scholarly journals The Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Canada: Between Utopia and Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Miriam Cohen ◽  
Martin-Olivier Dagenais
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
International Obligation ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Right

Canada has been at the forefront of the recognition of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights) in the international scene. As a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,1 Canada has, over the years, implemented in legislation and case-law some ESC rights such as the right to health, education and social welfare.While ESC rights were not explicitly identified in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,2 which forms part of the Canadian Constitution, ESC rights in different forms have received some protection in the Canadian legal order. An analysis of the Canadian record with respect to ESC rights demonstrates the immense gap between a glorified image of Canada as an international human rights proponent (the ‘utopia’) and the actual implementation of internationally recognized human rights in Canada (the ‘reality’). As Canada is bound to face major transformational changes to its economy and social fabric in the years to come, the Courts will have to adapt quickly and efficiently to ensure a smooth transition. This paper overviews the evolution of the case-law on ESC rights in Canada in light of its international obligations, and suggests, the relevant ESC rights jurisprudence signals a disconnect with Canada’s international obligation ‘requiring progressive implementation to the maximum of available resources by all appropriate means.’

scholarly journals THE HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTH: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS AFTER 70 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

2018 ◽  
pp. 24-42
Author(s):  
MARÍA DALLI
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the first international text recognising universal human rights for all; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 recognises the right to an adequate standard of living, which includes the right to health and medical care. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Declaration, this article presents an overview of the main developments that have been made towards understanding the content and implications of the right to health, as well as an analysis of some specific advancements that aim to facilitate the enforcement thereof. These include: a) the implication of private entities as responsible for right to health obligations; b) the Universal Health Coverage goal, proposed by the World Health Organization and included as one of the Sustainable Development Goals; and c) the individual complaints mechanism introduced by the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (adopted on the 10th December 2008, 60 years after the UDHR).

s.One Norms and Principles, 3 The Right to Health and Health-Related Human Rights

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobin John ◽  
Barrett Damon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Right To Health Care ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Health Goals ◽  
Health Related ◽  
State Obligations ◽  
The Right

This chapter reviews the scope and meaning of the right to health under international law. Drawing on public health discourses and expanding beyond a right to health care, the contours of the right to health have been clarified—to encompass a wide range of social, political, and economic determinants of health—by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in its General Comment 14, by academics in the fields of law and public health, and by national governments in their domestic laws and judicial interpretations. The normative content of the right to health now provides a foundation for state obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to health; limitations on other rights for public health goals; the right’s essential attributes of availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality; the minimum core obligations of the right to health; and the progressive realization of health-related human rights.

The Right to Health and Health-Related Human Rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 67-88
Author(s):  
John Tobin ◽  
Damon Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Economic Determinants ◽  
Right To Health Care ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Health Goals ◽  
Health Related ◽  
State Obligations ◽  
The Right

This chapter reviews the scope and meaning of the right to health under international law. Drawing on public health discourses and expanding beyond a right to health care, the contours of the right to health have been clarified—to encompass a wide range of social, political, and economic determinants of health—by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in its General Comment 14, by academics in the fields of law and public health, and by national governments in their domestic laws and judicial interpretations. The normative content of the right to health now provides a foundation for state obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to health; limitations on other rights for public health goals; the right’s essential attributes of availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality; the minimum core obligations of the right to health; and the progressive realization of health-related human rights.

Ždanoka v. Latvia – European Court of Human Rights

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.G. Hoogers
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Member States ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Republic ◽  
To Come ◽  
Grand Chamber ◽  
The Right

On March 16, 2006, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its final judgment in the case of Tatjana Ždanoka against the Republic of Latvia. Although not the first decision under Article 3 of the first Protocol, the Ždanoka v. Latvia case was important, because it allowed the Court to come to a decision on an aspect of Article 3, first Protocol, which in earlier case law had not extensively been dealt with by the ECtHR: the right to be elected. Moreover, the case allowed the Court to make some statements of principle on another question with which numerous member states of the Council have been dealing throughout the 20th century: how far may a democracy go in protecting itself from (allegedly) undemocratic parties, groups or individuals?

The Right to Health in National and International Jurisprudence

1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Equal Access ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe right to the highest attainable level of health or, briefly, the right to health is a fundamental human right, solidly embedded in international human rights law. As with other human rights, this right creates corresponding obligations for States which they are due to respect, protect and fulfil.The right to health embodies both positive and negative contents rights, ranging from the right to adequate protection of health to the right to equal access to health care. In addition, the right to health obliges States to create conditions favourable to the achievement and maintenance of the highest attainable level of health.This article describes and analyses national and international case law with respect to these three components of the right to health in an effort to delineate the general contours of this right. It is argued that courts and other (quasi-)judicial bodies more or less explicitly acknowledge that States are required to ensure a minimum level of health protection, (equal access to) essential health care and satisfaction of basic human needs. From the existing body of case law touching on the right to health it remains, however, difficult to conclude how courts define the minimum core content of the right to health, let alone to gain further insights into the normative meaning of this right.

