Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

Economic, social, and cultural rights are legally binding human rights essential to human dignity and equality.

A. Right to Health

The right to health goes beyond access to hospitals and medical treatment. It includes affordable, good-quality healthcare services, access to essential medicines, safe water and sanitation, adequate nutrition, and accurate health information. Health systems must be available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality for all.

The right to health also depends on a wide range of factors that help us lead a healthy life. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the body responsible for monitoring the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, calls these the “underlying determinants of health”. They include:

  • Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation (the rights to water and sanitation);
  • Safe food (the right to food);
  • Adequate housing (the right to adequate housing);
  • Healthy working and environmental conditions (the right to safe and healthy working conditions);
  • Health-related education and information (the right to education);
  • Gender equality.

B. Access to Healthcare

Access to healthcare is a core component of the right to health. It means that health services must be available, affordable, physically reachable, and provided without discrimination.

Everyone should be able to obtain essential medical care, including preventive services, treatment, and reproductive healthcare, regardless of income, gender, location, or social status. Barriers such as poverty, stigma, harmful practices, conflict, or displacement must not prevent individuals from receiving care.

Ensuring equitable access to healthcare is a legal and moral obligation of States and a necessary condition for human dignity and equality.

Access to healthcare includes many entitlements:

  • The right to a system of health protection providing equality of opportunity for everyone to enjoy the highest attainable level of health;
  • The right to prevention, treatment, and control of diseases;
  • Access to essential medicines;
  • Maternal, child, and reproductive health;
  • Equal and timely access to basic health services;
  • The provision of health-related education and information;
  • Participation of the population in health-related decision-making at the national and community levels.

C. Women’s and Girls’ Health Rights

Women and girls have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, free from discrimination and harmful practices. This includes equal access to quality healthcare services, accurate health information, and respectful, gender-sensitive treatment.

Their health rights encompass sexual and reproductive health, maternal care, protection from gender-based violence, and the right to make informed decisions about their own bodies. States have a legal obligation to remove barriers that limit access to care, including inequality, stigma, poverty, and discriminatory laws or practices.

Protecting the health rights of women and girls is essential to advancing gender equality, dignity, and social justice.

D. Persons with Disabilities’ Health Rights

More than 650 million people worldwide live with disabilities, primarily in developing countries, and have long been marginalized and treated as less than rights-holders. It is essential to recognize their right to health, which is closely linked to principles of non-discrimination, autonomy, and social inclusion.

Persons with disabilities still face significant barriers, including physical and financial inaccessibility to healthcare, a lack of gender-sensitive services, and a denial of free and informed consent in medical treatment. They are also disproportionately affected by violence, abuse, and neglect, often due to systemic discrimination and stigma. Those with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities frequently suffer from underdiagnosis, lack of treatment, and institutionalization without consent.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) mandates that States ensure equal access to quality healthcare, train health professionals, and prevent discrimination, emphasizing the importance of community-based care and respect for individual autonomy and dignity.

E. Migrants’ Health

Migration is a major global phenomenon, with nearly 200 million international migrants facing significant challenges in accessing their right to health, especially in host countries. Migrants, particularly undocumented or irregular migrants and those in detention, often encounter discrimination, language and cultural barriers, and legal status issues that limit their access to healthcare.

Many countries only provide “essential” or “emergency” care to migrants, leaving interpretations to individual healthcare providers and risking discriminatory practices. Key obstacles include lack of health insurance, fear of deportation, inadequate information, unsafe working conditions, vulnerability to abuse and disease, and exclusion from prevention programs.

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (art. 28) stipulates that all migrant workers and their families have the right to emergency medical care for the preservation of their life or the avoidance of irreparable harm to their health. Such care should be provided regardless of any irregularity in their stay or employment. The Convention further protects migrant workers in the workplace and stipulates that they shall enjoy treatment not less favourable than that which applies to nationals of the State of employment in respect of conditions of work, including safety and health.

F. Persons Living with HIV/AIDS

Over the past 25 years, AIDS has claimed more than 25 million lives, making it one of the most devastating recent pandemics. HIV/AIDS is deeply linked to human rights: protecting rights is crucial for preventing transmission and mitigating the pandemic’s impact. Key rights include freedom from discrimination, equality before the law, privacy, and the right to health.

The spread of HIV/AIDS is fueled by poverty, stigma, and discrimination, especially against women, children, the poor, indigenous peoples, migrants, men who have sex with men, sex workers, refugees, and people in sub-Saharan Africa. Discrimination increases vulnerability to infection and discourages people from seeking testing, treatment, or counseling.

To combat the epidemic, States must prohibit discrimination based on HIV status and ensure equal access to prevention, treatment, and care. Universal access to medicines, condoms, education, and mother-to-child transmission prevention is essential. The International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights provide direction for protecting the rights of those affected.

G. Harmful Practices

Harmful practices are traditions or social norms that negatively affect the health, dignity, and well-being of individuals, particularly women and girls. Practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other forms of gender-based violence violate the right to health and other fundamental human rights. They often result in serious physical and psychological consequences, restrict access to education and healthcare, and reinforce discrimination and inequality.

Advocating for the right to health includes preventing harmful practices, protecting those at risk, supporting survivors, and ensuring accountability. Eliminating harmful practices is essential to safeguarding health, bodily integrity, and human dignity.

H. What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)?

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) refers to all procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It is internationally recognized as a violation of human rights and a harmful practice that affects millions of girls and women worldwide.

UN human rights treaty bodies have repeatedly condemned FGM and urged States to take immediate steps to end it. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) have all recognised that FGM undermines women’s and girls’ equal enjoyment of human rights and amounts to a breach of the principles of equality and non-discrimination. In CEDAW’s General Recommendation No. 31 and the CRC’s General Comment No. 18 (2019), these bodies emphasise that States must exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, and punish violence against women and girls, whether committed by public authorities or private actors.

FGM is typically carried out on young girls, often between infancy and adolescence, depending on cultural traditions. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies FGM into four main types: ranging from the total or partial removal of external genital tissue to the narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation), as well as other harmful procedures performed for non-medical reasons.

J. Why is FGM Practiced?

FGM is rooted in cultural, social, and sometimes religious beliefs. In many communities, it is seen as a rite of passage into womanhood, a prerequisite for marriage, or a way to preserve family honour. Some believe it promotes cleanliness, modesty, or fertility. It is widely recognised that FGM is a cultural practice rather than a religious requirement, and many religious leaders actively oppose it.

Social pressure to conform can be strong, making it difficult for families to resist the practice even when they understand the risks.

I. Why is FGM a Harmful Practice?

FGM violates several internationally recognized human rights, including the rights to health, security, and physical integrity. It is also considered a form of gender-based violence and discrimination.

FGM has no health benefits and is not medically necessary. It is often performed without anaesthesia and in non-sterile conditions. FGM can cause severe physical and psychological harm, both immediately and long-term.

Immediate complications may include:

  • Severe pain;
  • Excessive bleeding (haemorrhage);
  • Genital tissue swelling;
  • Fever;
  • Infections;
  • Urinary problems;
  • Wound healing problems;
  • Injury to the surrounding genital tissue;
  • Shock;
  • Death.

Long-term complications may include:

  • Urinary problems;
  • Vaginal problems;
  • Menstrual problems;
  • Scar tissue and keloid;
  • Sexual problems;
  • Higher risk of adverse newborn outcomes;
  • Need for later surgeries;
  • Psychological problems.

Women who have undergone FGM may require specialized medical and psychological care throughout their lives.