The UN system for the protection of Human Rights Essay

The UN system for the protection of Human Rights - Essay Example 146). Over the past few decades, there has been a heated debate over the justiciabilty of social, economic and cultural rights. In the recent past, many countries have expanded the scope of their constitutions to include social, economic, political and cultural rights to its citizens and many domestic courts, federal courts, regional bodies and international organisations have issued several ruling over social and economic claims (Baderin & Ssenyonjo, 2010, p. 479; Schutter, 2010, p. 173). This has led many experts to conclude that the debate regarding the justiciabilty of social, economic and cultural matters is over and that these rights are justiciable. With Inter American Court of Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, African Court on Humans and People’s Rights and other regional courts extending their number of judgements on such matters, the common view is that social, economic and cultural rights have become justiciable (Sepulveda, et al., 2003, p. 67). Therefor e, when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights many human rights activists and people all over the world termed the same as â€Å"victory for socio-economic rights’. However, this paper makes an attempt to evaluate, critically, this statement by presenting both sides of the story. The paper would begin with introducing brief histories and background of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which would be followed by the evaluation of the Justiciability debate. Discussion International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Drafted in the year 1954 and signed on December 16, 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a United States General Assembly Resolution . As the name suggests, it binds its parties towards ensuring the protection and provision of the economic, social and cultural rights of individuals. Currently, this multilateral treaty has 160 parties that have signed and ratified the covenant. However, 32 states have either not signed or signed but nor ratified the covenant up till this point in time (Young, 2012, p. 113). Interestingly, the United States of America, which signed the covenant on October 5, 1977, even after 35 years is yet to ratify the constitution. Six then, the United States has been governed under six different administration of Cater, Reagan, George W. H. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama administration (Baderin & Ssenyonjo, 2010, p. 479). As conservative republicans, Reagan, George W. H. Bush and George W. Bush administrations did not see economic, social and cultural rights as â€Å"inalienable human rights†, but as desirable economic, social and cultural goals that should not be the object of binding covenants. On the other hand, Carter, Clinton and Obama administration have recognised the same as â€Å"human rights†, but have delayed ratifying the covenant into the US constitution because of various political reasons (Sepulveda, et al., 2003, p. 67). In essence, ICESCR is an extension of the Universal