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State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Businesses play an important role in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, inter alia by contributing to the creation of employment opportunities and — through private investment — to development. However, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been regularly presented with situations in which, as a result of States’ failure to ensure compliance, under their jurisdiction, with internationally recognized human rights norms and standards, corporate activities have negatively affected economic, social and cultural rights. The present general comment seeks to clarify the duties of States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in such situations, with a view to preventing and addressing the adverse impacts of business activities on human rights.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- In certain jurisdictions, individuals enjoy direct recourse against business entities for violations of economic, social and cultural rights, whether in order to impose on such private entities (negative) duties to refrain from certain courses of conduct or to impose (positive) duties to adopt certain measures or to contribute to the fulfilment of such rights. There are also a large number of domestic laws designed to protect specific economic, social and cultural rights, that apply directly to business entities, such as in the areas of non-discrimination, health-care provision, education, the environment, employment relations and consumer safety.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Such extraterritorial obligations of States under the Covenant follow from the fact that the obligations of the Covenant are expressed without any restriction linked to territory or jurisdiction. Although article 14 of the Covenant does refer to compulsory primary education having to be provided by a State “in its metropolitan territory or other territories under its jurisdiction”, such a reference is absent from the other provisions of the Covenant. Moreover, article 2 (1) refers to international assistance and cooperation as a means of fulfilling economic, social and cultural rights. It would be contradictory to such a reference to allow a State to remain passive where an actor domiciled in its territory and/or under its jurisdiction, and thus under its control or authority, harmed the rights of others in other States, or where conduct by such an actor may lead to foreseeable harm being caused. Indeed, the Members of the United Nations have pledged “to take joint and separate action in cooperation with the Organization” to achieve the purposes set forth in article 55 of the Charter, including “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion”. This duty is expressed without any territorial limitation, and should be taken into account when addressing the scope of States’ obligations under human rights treaties. Also in line with the Charter, the International Court of Justice has acknowledged the extraterritorial scope of core human rights treaties, focusing on their object and purpose, their legislative history and the lack of territorial limitation provisions in the text. Customary international law also prohibits a State from allowing its territory to be used to cause damage on the territory of another State, a requirement that has gained particular relevance in international environmental law. The Human Rights Council has confirmed that such prohibition extends to human rights law, when it endorsed the guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights, in its resolution 21/11.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The present general comment could also assist workers’ organizations and employers in the context of collective bargaining. A large number of States parties require workplace procedures for the examination of grievances brought by workers, individually or collectively, without threat of reprisal. Social dialogue and the availability of grievance mechanisms for workers could be more systematically relied upon, particularly for the implementation of articles 6 and 7 of the Covenant.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- While they generally should not be seen as a substitute for judicial mechanisms (which often remain indispensable for effective protection against certain violations of Covenant rights), non-judicial remedies may contribute to providing effective remedy to victims whose Covenant rights have been violated by business actors and ensuring accountability for such violations. These alternative mechanisms should be adequately coordinated with available judicial mechanisms, both in relation to the sanction and to the compensation for victims.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to protect means that States parties must prevent effectively infringements of economic, social and cultural rights in the context of business activities. This requires that States parties adopt legislative, administrative, educational and other appropriate measures, to ensure effective protection against Covenant rights violations linked to business activities, and that they provide victims of such corporate abuses with access to effective remedies.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Ensuring corporate accountability for violations of Covenant rights requires reliance on various tools. The most serious violations of the Covenant should give rise to criminal liability of corporations and/or of the individuals responsible. Prosecuting authorities may have to be made aware of their role in upholding Covenant rights. Victims of violations of Covenant rights should have access to reparations where Covenant rights are at stake and whether or not criminal liability is engaged.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Violations of Covenant rights will often be remedied by an individual claim against the State, whether on the basis of the Covenant itself or on the basis of domestic constitutional or legislative provisions that incorporate the guarantees of the Covenant. However, where the violation is directly attributable to a business entity, victims should be able to sue such an entity either directly on the basis of the Covenant in jurisdictions which consider that the Covenant imposes self-executing obligations on private actors, or on the basis of domestic legislation incorporating the Covenant in the national legal order. In this regard, civil remedies play an important role in ensuring access to justice for victims of violations of Covenant rights.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to fulfil requires States parties to take necessary steps, to the maximum of their available resources, to facilitate and promote the enjoyment of Covenant rights, and, in certain cases, to directly provide goods and services essential to such enjoyment. Discharging such duties may require the mobilization of resources by the State, including by enforcing progressive taxation schemes. It may require seeking business cooperation and support to implement the Covenant rights and comply with other human rights standards and principles.