Committee on EconomicSocial and Cultural Rights

Report on the seventy- fifth and seventy- six th sessions

(1 2 February– 1 March and 9–27 September 202 4 )

United Nations • New York and Geneva, 202 5

Not e

Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document.

ISSN 1012-0807

[13 March 2025]

Contents

Chapter Page

I.Organizational and other matters1

A.States Parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol1

B.Sessions and agendas1

C.Membership and attendance1

D.Pre-sessional working group1

E.Organization of work2

F.Next sessions2

G.Reports of States Parties scheduled for consideration by the Committee at its upcoming sessions2

II.Overview of the working methods of the Committee3

A.Impact of measures adopted to address the backlog of reports pending consideration3

B.General reporting guidelines and simplified reporting procedure (pilot phase)4

C.Delay of predictable review cycle and simplified reporting procedure4

D.Examination of State Party reports5

E.Follow-up procedure in relation to the consideration of reports7

F.Procedure in response to non-reporting States Parties and considerably overdue reports7

G.Submission of several reports in one document7

H.Action by the Committee with regard to information on economic, social and cultural rights received from sources other than States Parties8

I.Day of general discussion9

J. Other consultations9

K.Participation of non-governmental organizations in the work of the Committee11

L.General comments11

M.Statements and letters12

III.Submission of reports by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant12

IV.Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant13

V.Activities of the Committee under the Optional Protocol14

A.Progress of work concerning individual communications submitted to the Committee14

B.Follow-up to the Committee’s Views on individual communications15

VI.Substantive issues arising from the implementation of the Covenant16

VII.Additional decisions adopted and matters discussed by the Committee at its seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions16

A.Participation in intersessional meetings16

B.Future general comments16

C.Working methods of the Committee16

VIII.Other activities of the Committee in 202417

IX.Adoption of the report17

Annex

Members of the Committee18

I.Organizational and other matters

A.States Parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol

1.As at 27 September 2024, the closing date of the seventy-sixth session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 172 States were parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, following the accession of South Sudan on 5 February 2024. The Covenant was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2200 (XXI) A of 16 December 1966 and was opened for signature and ratification in New York on 19 December 1966. It entered into force on 3 January 1976, in accordance with the provisions of its article 27. The Optional Protocol to the Covenant was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 63/117 on 10 December 2008 and was opened for signature and ratification in New York on 24 September 2009. It entered into force on 5 May 2013, three months after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification. The following 29 States have ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol: Argentina, Armenia, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador,1 Finland,1 France, Gabon, Germany, Honduras, Italy, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Niger, Portugal,1 San Marino,1 Serbia, Slovakia, South Sudan, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).

B.Sessions and agendas

2.In 2024, the Committee held two sessions: its seventy-fifth session, from 12 February to 1 March, and its seventy-sixth session, from 9 to 27 September. Both sessions were held in person, with remote participation available, on an exceptional basis, only for the review of State Party reports, thus limiting the possibility of the Committee engaging with other stakeholders. The agendas for the sessions are contained in documents E/C.12/75/1 and E/C.12/76/1, respectively.

3.An account of the deliberations of the Committee at its seventy-fifth and seventy‑sixth sessions is contained in the relevant summary records.

C.Membership and attendance

4.A list of the members of the Committee is included in the annex to the present report. All 18 members attended the seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions.

D.Pre-sessional working group

5.The Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 1988/4 of 24 May 1988, authorized the establishment of a pre-sessional working group, composed of five members of the Committee to be appointed by the Chair of the Committee, to meet for up to one week prior to each session. By its decision 1990/252 of 25 May 1990, the Council authorized the meetings of the working group to be held one to three months prior to a session of the Committee.

6.The Chair of the Committee, Laura-Maria Crăciunean-Tatu, in consultation with the members of the Bureau, designated the following individuals as members of the seventy‑fourth pre-sessional working group:

Nadir Adilov

AsrafAlly Caunhye

Julieta Rossi

Preeti Saran

Michael Windfuhr (Chair of the pre-sessional working group)

7.In 2024, the Committee was able to hold only one pre-sessional working group. Owing to the liquidity crisis in relation to the regular budget, the holding of the seventy-fifth pre‑sessional working group was cancelled and the adoption of the lists of issues scheduled for that pre-sessional working group was postponed. The seventy-fourth pre-sessional working group held meetings from 4 to 8 March 2024. Due to the above-mentioned discontinuation of hybrid meetings, except for the review of State Party reports, the work of the pre-sessional working group – which had been planned before the discontinuation – was partially held without the support of conference services. This was necessary to allow the numerous stakeholders who had planned to give briefings to the pre-sessional working group to do so. The pre-sessional working group identified additional issues that could be addressed to the reporting States Parties.

