Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Opens Seventy-Third Session

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today opened its seventy-third session, hearing opening remarks from Wan-Hea Lee, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Representative of the Secretary-General. The Committee adopted its agenda for the session, during which it is scheduled to review the reports of Cambodia, China, Lithuania, Panama, Portugal and Yemen.

Ms. Lee said that the United Nations Human Rights Appeal for 2023 launched by the High Commissioner for Human Rights last month highlighted the global socio-economic crisis, deepening inequalities within and between countries, impunity, the rising cost of living, and the triple planetary crisis - climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Much more needed to be done to address these crises, and the guidance that the Committee provided was ever more critical.

The year ahead provided an opportunity for the international community to address these broader issues as it marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Ms. Lee said. The Office looked to the Committee to contribute to realising the 2030 Agenda through a human rights-enhancing economy.

Mohamed Ezzeldin Abdel-Moneim, Chair of the Committee, said that the Committee was 36 years old, quite young, but had made great achievements. There were 171 States parties to the Covenant, and the number was increasing. The world faced multiple crises, and the Committee would consider ways of addressing these during the session.

The Committee elected Lydia Carmelita Ravenberg (Suriname) and Preeti Saran (India) as Vice-Chairs.

Three new Committee members made their solemn declaration: Santiago Manuel Fiorio Vaesken (Paraguay), Joo-Young Lee (Republic of Korea) and Julieta Rossi (Argentina).

The Committee adopted the agenda of the session.

All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Webcasts of the meetings of the session can be found here, and meetings summaries can be found here.

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. this afternoon, Monday, 13 February, to begin its consideration of the third periodic report of Panama (E/C.12/PAN/3).

Statements

MOHAMED EZZELDIN ABDEL-MONEIM, Chair of the Committee, said that the Committee was 36 years old, quite young, but had made great achievements. There were 171 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The world faced multiple crises, and the Committee would consider ways of addressing these during the session. Mr. Abdel-Moneim welcomed the three newly elected Committee Experts, who would contribute to further advancing the work of the Committee.

WAN-HEA LEE, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Representative of the Secretary-General, welcomed the three new Committee Experts. The state of economic, social and cultural rights at the start of 2023 could be summed up by the United Nations Human Rights Appeal for 2023 launched by the High Commissioner for Human Rights last month. It highlighted the global socio-economic crisis, deepening inequalities within and between countries, impunity, the rising cost of living, and the triple planetary crisis - climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals had stalled or even regressed in some respects, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The words of Klaus Schwab from the World Economic Forum held in Davos in January 2023 resonated loudly: Economic, environmental, social and geopolitical crises were converging and conflating, creating an extremely versatile and uncertain future. Much more needed to be done. The guidance that the Committee provided was ever more critical.

The year ahead provided an opportunity for the international community to address these broader issues as it marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The High Commissioner had underscored the importance of building on the momentum that the seventy-fifth anniversary presented to reawaken the impulse and energy that led to the adoption of the Declaration in 1948 and to bring the words of the Declaration to life. At the fifth intersessional meeting of the Human Rights Council on Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda held on 19 January 2023, the discussion focused on realising the 2030 Agenda through a human rights-enhancing economy. The Office looked to the Committee to contribute to this aim, including through the High-Level Political Forum.

Ms. Lee said that during this session, a day of the general discussion on the general comment on sustainable development and the Covenant would be held on 24 February. Committee Members had undertaken extensive consultations over the last two years across all regions, including with children, in preparation. Committee Experts would engage with other international experts during the discussion day as they developed a first draft of the general comment.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had continued its work to support the strengthening of the treaty bodies, and was in the process of finalising an implementation plan following the June 2022 conclusions of the Chairs. This plan would facilitate the Committee’s work, as well as of the other treaty bodies, including by introducing a predictable review calendar. This would also help States and numerous stakeholders to plan and work more effectively. Human and financial resources were needed to achieve this review calendar, including state-of-the-art, accessible digital tools. The chronic under-funding of the treaty body system had contributed to significant backlogs in State party reports and individual communications. Advancing the full implementation of treaty-based human rights obligations required sustainable funding from Member States. The High Commissioner had stated that he was committed to supporting greater funding for the human rights mechanisms during his tenure.

The work of the Office and the treaty bodies was mutually reinforcing, and the Office would continue to build on the Committee’s substantive work, which constituted essential guidance for the work of the Office and the United Nations human rights system. The Committee’s work was even more relevant today, as multiple crises were making the links between human rights and the economy stark. The Office was preparing to scale up its cooperation with the Committee, particularly at the country level.

MOHAMED EZZELDIN ABDEL-MONEIM, Chair of the Committee, said that the Committee would not be discussing follow-up assessments at this session, as many were overdue and had not been submitted in time.

During the session, the Committee would engage with colleagues from other treaty bodies and from the United Nations Funds and Programmes. It was grateful to all United Nations partners at the national level that were providing support to States in their efforts to follow up on the recommendations of the Committee.

Mr. Abdel-Moneim said that since the last session, the Committee had received the reports of the Russian Federation, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Uruguay, Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic, Georgia and Namibia. There was a backlog of reports pending review, due to postponements related to the pandemic and limited meeting time.

The Committee would, during the session, be considering matters related to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, as well as the working group's proposals regarding individual communications. The working group held its first pre-sessional meeting just last Friday on 10 February 2023. The Committee may also consider other matters under agenda item 11, as required.