Principles and Guidelines on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Reporting Guidelines on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

INTERIGHTS is pleased to announce that the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission) formally launched its Principles and Guidelines on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Reporting Guidelines on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during its 50th ordinary session held in Banjul, the Gambia from 24 October to 7 November 2011. These have been developed by the Commission’s Working Group on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to explain in detail the obligations on State parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Charter) to respect, protect, promote and fulfil economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights.

The Principles and Guidelines provide detailed guidance to States on drafting and implementing development policies on ESC rights. In so doing they are designed to assist governments in interpreting and implementing their international, constitutional and statutory obligations in respect of ESC rights. They also provide civil society, as well as official monitoring bodies, with benchmarks against which national policies can be assessed. INTERIGHTS hopes that the Principles and Guidelines will be used both by national ministries and by advocacy and litigation NGOs in giving life to the various economic, social and cultural rights guaranteed under the Charter at the national level. The Principles and Guidelines can also be used by litigation NGOs at the regional and national level with the aim of both improved redress for victims and progressive development of standards. At the same time it is envisaged that increased litigation of economic, social and cultural rights will allow the Commission to apply the Principles and Guidelines to individual facts and further develop and explain the protection of ESC rights under the Charter.

The Reporting Guidelines highlight specific issues that States should report to the Commission about, when fulfilling their reporting obligations under the Charter, and should therefore be read as complementing existing reporting guidelines. In this respect, civil society organisations will also find the guidelines helpful in formulating alternative and shadow reports.

The Commission established the Working Group at its 36th Ordinary Session held from 23 November to 7 December 2004 in Dakar, Senegal. The Working Group consisted of a mix of Commissioners, academics and representatives of civil society. The first draft of the guidelines was developed by expert consultants and the Working Group has developed this draft over the last seven years to ensure that the final draft includes both relevant international and African standards. The process has been a collaborative one and INTERIGHTS has been proud to have contributed towards the final draft. The Principles and Guidelines were adopted at the 47th Ordinary Session held in Banjul, the Gambia, from 12 to 26 May 2010, while the Reporting Guidelines were adopted at the 48th Ordinary Session held in Banjul, the Gambia from 10 to 24 November 2010.

Both documents will only be useful if they are used. In practical terms this means that the guidelines need to be taken to heart and utilised by civil society actors across Africa. NGOs and community leaders will need to access the documents and use them in their advocacy work with national and local governments. For example, educational pressure groups may utilise the section on the right to education to lobby their government to provide universal primary education or to prevent the discriminatory exclusion of girls from schools. Where advocacy fails, litigation at the domestic and regional level may also refer to the guidelines in explaining the obligations of the State under the Charter. Such advocacy and litigation will allow the guidelines both to have a real impact at the domestic level as well as the case law of the Commission.

Solomon Sacco, a lawyer at INTERIGHTS who has worked with the Working Group on the finalisation of the guidelines, said:

The two documents are not ends in themselves but should be seen as an impetus to advocacy and litigation across Africa to increase accountability for violations of economic, social and cultural rights. The contents of the documents will no doubt develop as more cases are litigated at the domestic level and at the Commission and more African experience is gained. There are still gaps, particularly related to collective and group rights, on which the Commission will need to deliberate and on which they may decide to comment. However, these guidelines are an important step towards regional standards on economic, social and cultural rights and are a welcome tool for human rights advocates and lawyers working in Africa.

Click here to read a press release from the Working Group to celebrate the launch (24 October 2011)