Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Concludes Seventy-Seventh Session after Adopting Concluding Observations on Reports of Croatia, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda and the United Kingdom

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon concluded its seventy-seventhsession after adopting concluding observationson the reports of Croatia, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda and the United Kingdom under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights .

The concluding observations will be transmitted to the States concerned and made available on the webpage of the session   on the afternoon of Monday, 3 March.

Laura-MariaCraciunean-Tatu, Committee Chair, said that during the intense session, in addition to engaging with five States parties, the Committee had considered two follow-up reports; adopted three lists of issues on Cabo Verde, North Macedonia and Turkmenistan; conducted work on communications under the Optional Protocol; and discussed one draft and two future general comments and one statement.

Ms. Craciunean-Tatu said that this session, the Committee had welcomed four new members, and would formally welcome its fifth, Peijie Chen (China), in its next session. Despite the discontinuance of formal hybrid meetings, the Committee continued to engage with a wide range of stakeholders in person and remotely outside of formal meeting time. Ms. Craciunean-Tatu expressed thanks to all those who worked to promote and protect the rights enshrined in the Covenant.

During the session, she said, the Committee adopted assessments on the follow-up reports to concluding observations for Serbia and Uzbekistan. The assessments would be transmitted to the States concerned and made available publicly in the weeks to come. The Committee urged other States to submit follow-up reports which were overdue or due.

Under the Optional Protocol, the Committee adopted decisions relating to 48 individual communications. It found violations of the Covenant in three cases concerning the right to housing; declared admissible one case on alleged violation of the right to work of a human rights defender; and declared inadmissible two cases on alleged unequal pay for overtime in teaching-related activities and alleged wage discrimination. The Committee further discontinued the consideration of 42 cases concerning the right to housing. Finally, it adopted a follow-up progress report on individual communications.

Ms. Craciunean-Tatu saidthe Committee had adopted a Statement on Tax Policy and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It hoped that this statement would guide States parties, both domestically and in the context of international tax cooperation, to observe increasingly inclusive and transparent tax policy-making processes, thus encouraging the implementation of tax systems that supported the enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Covenant, with a focus on disadvantaged and marginalised groups.

Regarding general comments, the Committee completed a second reading of the draft general comment on the environmental dimension of sustainable development, and continued discussing the scope of two general comments on drug policy and on armed conflict as they related to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. These discussions would continue at the next session.

During the session, Ms. Craciunean-Tatu said, the Committee held an informal meeting with States on 20 February and engaged in discussion on all aspects of its work. In addition to the numerous contacts the Committee had with civil society organizations, it also held this morning its annual meeting with non-governmental organizations, in which it heard their views on several important topics, including strategic litigation and the right to a clean and healthy environment.

Ms. Craciunean-Tatu also said that the Committee had held informal meetings with other stakeholders, including with treaty body members, United Nations agencies and the Special Rapporteurs on climate change and in the field of cultural rights. The engagement of all concerned was deeply appreciated.

In its next session, she said, in addition to reviewing the reports of seven States parties, the Committee would adopt lists of issues on the reports of Eswatini, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova and Tunisia. It would also adopt assessments on the follow-up reports of El Salvador and Luxembourg.

This session, the Committee reaffirmed its decision to implement a simplified reporting procedure and had requested the Secretariat to prepare a structured implementation plan, Ms. Craciunean-Tatu said. However, until such a plan was operationalised, she encouraged States parties to submit reports under the regular reporting procedure, including long overdue reports.

The Committee had not yet held dialogues with 24 States parties that had not submitted their initial reports, of which five were overdue for more than 10 years. In total, 51 States’ periodic reports were also overdue, at least 16 of which for more than 10 years. The capacity building programme established pursuant to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/268 (2014) was available to offer support to States requiring technical assistance in this regard, including with respect to the establishment of national mechanisms for reporting implementation and follow-up.

Ms. Craciunean-Tatu invited all States to ratify the Covenant and encouraged States that were parties to the Covenant but had not acceded to or ratified the Optional Protocol to do so, and to enter the declarations for its articles 10 and 11. She welcomed the accession, two weeks ago, of Albania to the Optional Protocol.

In closing, Ms. Craciunean-Tatu thanked the Committee and all who had contributed to the busy session. The Committee looked forward to, in its next session, holding dialogues with States, pursuing other work, and engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders to achieve the effective promotion and protection of all the rights enshrined in the Covenant.

In its seventy-eighth session, to be held from 8 September to 3 October 2025, the Committee will review the reports of Australia, Chile, Colombia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Netherlands, Russian Federation and Zimbabwe.

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