E.Organization of work

8.In accordance with rule 5 of its rules of procedure, at the 1st meeting of its seventy‑fifth and seventy-sixth sessions, the Committee considered the provisional agenda and tentative programme of work for the sessions and approved them, as amended during the discussions.

F.Next sessions

9.In accordance with the established schedule, taking into account the meeting time allocated pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/268, the seventy-seventh and seventy‑eighth sessions of the Committee are tentatively scheduled to be held at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 10 to 28 February 2025 and from 8 September to 3 October 2025, respectively.

G.Reports of States Parties scheduled for consideration by the Committee at its upcoming sessions

10.In accordance with rule 61 (2) of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the reports submitted by States Parties under article 16 of the Covenant are, in principle, scheduled for consideration in the order in which they are received by the Secretary-General. As at 27 September 2024, the closing date of the seventy-sixth session, the Committee had received the reports listed below, which it decided to consider at its seventy-seventh session.

Seventy-seventh session (2025)
Croatia	E/C.12/HRV/2
Kenya	E/C.12/KEN/6
Peru	E/C.12/PER/5
Philippines	E/C.12/PHL/7
Rwanda	E/C.12/RWA/5
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	E/C.12/GBR/7

11.The Committee continues to remain seized of the situation of long-overdue initial reports. As at 27 September 2024, 25 States Parties had initial reports overdue for submission to the Committee. Of those reports, those of the following 16 States Parties were more than 10 years overdue: Bahamas, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Eritrea, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Somalia and Timor-Leste. The Committee noted the situation of long-overdue periodic reports. As at 27 September 2024, 54 States Parties had overdue periodic reports. Of those reports, those of the following 16 States Parties were more than 10 years overdue: Afghanistan, Barbados, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Hungary, India, Jordan, Libya, Madagascar, Malta, Nigeria, San Marino, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zambia.

12.As at 27 September 2024, reports from 33 States Parties had been submitted and were pending consideration by the Committee. The States Parties, in the order of receipt of the reports, are: Peru, Rwanda, Philippines, Chile, Croatia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kenya, Russian Federation, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Uruguay, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Georgia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Angola, Mexico, North Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Australia, Tunisia, Cabo Verde, Republic of Korea, Germany, Republic of Moldova, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Kazakhstan, Austria, Eswatini and Canada.

II.Overview of the working methods of the Committee

13.The present chapter is aimed at providing an overview and explanation of the way in which the Committee carries out its various functions, including information about recent developments in its working methods. It is also intended to make the current practice of the Committee more transparent and readily accessible by States Parties and other stakeholders interested in the implementation of the Covenant.

14.The Committee has been making concerted efforts to devise appropriate working methods that adequately reflect the nature of the tasks with which it has been entrusted. In the course of its 76 sessions, it has sought to modify and develop those methods in the light of its experience and to respond to developments regarding the functioning of the treaty body system as a whole. Those methods will continue to evolve, taking into account General Assembly resolution 68/268, on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system, adopted on 9 April 2014. In the course of 2024, the Committee discussed the outcomes of the meetings of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies held in 2023 and 2024, in particular as they related to the harmonization and alignment of the working methods of all the treaty bodies. The Committee also discussed modalities of optimizing its methods of work with a view to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the State Party review procedure. In this regard, in 2025, the adoption of the lists of issues will take place during the sessions, as the Committee will endeavour to prioritize plenary meeting time.

A.Impact of measures adopted to address the backlog of reports pending consideration

15.Additional meeting time granted to the Committee in 2013 and 2014 and measures adopted by the Committee have resulted in a continued reduction of the backlog, as reported in 2015. However, the Committee would again require additional meeting time to fulfil the mandate entrusted to it. During 2024, the Committee considered 13 State Party reports.

16.At the time of adoption of the present report, 33 reports were pending consideration by the Committee. The Committee cannot anticipate with certainty the number of reports that will be submitted annually and the backlog that may result therefrom.

17.The Committee thus very much looks forward to the introduction of an eight-year predictable review cycle and the generalization of the simplified reporting procedure, as soon as the resources required to do so are secured. It would be necessary for the Committee to have additional meeting time, for example, to hold a third annual session, with the resources required to do so.

B.General reporting guidelines and simplified reporting procedure (pilot phase)

18.The Committee attaches great importance to the need to structure the reporting process and the constructive dialogue with the representatives of each State Party in such a way as to ensure that the issues of principal concern regarding the implementation of the Covenant are dealt with in a methodical and informative manner. For this purpose, in 2008, the Committee adopted revised reporting guidelines on treaty-specific documents to be submitted by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant,with a view to assisting States Parties in the reporting process and improving the effectiveness of the monitoring system as a whole, in particular by emphasizing the need for States Parties to report on the impact of the measures taken to respect, protect and fulfil the rights enshrined in the Covenant.