The Right to Health

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey R. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Rights Standards

The right to health and health services is generally framed as the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Like other human rights, the right to health confers to all people specific entitlements and imposes duties on governments to protect and promote them. It reflects a broadened sense of governmental responsibility for the welfare of its citizens and a more inclusive understanding of human rights. All countries, including the United States, have ratified at least one binding human rights convention that includes a provision on the right to health. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations more than six decades ago, has given rise to a series of international human rights instruments that legally obligate states to implement their provisions. The two most important of these are the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Despite substantial progress, a number of issues still need to be addressed for the realization of the right to health, such as the lack of political commitment on the part of many states with regard to implementation and the weakness of the international human rights system. Furthermore, many states which have ratified international or regional human rights instruments that recognize a right to health or have relevant constitutional provisions still do not invest the necessary resources or apply human rights standards to the framing of health policies.

scholarly journals A Omissão da Jurisprudência da Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos em Matéria de Direitos Econômicos, Sociais e Culturais

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique Fernandes Santos Matos
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Droit International ◽  
The Right ◽  
Economic Nature

A omissão da jurisprudência da Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos em matéria de direitos econômicos, sociais e culturais the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ CASE LAW omission WITH regard TO economic, social and cultural rights Monique Fernandes Santos Matos* RESUMO: A proteção aos direitos sociais, econômicos e culturais (DESC) no Sistema Interamericano de Direitos Humanos é marcada por uma grave ambiguidade no que diz respeito à diferença entre a ampla normatização desses direitos oferecida por este sistema regional e o baixo grau de judiciabilidade e reconhecimento de suas violações pela Corte Interamericana de Direitos humanos (Corte IDH). Poucos são os casos envolvendo violações a DESC jugados pela corte, e menos ainda os que obtiveram manifestação expressa quanto a tais violações. A análise das decisões proferidas nos casos julgados pela Corte IDH envolvendo DESC apontam para uma omissão recorrente em analisar a violação ao direito ao desenvolvimento progressivo dos direitos econômicos, sociais, e culturais, o que somente tem ocorrido quando grupos em situação de especial vulnerabilidade social estão envolvidos. Tal omissão, aliada à construção jurisprudencial da corte no sentido de que a violação a tal direito somente pode ser verificado quando parte relevante da população de um Estado está envolvida, enfraquece a defesa dos DESC, e contribui para a continuidade da visão dos DESC como meras metas políticas, com caráter programático. Não abordaremos, dado aos limites desse trabalho, as questões de ordem políticas e econômicas que são latentes ao problema da baixa efetividade dos DESC. A importância do estudo da jurisprudência da Corte IDH em matéria de DESC está em possibilitar uma análise crítica do que já se construiu, sugerindo uma correção de rumos, no sentido de garantir uma proteção efetiva e, consequentemente, uma maior expansão dos DESC no contexto regional americano. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Direito Internacional dos Direitos do Homem. Direitos Econômicos, sociais e culturais. Desenvolvimento progressivo. Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos. Análise de casos.  ABSTRACT: The protection of economic, social and cultural rights (ECOSOC rights) in the Inter-American System of Human Rights is marked by a serious ambiguity with regard to the difference between the broad regulation of those rights provided by this regional system and the low degree of justiciability and recognition of their violations by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Few cases involving violations of ECOSOC rights have been judged by the court, and even fewer have obtained express opinion to such violations. The analysis of judgments delivered in the cases judged by the ICHR involving ECOSOC rights point to a recurring failure to analyze the violation of the right to the progressive development of the ECOSOC rights, which has only occurred when groups in vulnerable situations are involved. This omission, coupled with the judicial construction of the court that the violations of such right can only be checked when the relevant part of the population of a State is concerned, weakens the defense of the ECOSOC rights, and contributes to the continuity of the vision of them as mere policies, with programmatic character. We will not cover, given the limits of this work, issues of political and economic nature that are latent to the problem of low effectiveness of the ECOSOC rights. The relevance of the ICHR’s case law study regarding the ECOSOC rights lies on enabling a critical analysis of what has already been built, suggesting a course correction, in the sense to ensure an effective protection and, consequently, a greater expansion of the ECOSOC rights in the American regional context. KEYWORDS: International Law of Human Rights. Economic, social and cultural rights. Progressive development. Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Study of cases. * Doutoranda em Direito das Relações Internacionais pelo Centro Universitário de Brasília (UniCEUB). Mestre em Direito das Relações Internacionais pelo Centro Universitário de Brasília. Pesquisadora visitante no IREDIES - Institut de recherche en droit international et européen de la Sorbonne (Université Paris 1, 2014-2015).  Juíza do Trabalho Substituta  do Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da 5ª. Região.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights: a review of practice for 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-58
Author(s):  
Oscar Parra Vera ◽  
Edward Jesús Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Important Case ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
American Case ◽  
The Right