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has previously underlined that discrimination in the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights is frequently found in private spheres, including in workplaces and the labour market and in the housing and lending sectors. Under articles 2 and 3 of the Covenant, States parties have the obligation to guarantee the enjoyment of Covenant rights to all without discrimination. The requirement to eliminate formal as well as substantive forms of discrimination includes a duty to prohibit discrimination by non-State entities in the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States parties should facilitate access to relevant information through mandatory disclosure laws and by introducing procedural rules allowing victims to obtain the disclosure of evidence held by the defendant. Shifting the burden of proof may be justified where the facts and events relevant for resolving a claim lie wholly or in part within the exclusive knowledge of the corporate defendant. The conditions under which the protection of trade secrets and other grounds for refusing disclosure may be invoked should be defined restrictively, without jeopardizing the right of all parties to a fair trial. Furthermore, States parties and their judicial and enforcement agencies have a duty to cooperate with one another in order to promote information-sharing and transparency and prevent the denial of justice.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- State-based non-judicial mechanisms should provide effective protection for victims’ rights. Where such alternative non-judicial mechanisms are established, they should also possess a number of characteristics ensuring that they are credible and can contribute effectively to the prevention of and reparation for violations; their decisions should be enforceable, and such mechanisms should be accessible to all.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Whereas States parties would not normally be held directly internationally responsible for a violation of economic, social and cultural rights caused by a private entity’s conduct (except in the three scenarios recalled in para. 11 of the present general comment), a State party would be in breach of its obligations under the Covenant where the violation reveals a failure by the State to take reasonable measures that could have prevented the occurrence of the event. The responsibility of the State can be engaged in such circumstances even if other causes have also contributed to the occurrence of the violation, and even if the State had not foreseen that a violation would occur, provided such a violation was reasonably foreseeable. For instance, considering the well-documented risks associated with the extractive industry, particular due diligence is required with respect to mining-related projects and oil development projects.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- In transnational cases, effective accountability and access to remedy requires international cooperation. The Committee refers in this regard to the recommendation included in the report on accountability and access to remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuse, prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the request of the Human Rights Council, that States should “take steps, using the guidance” (annexed to that report) “to improve the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation between State agencies and judicial bodies, with respect to both public and private law enforcement of domestic legal regimes”. The use of direct communication between law enforcement agencies for mutual assistance should be encouraged in order to provide for swifter action, particularly in the prosecution of criminal offences.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Corruption constitutes one of the major obstacles to the effective promotion and protection of human rights, particularly as regards the activities of businesses. It also undermines a State’s ability to mobilize resources for the delivery of services essential for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. It leads to discriminatory access to public services in favour of those able to influence authorities, including by offering bribes or resorting to political pressure. Therefore, whistle-blowers should be protected, and specialized mechanisms against corruption should be established, their independence should be guaranteed and they should be sufficiently well resourced.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The guidelines on remedies for victims of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law provide useful indications as to the obligations that follow for States from the general obligation to provide access to effective remedies. In particular, States should: take all measures necessary to prevent rights violations; where such preventative measures fail, thoroughly investigate violations and take appropriate actions against alleged offenders; provide victims with effective access to justice, irrespective of who may ultimately be the bearer of responsibility for the violation; and provide effective remedies to victims, including reparation.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- It is imperative for the full realization of the Covenant rights that remedies be available, effective and expeditious. This requires that victims seeking redress must have prompt access to an independent public authority, which must have the power to determine whether a violation has taken place and to order cessation of the violation and reparation to redress the harm done. Reparation can be in the form of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantee of non-repetition, and must take the views of those affected into account. To ensure non-repetition, an effective remedy may require improvements to legislation and policies that have proven ineffective in preventing the abuses.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Article 2 (1) of the Covenant sets out the expectation that States parties will take collective action, including through international cooperation, in order to help fulfil the economic, social and cultural rights of persons outside of their national territories.