Day of General Discussion on General Comment on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Sustainable Development

Date: 8th March 2023
Category:

Graphic shows a child watering a small plant.

On Friday 24 February, the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre and Child Rights Connect participated and delivered a statement on the Day of the General Discussion that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) organised to discuss their next General Comment that will focus on sustainable development.

The UN CESCR is currently in the process of developing a General Comment on economic, social and cultural rights and sustainable development. This General Comment will address challenges of achieving sustainable development in light of planetary boundaries and limited natural resources, while also respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights, particularly the rights in the Covenant. The Day of General Discussion served as a final step in the Committee’s process of consulting with relevant stakeholders before producing a first draft of the General Comment following numerous consultations held since 2020.

In the statement, Child Rights Connect and the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre call for the integration and mainstreaming of child rights across the general comment, the need for more consideration of children’s ESC rights, and the General Comment must take proper account of children and their rights rather than simply ‘future generations’.

Read the statement here.