This article presents a grasp of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ most important case law of 2020. As is developed within the paper, during 2020, the Court made important developments on Inter-American case-law which will have relevant incidence for the region. Many of the major developments that will be studied in this paper concern the right to nondiscrimination; economic, social and cultural rights; detention conditions, and some important advances on rights protection within the COVID-19 context.

scholarly journals The UN committee on Economic, Social and Cultural rights decision in López Albán v. Spain: the need for a proportionality assessment in eviction procedures

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 364-381
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Benito Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Housing ◽  
Single Mother ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Family ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Right

On 30 October 2019, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made public its decision in the case of López Albán v. Spain. The case concerned a single mother with six children occupying a vacant apartment owned by a financial entity out of necessity, after being excluded from the possibility of obtaining public housing. The family was eventually evicted without adequate alternative accommodation. The Committee found that this eviction violated the right to adequate housing enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This article summarises the case, provides a contextual analysis in light of recent developments, makes a comparison with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and notes some legal avenues the Committee could explore in future decisions.

scholarly journals La Pobreza como Violación de los Derechos Humanos: El Resultado de un Sistema Económico Desigual

UDA AKADEM ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 320-341
Author(s):  
Paul Sebastián León-Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Social Determinant ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Derechos Humanos ◽  
The Right

Las instituciones intergubernamentales emitieron declaraciones y tratados como un estándar común de logros para todos los pueblos y naciones, con el objetivo de proteger los derechos humanos, incluido el derecho a la salud. Sin embargo, la pobreza, que constituye el determinante social más importante de la salud, no ha sido reconocida como una violación de los derechos humanos. Este artículo argumentó que la pobreza y, por ende, la mala salud, surge de las desigualdades sociales y económicas, constituyendo una violación directa de los derechos humanos. Para ello, se examinaron los principales tratados de derechos humanos, como la Declaración Universal de Derechos Humanos (DUDH) y el Pacto Internacional de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales (ICESCR, por sus siglas en inglés) mientras se integró la bibliografía y estadísticas disponibles de artículos científicos y páginas web oficiales. La investigación mostró que las personas con escasos recursos económicos tienen menos probabilidades de acceder a servicios de salud y de participar en actividades educativas. También, el estudio indicó que uno de los principales factores que contribuyen a la pobreza son las reformas económicas impulsadas por multimillonarios y organizaciones supranacionales, las cuales, obstaculizan la promoción del bienestar común. Además, las decisiones políticas adoptadas por los países industrializados para promover conflictos armados en los países en vías de desarrollo, han hecho que la pobreza se arraigue aún más. Se concluyó que es necesario introducir reformas económicas y políticas que alivien la pobreza y disminuyan las desigualdades de ingresos, aún cuando estas vayan en contra del sistema económico. Palabras clave: derecho a la salud, derechos humanos, desigualdad económica, instituciones intergubernamentales, pobreza, Naciones Unidas. Abstract Intergovernmental institutions issued declarations and treaties as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. Those charters are aimed to protect human rights including the right to health. Yet, poverty, which constitutes the most important social determinant of health, is not recognized as a violation of human rights. This paper argues that poverty and, thereby, poor health emerge from income and social inequalities, which constitutes a direct violation of human rights. To that end, the study discusses major human rights declarations and treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) while integrating the available literature and statistics from scientific articles and official webpages. This paper shows that poor individuals are less likely to access health services and to participate in educational, and recreational activities which constitute a direct threat towards the individual’s health. It also claims that a major contributor to poverty is the economic reforms lobbied by billionaires and supranational organizations which hinders the promotion and maintenance of the common well-being. In addition, the political decisions taken by industrialized countries to promote armed conflicts in developing states have caused poverty to develop even deeper roots in today’s international order. Therefore, there is a need for major economic and political reforms that relieves poverty and decreases inequality, even if it goes against the current economic system.  Keywords: economic inequality, human rights, intergovernmental institutions, poverty, right to health, United Nations.

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