The international human rights system

Abstract

This Research Handbook focuses on economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR), and the respective chapters explore the specificities of ESCR globally, regionally and domestically. Against the backdrop of the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, as well as the interplay of the various human rights systems outlined in Part I of the book, Chapter 1 provides an overview of the international human rights system that includes an analysis of the layers, applicability and universality of the system in its entirety. The chapter first traces the development - largely as a response to the atrocities of World War II - of the Charter-based system plus the two cornerstone international human rights treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Thereafter, the chapter provides a brief overview of each of the international treaties in the treaty-based system, with a focus on ESCR.