5 The ‘Incubation’ of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1968–1992)

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the ‘incubation’ of economic, social and cultural rights. The implementation of human rights presented challenges to the Commission on Human Rights from its first years of existence. It was the main reason invoked to separate civil and political rights from economic, social and cultural rights, and to have two Covenants instead of the unitary convention, as originally decided by the General Assembly. Once the two Covenants were adopted and opened for signature and ratification in 1966, the international community would face the real test of the implementation processes. Whereas the implementation of civil and political rights presented relatively little question, the implementation—or better still, ‘realization’—of economic, social and cultural rights, both in substance and in procedure, gave rise to much debate and took several years to reach the current level of understanding and acceptance. The formal focus on the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights was launched in 1968 when PE Nedbailo (Ukrainian SSR), outgoing Chairman of the Commission, proposed the inclusion of ‘Study of the question of the realization of the economic and social rights’ in the agenda of the twenty-fourth session. It was to remain on the agenda of the Commission for the rest of the Commission's existence, and thereafter on the agenda of the Human Rights Council.