Highlighting the rights of defenders of economic, social and cultural rights

The United Nations Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders is Hina Jilani. She recently submitted her annual report to the newly established Human Rights Council. The report highlighted the situation of defenders of economic, social and cultural rights. It starts by laying the legal foundation for the assertion of economic, social and cultural rights; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Some of these rights are the right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work; the right to social security; the right to family protection which includes the right of consenting adults to marriage, motherhood rights, special measures of protection and assistance for all children and young persons; the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing; the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the right to education; and the right of everyone to take part in cultural life.

The report also affirms that all human rights are "universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated" as reiterated in the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. This challenges the dichotomy between civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights. By focussing on the work of defenders of economic, social and cultural rights, the Special Representative seeks to emphasize that these rights are as inalienable to the international human rights framework as are civil and political rights, and also that the activities of human rights defenders are fully protected by the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Economic, social and cultural rights defenders are usually effective mobilizers for public and collective action. According to the Special Representative this and other roles mean that ’defenders who work for the implementation of ESCR should be seen as a force in inducing States parties to take positive steps towards ratifying and implementing the [International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights] and the rights it recognizes.’ Nevertheless, it is this power to mobilize that often results in their persecution.

The Special Representative outlines several instances where human rights defenders’ rights have been violated. Some of the common areas where such violations occur are in defence of land rights, natural resources and environmental issues; labour rights including trade union activities; motherhood, marriage and child rights; housing rights and forced evictions; the right to food and water; the right to health and the right to education. All these affect women in different ways than men.

Although defenders of economic, social and cultural rights face the same kinds of violations as those who defend civil and political rights, there are some differences in the way they experience these violations, particularly in their accessibility to protection and redress. According to the Special Representative, defenders of economic, social and cultural rights have a harder time having their work accepted as human rights work and consequently have a harder time attracting funding. They also find it more difficult to attract media coverage, and generally less attention is paid to violation of their rights. This is despite the serious violations that they experience.

The Special Representative’s report places particular emphasis of human rights defenders who work in the fields of indigenous peoples and minority rights, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and women human rights defenders. In numerous cases around the world these defenders have faced particular challenges in their work including intimidation, sexual violence, death threats and killings. She cites at least 43 cases of killings of women’s rights defenders. According to the report, the Special Representative has on several occasions put to task the governments of about 33 countries about the violations of human rights defenders.

The Special Representative makes several recommendations that would both ensure progress towards the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and the protection of defenders of those rights. Some of these recommendations are that civil society actors be guaranteed the full opportunity to participate in discussions and monitoring of social or economic policies and projects, that states show increased tolerance of human rights defenders, see them as a resource and even make used of their specialized knowledge to achieve the realization of all economic, social and cultural rights. She also reminds all governments of their commitments to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals which are directly linked to the realization of these rights.