High Commissioner for Human Rights: Instead of Learning Lessons from the Pandemic, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Are Still Seen as Optional Extras, Not Binding Obligations

AFTERNOON 15 September 2023

Council Concludes Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, this afternoon told the Human Rights Council that instead of learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, economic, social and cultural rights were still seen as optional extras, not binding obligations. He warned that without enhanced efforts to realise economic, social and cultural rights by individual States and through international cooperation, there was little chance of achieving the 18 Sustainable Development Goals.

Presenting his Office’s report on the vision of the Office for reinforcing its work in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Türk said the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed deep inequalities within and between countries, as well as decades of underinvestment in systems and services essential to upholding economic, social and cultural rights. It had also shown what was possible when States invested in these systems. It should not take a global public health emergency to realise the importance of economic, social and cultural rights. Yet instead of learning lessons from the pandemic, these rights were still seen as optional extras, not binding obligations. The promise of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights remained illusory for billions of people.

Mr. Türk said the report before the Council outlined the Office of the High Commissioner’s priorities for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, and underscored the urgent need for action.

Without enhanced efforts to realise economic, social, and cultural rights by individual States and through international cooperation, there was little chance of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals laid out in the 2030 Agenda. The vision in the report set out to help every country to make human rights a reality for all. The Office would support States to meet their economic, social and cultural rights obligations. To address inequalities and realise economic, social and cultural rights, Mr. Türk said the Office of the High Commissioner needed further resources.

In the discussion, some speakers said the world was facing enormous challenges, and was still struggling with the consequences of the pandemic, something that was hindering the achievement of human rights. The report clearly underlined that the global rise of economic and social inequalities and insufficient advancement in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights were hindering the progress of the 2030 Agenda. Action on economic, social and cultural rights indeed needed to be amplified when striving for an inclusive, sustainable and better future for all. The international community’s joint efforts were required to build a safer and more just world that was based on the rule of law and the universality of human rights.

A number of speakers said these rights must be a priority if the international community was to meet its main challenge of combatting inequality, and economic, social and cultural rights must be taken into account in a balanced manner, ensuring their enjoyment for all. Their full enjoyment required a revision of the Bretton Woods system, and the development of a new global financial compact. All States should work collectively to ensure that financial systems prioritised the well-being of individuals and communities, rather than perpetuating inequalities and human suffering.

Speaking in the discussion were Honduras, Finland on behalf of a group of countries, European Union, Côte d'Ivoire on behalf of the African Group, China on behalf of a group of countries, Indonesia, United Nations Women, Portugal, Bahrain, Egypt, Germany, Costa Rica, United States, Jordan, France, Kuwait, Georgia, Chile, Lesotho, Iraq, Malawi, Malaysia, Armenia, Thailand, United Nations Population Fund, Luxembourg, Zimbabwe, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Maldives, Peru, Namibia, Australia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Panama, Tunisia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Algeria, Cuba, Togo, Venezuela and Senegal.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded its interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.

Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, in concluding remarks, urged all to recognise the issue as a global and national human rights priority; to take action against violence, abuse and neglect of older persons; to collect and analyse data; to adopt plans to support caregivers; and to establish a monitoring mechanism. The adoption of a legally binding instrument was the best way to address gaps and protect all persons, in their full diversity.

In the discussion, some speakers said the thematic focus in the report on violence against older persons was timely and crucial, and they supported the recommendations put forth in the report. One speaker said the report presented allegations as facts, misrepresented the situation and lobbied unfounded claims. It served no benefit to the situation on the ground. Other speakers shared the concerns of the Independent Expert about the increased risk of violence against older persons, due to multifaceted crises and economic difficulties, including a greater burden on support structures. There were insufficient national and international safeguards in place to protect older persons. Some speakers supported the Independent Expert’s call for a binding international legal instrument safeguarding rights in older age.

Speaking in the interactive discussion were Tunisia, Morocco, Djibouti, Algeria, Cuba, Togo, Venezuela, Senegal, Jamaica, Mauritius, Kenya, Gambia, Ukraine, Mali, Montenegro, Italy, India, Sudan, Iran, Honduras, Azerbaijan, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the World Health Organization.

