Reasserting the Right to Adequate Clothing in International Human Rights Law

Abstract

Abstract Through examining the practice of the United Nation’s Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, this article reasserts the ‘forgotten’ right to adequate clothing as a distinct right deriving from Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). In doing so, this article traces and explains how the right to adequate clothing has ceased to feature in reporting and monitoring under the ICESCR. The right to adequate clothing must be reasserted for three reasons. Firstly, an accurate interpretation of the ICESCR requires its recognition as a distinct right. Secondly, it is the only human right that can effectively respond to the specific harms stemming from inadequate clothing. Thirdly, clothing is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of human rights generally. Consequently, the right must be reintegrated into the ICESCR’s reporting guidelines to allow effective monitoring and to engender the institutional development of this right.