International Covenant on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was adopted
on December 16, 1966 by the UN General Assembly and entered into force ten years later.
The ICESCR, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), constitute the International Bill
of Human Rights. The ICESCR defines a broad set of rights related to the economic, social,
and cultural elements of life that states must provide to their citizens. Specific rights relate
to:

Housing
Education
Labor
Environment
Health
Cultural rights (including language and religion)
Self-determination

The ISCESR also requires state parties to submit reports on their implementation of the
Covenant. Initially, theEconomic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN was responsible for
the review of state parties reports. However, in 1985, the ECOSOC established
the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (the Committee) to assume all
monitoring functions of the implementation of the ICESCR. The Committee is a group of 18
independent experts on economic, social, and cultural rights who meet twice a year in
Geneva. The Committee provides guidance for and also monitors each state partys
compliance with the ICESCR by drafting general comments on the scope of treaty
obligations and conducting reviews of state parties progress in implementing the treaty. In
accordance with the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, the Committee may also accept
individual complaints and communication alleging a state partys violation of rights under
the ICESCR. However, since China is not a party to the Optional Protocol, the Committee
may not accept individual complaints related to China.

To comply with the review process, each state party must submit a report to the Committee
every five years on steps taken in implementing the Convention, but, in practice, reports
are often combined and reviewed less frequently. To prepare for a state partys review, the
Committee designates a Country Rapporteur, who undertakes a detailed review of the
state party report and further facilitates and coordinates the entire review process, including
the preparation of all associated documents. One such document is the list of issues and
questions, prepared by the Country Rapporteur and a pre-sessional working group of four
other experts that is convened six months prior to the full Committees review. The list of
issues and questions highlights the Committees major areas of concern and additional
information the state party is strongly urged to provide prior to the review. After
considering all the materials, the Committee conducts an interactive dialogue with
representatives of the state party. Following the dialogue, the Committee adopts concluding
observations which include final remarks and recommendations. The state party is welcome
to submit comments to the Committee regarding the concluding observations, which are
then made public on the Committees website.

Civil society members may provide input to the Committee at various points by submitting
reports, making oral statements, and participating in briefings for Committee members. The
Committee also encourages state parties to consult and incorporate information from civil
society members in their national reports and follow-up procedures, and requires that the
concluding observations are widely disseminated following the review. In addition, the
Committee also considers information from civil society and other stakeholders, such as UN
agencies and national human rights institutes.

CHINA AND THE ICESCR

China ratified the ICESCR in 2001.When states become parties to international treaties,
they are permitted to do so with reservations, understandings, or declarations, which clarify
the states interpretation of certain provisions, or change the states rights and obligations
under the treaty. To be valid, any such conditions cannot contradict the purpose of the
treaty itself. At the time of its ratification of the ICESCR, China made a declaration on article
8.1(a) of the Covenant, under which state parties must ensure the right of everyone to form
and join trade unions of their choice.

Chinas declaration states that:

The application of Article 8.1 (a) of the Covenant to the People's Republic of China shall
be consistent with the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the People's Republic of
China, Trade Union Law of the People's Republic of China and Labor Law of the People's
Republic of China.

Since its ratification of ICESCR, China has been reviewed by the Committee twice. Chinas
next review is scheduled for May 2019. Below are official documents and HRIC contributions
related to Chinas ICESCR reviews.