Human rights and austerity programmes

Abstract

The paper raises the question whether international human rights could serve as legal guidance for the design and implementation of austerity programmes. Do international human rights obligations impose limitations on such programmes by requiring or prohibiting certain measures or by obliging states to implement austerity programmes in a certain manner? The analysis is developed in five steps: The paper commences with conceptual clarifications by discussing the notion of “austerity programmes” and by showing that economic, social and cultural rights will be at the centre of attention in this context. It then discusses whether and to which extent not only states, but also international organisations, such as the IMF or the EU, or hybrid transnational networks of states and international organisations are obliged to respect human rights. The next section asks whether human rights obligations extend beyond the territory of the state which is bound by them (extraterritorial obligations of human rights). The substantive part of the paper will establish the three dimensions of human rights obligations and their relevance for austerity programmes. A crucial aspect of economic and social rights is the progressiveness of their realisation. This raises the question whether the progressive realisation prohibits retrogressive measures which reduce the level of enjoyment of economic and social rights. In addition, the paper analyses how limitations of economic and social rights can be justified on the basis of general public policy considerations. It will be argued that the application of these considerations triggers a debate about the economic and social effects of austerity programmes. This leads to the implications of human rights for public discourse. It will be argued that human rights can shape the process of economic policy-making by opening space for the debates of political alternatives.