Also speaking were the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria, Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea, Commission Nationale Indépendante des Droits de l’Homme du Burundi, and National Human Rights Commission of India, as well as the following non-governmental organizations: International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, International Lesbian and Gay Association, HelpAge International, Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie Van Homoseksualiteit - COC Nederland, Asociacion HazteOir.org, Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, Human Rights Watch, Alliance Defending Freedom, and Amity Foundation.

Speaking in exercise of right of reply at the end of the meeting were Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Armenia.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-third regular session can be found here.

The Council will next meet at 10 a.m. on Monday, 18 September, when it is scheduled to continue the interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will then hold an interactive dialogue with the Working Group on arbitrary detention, followed by an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences.

Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons

The interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons started in the previous meeting and a summary can be found here.

Discussion

In the discussion, many speakers thanked the Independent Expert for her report, which emphasised the different manifestations of violence, abuse and neglect faced by older persons. The report examined the existing legal frameworks for prevention and protection measures at regional and international levels. The thematic focus on violence against older persons was timely and crucial, and speakers supported the recommendations put forth in the report.

One speaker said the report presented allegations as facts, misrepresented the situation, and lobbied unfounded claims. It served no benefit to the situation on the ground, said the speaker.

Some speakers shared the concerns of the Independent Expert about the increased risk of violence against older persons due to multifaceted crises and economic difficulties, including a greater burden on support structures. There were insufficient national and international safeguards in place to protect older persons. There were also no specific provisions addressing violence against and abuse and neglect of older persons in the current international human rights framework, which meant that older persons remained invisible, and their rights unprotected. Some speakers supported the Independent Expert's call for a binding international legal instrument safeguarding rights in older age. It was important to strengthen normative, institutional, and social mechanisms and policies that supported the potential of the elderly to live a quality life and to contribute to society. States needed to take a holistic approach that promoted the inclusion of elder persons in society at all levels.

Ageism was one of the root causes of violence, abuse and neglect, affecting one in six older persons globally. Women faced compounded risks due to gendered ageism. Combatting ageism was key in combatting abuse against older persons. It was recognised that ageism and age discrimination could result in discriminatory practices. These were often institutionalised by legal and policy frameworks, based on entrenched stereotypes in legal, medical and educational systems. Ageism must not be tolerated and must be treated with the same seriousness as other forms of discrimination.

Some speakers strongly condemned all forms of discrimination, as well as practices of violence, abuse and neglect against old persons, and remained committed to ensuring their dignity and rights. Many speakers outlined legislation, strategies and measures taken to protect the rights of elderly persons in their own countries. These included enshrining the rights of the elderly in the Constitution and Family and Penal Codes; public awareness campaigns on violence against the elderly; and the creation of national institutions for elderly persons, among others.

Questions asked to the Independent Expert included what measures Member States could implement at national and regional levels to fill the gaps identified in the report, pending the establishment of a binding international instrument? How could one of the Independent Expert’s recommendations about monitoring procedures in institutions be further developed in order to prevent and protect older persons from abuse and neglect? What mechanisms could be developed at the international level to more effectively monitor the implementation of policies designed to protect older persons from abuse and neglect? What were particularly effective avenues to address the issues of age stereotypes and hate speech which resulted in the abuse of older persons? What actions could civil society take to make the voices of elderly people heard?

Concluding Remarks

CLAUDIA MAHLER, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, said it had been a fruitful exchange. The increase of hate speech during the pandemic was a new phenomenon, and the international community needed to realise that this type of violence was more or less new for all. The growth of hate speech online was coupled with new types of disinformation. More pressing needs to strengthen the human rights of all led to them being unprotected, as the existing human rights framework was unprepared. There was a digital divide and it needed to be bridged to tackle issues intersectorally.

National preventive mechanisms already had the mandate to go into care homes. Ms. Mahler said she had in mind all victims, especially those of the ongoing crises and disasters worldwide, including Morocco and Libya: older persons in such settings were usually the first affected and the first forgotten. She took note of all the shared examples given today and would come back to all the stakeholders. She urged all to recognise the issue as a global and national human rights priority; to take action against violence, abuse and neglect of older persons; to collect and analyse data; to adopt plans to support caregivers; and to establish a monitoring mechanism. The adoption of a legally binding instrument was the best way to address gaps and protect all persons, in their full diversity.

Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Promoting and Protecting Economic, Social and Cultural Rights within the Context of Addressing Inequalities in the Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Report

The Human Rights Council has before it the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the vision of the Office for reinforcing its work in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic (A/HRC/54/35).

Presentation of Report

VOLKER TÜRK, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said 57 years ago, when the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was adopted, Member States expressed their firm conviction that the basic necessities of life – education, health, decent work, social security, an adequate standard of living, freedom from hunger, and enjoyment of science and culture – were not services or commodities, but human rights to be enjoyed by all. Last year, the United Nations General Assembly finally recognised a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right. Countries had agreed that without economic, social and cultural rights, people could not fully participate in civil and political life.

The COVID-19 pandemic had exposed deep inequalities within and between countries, as well as decades of underinvestment in systems and services essential to upholding economic, social and cultural rights. It had also shown what was possible when States invested in these systems. Governments around the world had poured billions into social security schemes, including universal basic income, ensuring a lifeline for people who lost their jobs or could not work. It should not take a global public health emergency to realise the importance of economic, social and cultural rights. Yet instead of learning lessons from the pandemic, these rights were still seen as optional extras, not binding obligations. The promise of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights remained illusory for billions of people.

Mr. Türk said that globally, public spending on economic, social and cultural rights was insufficient. By 2030, 84 million children would be out of school and 300 million would not complete primary school. Last year, about two billion workers were in precarious informal employment, with no social security, with another two billion facing impoverishing health spending. Almost 600 million people were projected to face hunger by 2030 and two billion lived without access to clean and safe drinking water. Global poverty had risen for the first time in over 20 years. At current trends, by 2030, some 574 million people would be trapped in extreme poverty.

The report before the Council outlined the Office of the High Commissioner’s priorities for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, and underscored the urgent need for action.

Without enhanced efforts to realise economic, social, and cultural rights by individual States and through international cooperation, there was little chance of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals laid out in the 2030 Agenda. Human rights economies measured success, not by the size of the gross domestic product, but by the wellbeing of all people. Putting people and the planet first was fundamental to broader social and economic wellbeing.

The vision in the report set out to help every country to make human rights a reality for all. The Office would support States to meet their economic, social and cultural rights obligations; reinforce States’ efforts to address the root causes of inequalities, and to prioritise those most affected by entrenched discrimination; mobilise efforts across society, from national human rights institutions and civil society, businesses and parliaments; work with international institutions to integrate economic, social and cultural rights into their policies; and help States harness the power of data to increase understanding, address gaps and develop targeted socioeconomic policies.

To address inequalities and realise economic, social and cultural rights, Mr. Türk said the Office of the High Commissioner needed further resources. The report emphasised technical assistance, enhancing capacity, and providing legislative support to broaden fiscal space, tackle inequality, and alleviate poverty, as some concrete examples of the ways the Office could help Member States fulfil their commitments to economic, social and cultural rights. The vision highlighted in the report was a blueprint for action in the context of post-pandemic recovery, the current economic climate and the future.

Discussion

In the ensuing dialogue, some speakers said the world was facing enormous challenges, and was still struggling with the consequences of the pandemic, something that was hindering the achievement of human rights. The global increase in extreme poverty following the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts posed serious human rights concerns. COVID-19 recovery must be rooted in human rights, with individual rights holders at its centre. The report clearly underlined that the global rise of economic and social inequalities and insufficient advancement in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights were hindering the progress of the 2030 Agenda. Action on economic, social and cultural rights indeed needed to be amplified when striving for an inclusive, sustainable and better future for all.

There was a need for as many resources as possible if countries were to achieve economic, social and cultural rights, a number of speakers said. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time in 20 years, global poverty had risen. Gains in education, health, nutrition and employment were reversed. These reversals could be exacerbated still by climate change and by other challenges. The Office’s support to national institutions in implementing their human right obligations was very valuable. Disaggregated data was indeed critical in ensuring gender equality and non-discrimination in the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights. The independence of the work of the Office of the High Commissioner needed to be ensured, without question.

Civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights all built on each other. They were indivisible and interdependent. The international community’s joint efforts were required to build a safer and more just world that was based on the rule of law and the universality of human rights. These rights must be a priority of the international community to meet its main challenge of combatting inequality. Economic, social and cultural rights must be taken into account in a balanced manner, ensuring their enjoyment for all. More needed to be done to promote them actively and overcome equality both in and between countries. Their full enjoyment required a revision of the Bretton Woods system, and the development of a new global financial compact.

Some speakers said the Office's recognition of the need to address the role of international financial institutions in the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights was vital in holding these institutions accountable for their impact on human rights. All States should work collectively to ensure that financial systems prioritised the well-being of individuals and communities, rather than perpetuating inequalities and human suffering.

A number of speakers said no country was able to tackle global crises alone as shown through the COVID-19 pandemic, which not only provoked disastrous physical and health damages but also had a profound socio-economic impact and continued to create significant challenges to the realisation of all human rights, notably economic, social and cultural rights, with a disproportionate impact on women, girls and persons in vulnerable situations. Socio-economic responses to global crises and addressing social inequalities needed to be grounded in a human rights-based approach, with individuals as rights-holders.

As pointed out in the High Commissioner’s global update last Monday, “the separation between two distinct sets of rights - civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights, on the other - is an artefact of ideologies, not borne out by reality”. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights did not prioritise any human rights, and thus all should be striven for in a balanced way. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should work to redress civil and political rights as well, and take the opportunity of the anniversary of the Declaration to redress inequalities. By joining the concepts of fear and want, the Declaration stated what all had accepted: that political and civil rights and economic, social and cultural rights went hand in hand, that they were indivisible and interdependent, and that they were interrelated.

For decades, the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights had been slowed down due to the artificial divide between these rights and civil and political rights, a speaker said. In the report, a complete picture was not painted: the author side-stepped that the enjoyment of these rights was impacted also by external pressures, such as unilateral coercive measures, capital inflow, the interference of sovereign States in the affairs of others, and many others, all of which had a negative impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, and the Office should pay attention to this. The huge global gap in inequalities needed to be bridged, and unilateral coercive measures only served as a barrier to this, another speaker said.

Among questions raised was: how were individual rights holders and human rights defenders, including those in vulnerable situations, involved in the Office’s work to promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights; what would be the timeline for implementing the report’s five-point vision, which covered a range of important human rights issues, including climate change, health, business and human rights and others; and how could the international community strengthen the cooperation and technical assistance provided by the Office to States to help them implement the Universal Periodic Review recommendations that were linked to economic, social and cultural rights?

Intermediary Remarks

VOLKER TÜRK, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in intermediary remarks, said human rights helped to identify and govern the relationships between peoples, states and the environment. It was critical for the Office of the High Commissioner to be able to deliver on this comprehensive issue, and the Office had not been able to do so as it should. The Office was not going to be able to do it without the necessary resources, so it needed to be ensured that these resources could be obtained. There was a need to enhance the expertise when it came to economic, cultural and social rights. Economics were needed to understand human rights. Regional offices needed to be strengthened and regional coverage expanded to deliver to Member States. Expertise also needed to be developed at the global level.

There was no one at the Office of the High Commissioner who worked on global rights, which was a shame. It would help the Universal Periodic Review process and it was important to make sure the recommendations in relation to economic, social and cultural rights were being followed up. The Office was the bridge at the country level between Governments and human rights defenders. Businesses knew that their future depended on being more aligned with global human rights issues. Business leaders were aware that, if they were not savvy on human rights in the future, they would not be able to do business. Delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals could only happen with quality data, which was currently not available. Mr. Türk said he had engaged significantly with the World Bank and other development institutions. Predictable long-term funding and investment was required for the work of the Office. Human rights were the best prevention of climate change. The current financial architecture was not aligned with human rights, and this needed to be addressed.