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

The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is an international treaty establishing complaint and inquiry mechanisms for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 2008, and opened for signature on 24 September 2009. As of October 2018, the Protocol has 46 signatories and 26 state parties. It entered into force on 5 May 2013. Genesis In 1966, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant obliged its parties to recognise and progressively implement economic, social, and cultural rights, including labour rights and right to health, right to education, and right to an adequate standard of living, but did not include any mechanism by which these obligations could be legally enforced. Work on an...