International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Committee
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is an international treaty adopted by the →United Nations in 1966, which sets out a broad range of second-generation human rights (economic, social and cultural rights) within the →comprehensive system of human rights. The implementation of the ICESCR is monitored by a body of 18 independent experts, which examines periodic reports submitted by States, considers individual and inter-State complaints, adopts general comments to interpret certain provisions of the Covenant, and carries out inquiry procedures on grave or systematic violations of Covenant rights. The text of the ICESCR does not contain explicit provisions on the protection of minorities, but the rights to education and participation in cultural life (Articles 13-15) are of particular importance for minority communities. According to the practice of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, cultural rights include, for example, the right to education in one’s own language. Furthermore, the reporting procedure reveals that persons belonging to minorities – according to current terminology: vulnerable and disadvantaged groups – are the most frequent victims of human rights violations. For instance, in the Central and Eastern European region the Roma are the most socially disadvantaged group. It is interesting to note that the Committee occasionally makes observations regarding the →conceptualization of minorities and calls for the broadening of the traditional →minority concept.