Optional Protocol to the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

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The Optional Protocol (also: Additional Protocol) to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights  (Engl. Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ) is an international agreement which the appeal procedures to comply with the rights of the International Covenant on regulates economic, social and cultural rights (including the UN social pact). It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 2008 . To date, 45 contracting states have signed  the protocol. After Uruguay became the tenth state to ratify the protocol in February 2013, it came into force on May 5 of the same year.

History of origin

The International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (also known as the UN Social Pact) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966 and came into force in 1976. In contrast to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (also known as the UN Civil Pact), an optional protocol to regulate the complaint procedure did not initially come about. After many years of discussions, an optional protocol to the UN Social Pact was negotiated at the Vienna World Human Rights Conference in 1993, which was passed by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 2008. Since September 24, 2009 it has been available for signature and ratification by the contracting states. So far, 22 states have ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Social Pact. To date, 13 individual complaints have been brought to the UN Human Rights Committee.

content

The Optional Protocol to the UN Social Pact, similar to the Optional Protocol to the UN Civil Pact, regulates the complaint procedure for checking compliance with the contractually agreed economic, social and cultural rights (including wsk rights) in the contracting states. The protocol text explains three possible complaint procedures: The individual complaint enables individuals to turn to the UN Human Rights Committee if they see their wsk rights violated and the domestic legal process has been exhausted. State complaints take place at the intergovernmental level and enable contracting states to indict other contracting states before the UN Human Rights Committee. In addition, the UN Human Rights Committee can initiate investigative proceedings against states if it receives information that indicates human rights violations. The complaint procedures regulated in the Optional Protocol can be seen as a supplement to the "general monitoring procedure [s] for UN conventions, the so-called state report review".

Status of ratification in the Federal Republic of Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany is still examining the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN Social Pact. The then incumbent black and yellow federal government argued in the 6th state report on the UN Social Pact published in 2016: “In this legislative period, the review procedure for ratification was re-initiated. In view of the far-reaching implications of the social pact, the examination of the ratification is complex and therefore not yet completed. ” The delay in ratification is heavily criticized by human rights NGOs. Germany will u. a. accused of applying "double [...] standards in the domestic and foreign policy handling of human rights", although the development of the Optional Protocol was actively promoted by Germany.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner: Statistical survey on individual complaints. Retrieved November 20, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c Mahler, Claudia. German Institute for Human Rights (2015): Finally adopt the Optional Protocol to the UN Social Pact. Retrieved November 16, 2017 .
  3. ↑ 6. State report on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the Federal Republic of Germany. Retrieved November 16, 2017 .