6 Guaranteeing Socio-Economic Rights through Public-Private Partnerships between Host State and Foreign Investor—The Example of Ghana’s Public Housing Project

Abstract

One of the first public-private partnerships (PPPs) with regard to the right to housing was the so-called Ghanaian Housing Project. By ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), Ghana has committed itself to guarantee the socio-economic rights contained within the respective treaty. Both, the ICESCR and the ACHPR contain specific provisions relating to the right to housing. Whereas the right to housing is explicitly mentioned in Article 11 of the ICESCR, Articles 14 (right to property), 16 (right to health), 18(1) (right to family life) and (right of peoples to a general satisfactory environment) of the ACHPR can be interpreted as to comprise the right to housing as well. It is general possible to guarantee socio-economic rights such as the right to housing through PPPs. Keywords: ACHPR; Article 11; Article 14; Article 16; Article 18(1); Ghana; Ghanaian Housing Project; ICESCR; public-private partnerships (PPPs); socio-economic rights