Universal-MigrationHRlaw-PG-no-6-Publications-PractitionersGuide-2014-eng

226 | PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 6
CHAPTER 5: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL RIGHTS IN MIGRATION
Economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights are an essential part of the
corpus of international human rights law. They are recognised in the
UDHR and guaranteed by the ICESCR as well as other UN human rights
treaties (CERD, CEDAW, CRC, CRPD) and at a regional level by several
treaties including, but not limited to, the European Social Charter, the
American Convention on Human Rights, the Additional Protocol to the
American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
(ACHPR) and the Arab Charter of Human Rights (ArCHR). They encompass
a range of guarantees relating to the right to work, workplace and
trade union rights (addressed in Chapter 6); rights to health, education,
social security, and an adequate standard of living including housing,
food, water and sanitation; and rights to engage in cultural activities.
Some of these rights, or aspects of them, are also protected under civil
and political rights instruments such as the ICCPR and the ECHR.
As with civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights are
universally applicable, to citizens and to non-citizens, including all categories
of migrants. They are subject to principles of non-discrimination
on a number of grounds including race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or
other status. Particular guarantees relating to the ESC rights of children
are set out in the CRC, as well as relating to the ESC rights of women
in CEDAW. ESC rights provide a framework for considering questions
of migrants’ entitlements to social services in the host State, and the
State’s obligation to provide for the basic living needs of migrants who,
because of their migration status or for other reasons, are unable to
work.
I. General Principles
1. Duties to Respect, Protect and Fulfil
As with all human rights under international human rights law, ESC
rights carry legally binding obligations on States to respect, protect and
fulfil. The CESCR has adopted and developed this three-tier classification
of State obligations to guarantee the Covenant rights. 886
886 See, generally, ICJ, Courts and Legal Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
op. cit., fn. 29, pp. 42–53. See also a complete description in SERAC and CESR v. Nigeria,
ACommHPR, op. cit., fn. 29, paras. 44–48; and, CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 24,
op. cit., fn. 29, paras. 13–17. See also, Article 6, Maastricht Guidelines, op. cit. fn. 29. See
also, CMW, General Comment No. 2, op. cit., fn. 2, paras. 60–79.