Legal obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the concept of sustainable development

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The article is devoted to the impact of the concept of sustainable development on legal obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The object of the study is the obligations to implement basic economic and social human rights, which form the minimum core of obligations in the field of sustainable development. The author examines in detail the relationship between economic growth, as well as the rational use of available resources by the states parties and their fulfillment of their obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Particular attention is paid to the intergenerational dimension of human rights, which has been formed under the influence of the concept of sustainable development, which necessitates a new interpretation of obligations under existing international human rights treaties.  The methodological basis of the study was the dialectical method, the comparative legal method and the method of system analysis. Based on a comparative legal analysis of the acts of the International Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the author concludes that the emphasis in its practice has shifted due to the increased relevance of the environmental and climate agenda for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. The study revealed that the impact of the concept of sustainable development on the legal obligations of states is manifested through the prism of the use and replenishment of resources, as well as due to the need to comply with the principle of intergenerational equity.The author concludes that there is a new category of obligations – intergenerational obligations – and examines how the concept of progressive realization and the concept of minimum core obligations developed by the International Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights can be used to determine their content.

References

  1. Руководство по правам человека к Целям в области устойчивого развития. Датский институт по правам человека. URL: https://sdg.humanrights.dk/ (дата обращения: 02 ноября 2024 г.).
  2. Dorsey E. Falling short of our goals: Transforming the Millennium Development Goals into millennium development rights // Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights. 2010. No 28. Pp. 519-521.
  3. Abashidze A., Solntsev A., Kiseleva E., Kruglov D., Koneva A. Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (2016–2013): International legal dimension //Indian Journal of Science and Technology. 2016. No 9.
  4. Abashidze A., Koneva A. Sustainable Development Goals in terms of former and new challenges // Challenges of XXI Century. Moscow: PFUR Press, 2016.
  5. Соколова Н.А. Концепция устойчивого развития и международное право окружающей среды //Вестник Университета имени О.Е. Кутафина (МГЮА). 2021. No 1/11. С. 225-232.
  6. Robertson R. Measuring State compliance with the obligation to devote the maximum available resources to realising economic, social and cultural rights // Human Rights Quarterly. 1994. No 4/16. Pp. 693-694.
  7. Petel M., Vander Putten N. Economic, social and cultural rights and their dependence on the economic growth paradigm: Evidence from the ICESCR system //Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights. 2021. No 39/1. Pp. 53-72.
  8. Facundo A. et al. World Inequality Report 2018. Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2018.
  9. Alston P. Extreme Inequality as the Antithesis of Human Rights// Open Global Rights. 2015. URL: https://perma.cc/EH6F-2FQU (дата обращения: 15 сентября 2024 г.).
  10. The UNEP Global Climate Litigation Report: 2020 Status Review, 2020. URL: https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-climate-litigation-report-2020-status-review (дата обращения: 05 сентября 2024 г.).
  11. Wewerinke-Singh M., Garg A., Agarwalla S. In Defence of Future Generations: A Reply to Stephen Humphreys // European Journal of International Law. 2023. No 34/3. Pp. 651-668.
  12. Lawrence P. Justice for future generations. Climate Change and International Law. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar publishing, 2014.
  13. Sheppard, B. It’s Time to Expand the Right to Education // Nordic Journal of Human Rights. 2022. No 40(1). Pp. 96-117.
  14. Bexell M., Hickmann T., Schapper A. Strengthening the Sustainable Development Goals through integration with human rights// International environmental agreements. 2023. No 23. Pp. 133-139.
  15. Saiz I. Human Rights in the 2030 Agenda: Putting Justice and Accountability at the Core of Sustainable Development Governance.
  16. Абашидзе А. Х. Юридический характер обязательств государств-участников международных пактов о правах человека // Вестник РУДН. Сер. Юридические науки. 2009. No 5. С. 209-210.
  17. Lavrysen L. Human rights in a positive state. Cambridge: Intersentia, 2016.
  18. Humphreys S. Against Future Generations// European Journal of International Law. 2022. No 20. Pp. 1-32.
  19. Rodríguez-Garavito C. Human Rights 2030: Existential Challenges and a New Paradigm for the Field. 2021. NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 21-39.
  20. Shue H. The Pivotal Generation: Why We Have a Moral Responsibility to Slow Climate Change Right Now. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021.
  21. Gardiner S. On the Scope of Institutions for Future Generations: Defending an Expansive Global Constitutional Convention That Protects against Squandering Generations// Ethics and International Affairs. 2022. No 36/2. Pp. 157-178.
  22. Tasioulas J. Minimum Core Obligations: Human Rights in the Here and Now. Nordic Trust Fund /World Bank Paper, 2017.
  23. De Man A. The Sustainable Development Goals and the rights-based approach to development: Compatible or missing the point? // African Human Rights Law Journal. 2019. No 19. Pp. 445-469.
  24. Giannaccari C. Intergenerational Justice and Climate Litigation. Some Considerations about Law and the Deal with Contemporary Economic, Social, and Political Issues// DPCE Online 3. 2024. Pp. 1689-1710.

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Согласие на обработку персональных данных

 

Используя сайт https://journals.rcsi.science, я (далее – «Пользователь» или «Субъект персональных данных») даю согласие на обработку персональных данных на этом сайте (текст Согласия) и на обработку персональных данных с помощью сервиса «Яндекс.Метрика» (текст Согласия).