ICESCR is an international human rights treaty adopted in 1966. The UK agreed to follow ICESCR in 1976. It ensures the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to:
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education
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fair and just conditions of work
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an adequate standard of living
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the highest attainable standard of health
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social security
Human rights tracker
Search our human rights tracker to find all UN recommendations for ICESCR and other treaties.
The ICESCR page has specific information on how it is monitored and whether the UK is meeting international standards.
Our work on ICESCR
We have published our latest report on economic, social and cultural rights in Great Britain (January 2023).
Older work
Our previous actions as part of our ICESCR monitoring include:
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a report on progress of socio-economic rights in Great Britain (March 2018)
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our updated submission on the UK’s implementation of ICESCR (April 2016)
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our statement to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (October 2015)
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our submission to the UN Committee on socio-economic rights in the UK (August 2015)
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a series of video tutorials (YouTube) in collaboration with the University of Nottingham and written materials (University of Nottingham website) to raise awareness of socio-economic rights
- a letter to the Justice Secretary, encouraging the government to implement the UN’s concluding observations. We received a response from Sir Oliver Heald QC MP (January 2017)
Last updated: 02 Feb 2023