DRAFT OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS (4 MAY 2008)

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights contains no provisions concerning complaint procedure. The Covenant’s emphasize on the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights had generated the idea that those categories of rights were, in principle, unjusticiable. The adoption of the Draft Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights on 4 May 2008 has dispelled that idea. The said instrument by establishing a procedure for dealing with complaints concerning alleged violations of the Covenant constitutes a turning point in the protection of economic, social and cultural rights at the international level. The present article aims at exploring the content of the Draft Optional Protocol and examining the mechanisms set out therein.