Question of the Realization in All Countries of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

A/HRC/RES/52/11View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

12 versions · 2007–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/58/9

2025A/HRC/RES/58/9Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/52/11Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/46/10Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/40/12Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare with previous version
2018A/HRC/RES/37/13Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Anti-Discrimination Measures Covid-19 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Equality Human Rights Social Security

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2025.

2025A/HRC/58/37Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

34 operative paragraphs

Urges all States to respect, protect and fulfil all economic, social and cultural rights by strengthening legal frameworks, adopting adequate policies and programmes and allocating sufficient resources for their implementation;

Calls upon all States to implement the Human Rights Council resolutions on the question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights, the most recent of which being resolution 40/12 of 21 March 2019;

Also calls upon all States that have not yet signed, ratified or acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to consider doing so as a matter of priority, and States parties to consider reviewing their reservations thereto;

Further calls upon all States that have not yet signed, ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to consider doing so, and also to consider making declarations under articles 10 and 11 thereof;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the question of the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in all countries, with a special focus on the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic, social and cultural rights and on social protection;

Welcomes the panel discussion on the importance of robust public policies and services for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights, held during the forty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council pursuant to its resolution 46/10;

Recognizes that, in recovering better from the pandemic, structural inequalities and deficiencies in social protection, health and education systems should be addressed to better protect economic, social and cultural rights and to ensure that societies and economies are more resilient to possible future crises;

Acknowledges the need to strengthen the fulfilment of the right to social security, which contributes significantly to mitigating or preventing many of the adverse impacts associated with crises, as demonstrated by the rapid and extensive emergency social protection measures taken by States in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;

Recognizes that all States have the potential to expand their investment in inclusive and equitable quality education, physical and mental health and social protection, which contributes to the fulfilment of their obligations regarding the realization of economic, social and cultural rights;

Encourages international financial institutions to continue to support States in their COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts and, when doing so, to take into consideration the prioritization of social spending and the enhancement of States’ fiscal space, while engaging collaboratively in terms of international assistance and cooperation, all of which contribute to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights;

Urges all States to guarantee that the right to social security is exercised without discrimination, and stresses the importance of a universal, comprehensive and inclusive social protection system, based on full respect for human rights and that leaves no one behind;

Also urges all States to design social protection systems that promote women’s economic security and take into consideration women’s unequal share of unpaid or underpaid care and domestic work, and aim to address this imbalance;

Notes with appreciation the contributions of international human rights mechanisms, including the international human rights treaty bodies, the Human Rights Council and its subsidiary bodies, the special procedures and the universal periodic review in promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in a manner consistent with States’ human rights obligations, and encourages States to give due consideration to information, observations and recommendations from human rights mechanisms when implementing and monitoring the progress of the 2030 Agenda, and to promote the cooperation of all stakeholders towards the full integration of human rights into the said processes;

Underlines the importance of access to justice and to an effective remedy for violations of economic, social and cultural rights, including those of a systemic character, and in this regard notes with appreciation the measures taken by States for the domestic adjudication of cases and to ensure access to complaints procedures for victims of alleged human rights violations, and calls upon States to strengthen their efforts to guarantee access to judicial and non-judicial remedies at the national, regional and international levels;

Welcomes the steps taken at the national level to implement economic, social and cultural rights, including the enactment of appropriate legislation and adjudication by national courts, and in this regard underlines the need to consider justiciability when determining the best way to give domestic legal effect to the rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Acknowledges that social protection floors facilitate the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to education, social security, work, including just and favourable conditions of work, the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and safe drinking water and sanitation, in accordance with the human rights obligations of States, and in this regard underlines the importance of acting consistently to establish and/or further develop such floors in compliance with the principles of non-discrimination and equality, gender equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities, transparency, participation and accountability;

Also acknowledges the important contribution of women and girls to sustainable development and reiterates that gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and women’s full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership in the economy are vital for achieving sustainable development, promoting peaceful, just and inclusive societies, enhancing sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and productivity, ending poverty in all its forms everywhere and ensuring the well-being of all;

Underlines the importance of providing human rights training and education for all, across the life cycle, which can help to build societies that respect dignity, equality, inclusion, integrity, diversity and the rule of law;

Encourages the use of international human rights standards and the recommendations of the human rights bodies and mechanisms to identify the root causes of discrimination, in particular in the context of multiple and aggravated forms of discrimination, and the measures necessary to combat discrimination and inequalities;

Calls upon States:

To adopt, further develop, use and promote the use of procedures for information-gathering and measurement, and human rights indicators contextualized at the national level, to support decision-making processes and to measure progress in the implementation of laws, policies and actions to respect, protect and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights and to address discrimination and inequalities, noting that these procedures should respect human rights, including the right to privacy, and be transparent, participatory and allow for accountability;

To identify patterns of discrimination in law, policies and practices, and to address entrenched structural barriers and unequal power relations that generate and perpetuate inequality over generations;

To strengthen the role and capacity of national human rights institutions consistent with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and of equality bodies, to protect civic space and to contribute to strengthening the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, and to provide support for stakeholders in the identification of appropriate measures for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at the national and local levels;

To consider establishing and/or strengthening national mechanisms for the implementation of, reporting on and follow-up to human rights obligations and recommendations, recognizing their contribution to implementation, reporting and follow-up processes and their potential to undertake cross-cutting initiatives to strengthen the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, and to follow up on and review the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and international and national commitments made at United Nations conferences and summits;

Acknowledges the work carried out by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to assist States parties in fulfilling their obligations, including through the elaboration of general comments, the consideration of periodic reports and, for States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, the examination of individual communications;

Also acknowledges the work of other relevant treaty bodies and special procedures, within their mandates, in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, and the important role of the universal periodic review in this regard;

Encourages enhanced cooperation and increased coordination between the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other human rights treaty bodies, United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and programmes and the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council whose activities have a bearing on economic, social and cultural rights, in a manner that respects their distinctive mandates and promotes their policies, programmes and projects;

Recognizes and encourages the important contributions of regional organizations, national human rights institutions and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academic and research institutions, business enterprises and trade unions, to the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, including training and information activities, and underlines the importance of consultation with and the participation of affected persons in decisions affecting them;

Encourages States, in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to provide effective guidance to business enterprises on how to meet their responsibility to respect human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, throughout their operations, and to seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts;

Welcomes the activities carried out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights, mainly through technical cooperation, and notes with appreciation the work of its field offices, its relevant reports to United Nations bodies, the development of in-house expertise, including on human rights indicators, and its publications, studies, training and information activities on related issues, including through new information technologies;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene at its fifty-fifth session a panel discussion, accessible to persons with disabilities and open to the participation of States, local authorities, relevant treaty bodies and the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, academia, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, on challenges and good practices to strengthen the fulfilment of the right to social security and for building, financing and implementing public policies and quality public services as key tools for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights;

Requests the Secretary-General to prepare and submit to the Human Rights Council, at its fifty-eighth session, a report, in formats accessible to persons with disabilities, on the question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights under agenda item 3, with a special focus on challenges and good practices to strengthen the fulfilment of the right to social security, taking into consideration the outcomes of the panel discussion to be convened at the fifty-fifth session;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare, before the fifty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council, a practical information note compiling best practices on social protection with regard to human rights, that builds on existing initiatives carried out by the Office’s field presences, including in coordination with United Nations country teams and in partnership with the International Labour Organization, and to do so in consultation with States, the treaty bodies, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, in particular the International Labour Organization;

Decides to remain seized of this issue and to consider taking further action in order to implement the present resolution.

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Who created this mandate?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What does this mandate say?

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