Yearbook of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights | 2021

The annual Yearbook of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) captures the full range of the Committee’s activities in a given year. First published in 2017, it serves to make the Committee’s work more visible and accessible and has quickly evolved into a valuable tool for civil society, human rights practitioners, academics, States and all those with an interest in the potential of human rights to tackle problems of poverty, social injustice and inequality. 

The 2021 yearbook of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) captures the full range of the Committee’s activities in a given year. The Yearbook serves to make the Committee’s work more visible and accessible and has quickly evolved into a valuable tool for civil society, human rights practitioners, academics, States and all those with an interest in the potential of human rights to tackle problems of poverty, social injustice and inequality.

The 2020 edition contains information on the Committee’s latest State reviews, individual communication decisions, general comments and statements. This includes details of the Committee’s engagement with all dimensions of the coronavirus crisis, as well as issues as wide ranging as the climate emergency, evictions, gender equality and land rights. Used wisely, its guidance may be critical in shaping the world that we wish to build as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. 

We launched the 2019 edition of the Yearbook in a brand new format designed to make the Committee’s work as accessible as possible. The 2020 edition continues in this vein and is replete with new infographics, statistics and analysis of all elements of the Committee’s activities. This includes information on how the Committee has adapted to work online during the pandemic, as well as all new visual explanations of each of the Committee’s core functions. For the first time, the Yearbook also provides detailed information on Committee elections, follow-up to concluding observations, and follow-up to individual communication decisions. 

“The CESCR Yearbook serves the valuable function of ensuring that the work that the Committee engages in each year is clearly understandable and accessible to human rights advocates, researchers and broader civil society. We are thankful to GI-ESCR for its ongoing engagement and support of the work of the Committee, and welcome the continued publication of the Yearbook!”

Renato Zerbini Ribeiro Leão, Chair of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Access previous CESCR Yearbooks: