GI-ESCR’S ENGAGEMENT WITH CESCR

Cooperation with the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is one of GI-ECSR’s main areas of work. GI-ESCR has continuously submitted individual shadow reports, engaged in the preparation of the Committees’ general comments as well as play the role of a key organizer of civil society meetings with the Committee.

Apart from that, we collaborate with the Committee on publishing yearbooks summarizing the Committee’s most important work over a particular year.

GI-ESCR also provides summaries and analyses of the Committee’s jurisprudence under the Optional Protocol and is constantly updating the Guide to the individual communication process.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is a United Nations treaty body consisting of 18 independent experts with a mandate to monitor the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant enshrines economic, social and cultural rights such as the rights to adequate food, adequate housing, education, health, social security, water and sanitation, and work. The Committee, established in 1985, holds two regular sessions each year in Geneva to discuss reports submitted by States parties.

GI-ESCR at the 72nd Session of the Committee

In the very beginning of the Session GI-ESCR met up with the Committee to inform it about our latest work and discuss future cooperation.

Shadow reports

For the 72nd Session, GI-ESCR submitted 3 Shadow reports - for Italy, Guatemala and Senegal.

In the Concluding Observations on Guatemala, the Committee mentioned general concerns highlighted by GI-ESCR regarding the right to free, prior and informed consent, the responsibility of corporate actors for business-related human rights violations and availability of water resources (para. 40-41). The summary records also contain references to discussions on the violation of human rights committed in the development of renewable energy systems and other large-scale development projects.

In the Concluding Observations on Italy, the Committee addressed the issue of fundings of the public healthcare system which was GI-ESCR’s main focus of the submission.