Description

Aimed at strengthening the protection of ESC rights in Ireland, this publication is designed to be a compendium of information useful to the Government in order to assist it in ensuring that its economic policy, particularly the budget, is in line with and reflects its ESC rights obligations. It summarises the evolving understanding at an international level of states’ human rights obligations, in particular their ESC rights obligations, when designing and implementing budgetary policy. It is set out in 6 chapters:

• an overview of ESC rights; the obligations of the state under the ICESCR;
• an overview of budget analysis frameworks targeted towards civil society organisations; guidance from the CESCR, human rights bodies and international experts to assist states in the protection and realisation of ESC rights;
• outline of the accountability role that courts have played with regard to states’ policy responses to the economic crisis and how courts can engage with the budgetary process whilst at the same time respecting the separation of powers between the different branches of government;
• recommendations on how a human rights based approach could be adopted in economic policy making