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to protect sometimes necessitates direct regulation and intervention. States parties should consider measures such as restricting marketing and advertising of certain goods and services in order to protect public health, such as of tobacco products, in line with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and of breast-milk substitutes, in accordance with the 1981 International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent resolutions of the World Health Assembly; combating gender role stereotyping and discrimination; exercising rent control in the private housing market as required for the protection of everyone’s right to adequate housing; establishing a minimum wage consistent with a living wage and a fair remuneration; regulating other business activities concerning the Covenant rights to education, employment and reproductive health, in order to combat gender discrimination effectively; and gradually eliminating informal or “non-standard” (i.e. precarious) forms of employment, which often result in denying the workers concerned the protection of labour laws and social security.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- States parties must provide appropriate means of redress to aggrieved individuals or groups and ensure corporate accountability. This should preferably take the form of ensuring access to independent and impartial judicial bodies: the Committee has underlined that “other means [of ensuring accountability] used could be rendered ineffective if they are not reinforced or complemented by judicial remedies”.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination, inequality and a lack of assured rest and leisure conditions plague many of the world's workers. Economic, fiscal and political crises have led to austerity measures that claw back advances. The increasing complexity of work contracts, such as short-term and zero-hour contracts, and non-standard forms of employment, as well as an erosion of national and international labour standards, collective bargaining and working conditions, have resulted in insufficient protection of just and favourable conditions of work. Even in times of economic growth, many workers do not enjoy such conditions of work.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Rest and leisure, limitation of working hours and paid periodic holidays help workers to maintain an appropriate balance between professional, family and personal responsibilities and to avoid work-related stress, accidents and disease. They also promote the realization of other Covenant rights; therefore, although States parties have flexibility in the light of the national context, they are required to set minimum standards that must be respected and cannot be denied or reduced on the basis of economic or productivity arguments. States parties should introduce, maintain and enforce laws, polices and regulations covering several factors, as outlined below.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Minimum wages can be effective only if they are adequate to the goals set forth in article 7. The minimum wage should be recognized in legislation, fixed with reference to the requirements of a decent living, and applied consistently. The elements to take into account in fixing the minimum wage are flexible, although they must be technically sound, including the general level of wages in the country, the cost of living, social security contributions and benefits, and relative living standards. The minimum wage might represent a percentage of the average wage, so long as this percentage is sufficient to ensure a decent living for workers and their families.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Violations can also occur through acts of omission, which means the failure by a State party to take reasonable steps to fully realize the right for everyone, for example by failing to enforce relevant laws and implement adequate policies, or to regulate the activities of individuals and groups to prevent them from violating the right, or to take into account its Covenant obligations when entering into bilateral or multilateral agreements with other States, international organizations or multinational corporations.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that the right to just and favourable conditions of work is given due attention in the conclusion and implementation of international agreements, including in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade and investment agreements. Similarly, States parties should ensure that other international agreements do not negatively affect the right to just and favourable conditions of work, for example, by restricting the actions that other States parties could take to implement the right. States parties that have not done so should consider ratifying core human rights treaties and relevant ILO conventions.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 65d
- Paragraph text
- [States parties have a core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of the right to just and favourable conditions of work. Specifically, this requires States parties to:] Adopt and implement a comprehensive national policy on occupational safety and health;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 65f
- Paragraph text
- [States parties have a core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of the right to just and favourable conditions of work. Specifically, this requires States parties to:] Introduce and enforce minimum standards in relation to rest, leisure, reasonable limitation of working hours, paid leave and public holidays.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- States parties must put into place an adequate monitoring and accountability framework by ensuring access to justice or to other effective remedies.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- States parties must comply with their core obligations and take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps towards the progressive realization of the right to just and favourable conditions of work, using maximum available resources. In addition to legislation as an indispensable step, States should also ensure the provision of judicial and other effective remedies that include, but are not limited to, administrative, financial, educational and social measures.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 7) 2016, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The importance of the right to just and favourable conditions of work has yet to be fully realized. Almost 50 years after the adoption of the Covenant, the level of wages in many parts of the world remains low and the gender pay gap is a persistent and global problem. ILO estimates that annually some 330 million people are victims of accidents at work and that there are 2 million work-related fatalities. Almost half of all countries still regulate weekly working hours above the 40-hour work week, with many establishing a 48 hour limit, and some countries have excessively high average working hours. In addition, workers in special economic, free trade and export processing zones are often denied the right to just and favourable conditions of work through non-enforcement of labour legislation.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph