time, or in other words progressively, is foreseen under the Covenant should not be
misinterpreted as depriving the obligation of all meaningful content. It is on the one hand a
necessary flexibility device, reflecting the realities of the real world and the difficulties
involved for any country in ensuring full realization of economic, social and cultural rights.
On the other hand, the phrase must be read in the light of the overall objective, indeed the
raison d’être, of the Covenant which is to establish clear obligations for States parties in
respect of the full realization of the rights in question. It thus imposes an obligation to move
as expeditiously and effectively as possible towards that goal. Moreover, any deliberately
retrogressive measures in that regard would require the most careful consideration and would
need to be fully justified by reference to the totality of the rights provided for in the Covenant
and in the context of the full use of the maximum available resources.
10.
On the basis of the extensive experience gained by the Committee, as well as by the
body that preceded it, over a period of more than a decade of examining States parties’
reports the Committee is of the view that a minimum core obligation to ensure the
satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights is incumbent
upon every State party. Thus, for example, a State party in which any significant number of
individuals is deprived of essential foodstuffs, of essential primary health care, of basic
shelter and housing, or of the most basic forms of education is, prima facie, failing to
discharge its obligations under the Covenant. If the Covenant were to be read in such a way
as not to establish such a minimum core obligation, it would be largely deprived of its raison
d’être. By the same token, it must be noted that any assessment as to whether a State has
discharged its minimum core obligation must also take account of resource constraints
applying within the country concerned. Article 2 (1) obligates each State party to take the
necessary steps “to the maximum of its available resources”. In order for a State party to be
able to attribute its failure to meet at least its minimum core obligations to a lack of available
resources it must demonstrate that every effort has been made to use all resources that are at
its disposition in an effort to satisfy, as a matter of priority, those minimum obligations.
11.
The Committee wishes to emphasize, however, that even where the available
resources are demonstrably inadequate, the obligation remains for a State party to strive to
ensure the widest possible enjoyment of the relevant rights under the prevailing
circumstances. Moreover, the obligations to monitor the extent of the realization, or more
especially of the non-realization, of economic, social and cultural rights, and to devise
strategies and programmes for their promotion, are not in any way eliminated as a result of
resource constraints. The Committee has already dealt with these issues in its general
comment No. 1 (1989).
12.
Similarly, the Committee underlines the fact that even in times of severe resources
constraints whether caused by a process of adjustment, of economic recession, or by other
factors the vulnerable members of society can and indeed must be protected by the adoption
of relatively low-cost targeted programmes. In support of this approach the Committee takes
note of the analysis prepared by UNICEF entitled “Adjustment with a human face: protecting
the vulnerable and promoting growth,1 the analysis by UNDP in its Human Development
Report 19902 and the analysis by the World Bank in the World Development Report 1990.3
13.
A final element of article 2 (1), to which attention must be drawn, is that the
undertaking given by all States parties is “to take steps, individually and through international
assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical ...”. The Committee notes that
the phrase “to the maximum of its available resources” was intended by the drafters of the
Covenant to refer to both the resources existing within a State and those available from the
international community through international cooperation and assistance. Moreover, the
essential role of such cooperation in facilitating the full realization of the relevant rights is