Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/14973
Title: The Influence of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Africa
Authors: Ssenyonjo, M
Keywords: International Covenant on Economic;Social and Cultural Rights;ICESCR;Africa;Dualism;Monism;Influence of international human rights treaties
Issue Date: 2017
Citation: Netherlands International Law Review, 2017, 64 (2), pp. 1 - 31 (31)
Abstract: Half a century ago, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted two great covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which brought force of law to the rights declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both covenants have been widely ratified by the vast majority of African States. However, a largely neglected area of study has been assessing the influence of the ICESCR in various parts of the world including Africa. This article assesses the influence of the ICESCR in Africa. It seeks to show how the ICESCR, as interpreted by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has, through the 50 years since its adoption, had influence on the regional and domestic protection of economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights) in Africa. The article begins by considering the influence of the Covenant on the regional protection of human rights in Africa. This is followed by an analysis of the influence of the Covenant on the protection of ESC rights in domestic legal systems in Africa focusing primarily on the constitutional protection of ESC rights. It then considers the limited influence of the Covenant on national courts’ jurisprudence in African States applying dualist and monist approaches to international treaties. It ends by making recommendations to maximize the influence of the ICESCR in the future.
URI: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/14973
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40802-017-0091-4
Appears in Collections:Brunel Law School Research Papers

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