
• to form trade unions;
• to social security and social insurance;
• to marriage;
• to an adequate standard of living;