Enhancing Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Using Indicators: A Focus on the Right to Education in the ICESCR

Human Rights Quarterly, 32 (2010) 253-310

Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-031

59 Pages Posted: 7 Nov 2009 Last revised: 10 Jun 2016

See all articles by Sital Kalantry

Sital Kalantry

Seattle University Law School

Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum

Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Stephen Arrigg Koh

Law Clerk to the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. J.D., Cornell Law School; M.Phil. University of Cambridge, England; A.B., Harvard University

Date Written: November 6, 2009

Abstract

Nearly fifteen years ago, Audrey R. Chapman emphasized the importance of ascertaining violations of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) as a means to enhance its enforcement. Today, the violations approach is even more salient given the recent adoption of the ICESCR’s Optional Protocol, a powerful tool to hold States parties accountable for violations.

Indicators are essential tools for assessing violations of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs) because they are often the best way to measure progressive realization. Proposed guidelines on using indicators give guidance on the content of States parties reports to treaty monitoring bodies, but none creates a framework to assess violations of a specific right in a particular treaty.

This article fills this void by providing a framework to assess State compliance that integrates indicators into the project of ascertaining specific violations of economic, social and cultural rights under the ICESCR. The methodology that we propose calls for: 1) analyzing the specific language of the treaty that pertains to the right in question; 2) defining the concept and scope of the right; 3) identifying appropriate indicators that correlate with State obligations; 4) setting benchmarks to measure progressive realization; and 5) clearly identifying violations of the right in question.

We illustrate our approach by focusing on the right to education in the ICESCR. In addition to assessing right to education violations, this methodology can be employed to develop frameworks for ascertaining violations of other ESCRs as well.

Keywords: right to education, human rights, indicators and economic, social and cultural rights

Suggested Citation

Kalantry, Sital and Getgen Kestenbaum, Jocelyn and Koh, Stephen Arrigg, Enhancing Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Using Indicators: A Focus on the Right to Education in the ICESCR (November 6, 2009). Human Rights Quarterly, 32 (2010) 253-310, Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-031, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1501293

Sital Kalantry (Contact Author)

Seattle University Law School ( email )

901 12th Avenue, Sullivan Hall
P.O. Box 222000
Seattle, WA n/a 98122-1090
United States

Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum

Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law ( email )

55 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10003
United States
212-790-0860 (Phone)

Stephen Arrigg Koh

Law Clerk to the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. J.D., Cornell Law School; M.Phil. University of Cambridge, England; A.B., Harvard University

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