19.The Committee decided in 2015 to make the simplified reporting procedure available to States Parties on a pilot basis, as the General Assembly, in its resolution 68/268, had encouraged States Parties to consider the possibility of using the simplified reporting procedure to facilitate the preparation of their reports and the constructive dialogue on the implementation of their treaty obligations. At its sixty-third session, the Committee considered the first reports submitted under the simplified procedure. The Committee decided to conduct the dialogue on the basis of the questions included in the lists of issues prior to reporting, aiming for a more focused dialogue.

20.Given the positive feedback received from States on those first constructive dialogues, held during its sixty-third session, the Committee decided to extend the pilot exercise. In 2018, the Committee invited 13 States Parties to avail themselves of the procedure. The last reports submitted under the pilot phase are pending submission and/or consideration by the Committee. The Committee is no longer adopting lists of issues prior to reporting in the context of the pilot exercise, and looks forward to the outcome of the treaty body strengthening process.

C.Delay of predictable review cycle and simplified reporting procedure

21.At its sixty-seventh session, the Committee decided to introduce an eight-year predictable review cycle for the review of State Party reports, and to generalize the use of the simplified reporting procedure. At the same session, the Committee decided to discuss the modalities of doing so at its sixty-eighth session. The introduction of an eight-year predictable review cycle and the generalization of the use of the simplified reporting procedure would be subject to additional resources (which would result, in practice, in a third annual session).

22.During its discussion at the sixty-eighth session, the Committee decided to introduce the predictable review cycle as of 2022, subject to available resources, and to offer the simplified reporting procedure to all States Parties, allowing them to opt out if they so wished. With that decision, the Committee looked forward to engaging with all States Parties in a predictable fashion while reducing the reporting burden and facilitating engagement with all stakeholders. The Committee believed that that would also contribute to a higher level of enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.

23.The Committee subsequently requested the secretariat to inform States Parties of that decision and compile information for States Parties wishing to opt out of the simplified reporting procedure. However, the predictable review cycle for all treaty bodies is now being introduced, pending discussions among States on how best to proceed with it in the context of the treaty body strengthening process, taking into account also the resources required to do so.

24.At its meeting with States on 10 October 2023, during its seventy-fourth session, the Committee provided an overview of the next steps with respect to the treaty body reporting process. The Committee highlighted that States Parties should continue to report according to the standard procedure until such a time that a decision was made within the context of the treaty body strengthening process, or additional resources were otherwise provided for the Committee. The Committee subsequently informed States Parties that were part of the pilot process that the procedure would not continue for the time being. Reporting deadlines for those States Parties were adjusted as required.

25.The Committee has already developed its own working methods for the development of lists of issues prior to reporting, which is the State Party reporting process under the simplified reporting procedure, including rules for flexibility to take up new issues. Such rules are already harmonized with those of the Human Rights Committee and will form the basis for further work by the treaty bodies to harmonize their working methods.

26.Further developments will be dependent on the response of the General Assembly to the report of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies on their thirty-sixth annual meetingand the proposal on its future financing, including the need of the Committee for additional meeting time, notably a third full annual session and corresponding secretariat resources. This would also improve the capacity of the secretariat to work on individual communications.

D.Examination of State Party reports

1.Work of the pre-sessional working group

27.The pre-sessional working group currently meets for five days following each session of the Committee, prior to the sessions it is preparing for. It is composed of five members of the Committee who are nominated by the Chair, taking into account the desirability of a balanced geographical and gender distribution and other relevant factors, such as language requirements.

28.The main purpose of the pre-sessional working group is, following the receipt of a report, to identify additional questions in advance in order to assist the Committee in preparing for the dialogue with the representatives of the reporting State Party. The aim is to improve the efficiency of the system and to ease the task of the representatives of States Parties by facilitating more focused preparations for the discussion. At the seventy-fourth pre-sessional working group, six lists of issues were adopted.

29.As noted above, the meetings of the seventy-fourth pre-sessional working group were largely held without conference services, as the decision on 22 January 2024 to suspend hybrid meetings, with immediate effect, had a significant impact on the remote briefings with a wide variety of stakeholders that had already been planned. The seventy-fifth pre-sessional working group was cancelled, owing to the liquidity crisis, and the adoption of the lists of issues was postponed to 2025. The Committee plans to integrate the adoption of lists of issues into the sessions, and benefit from the additional plenary meeting time, instead of doing so in the pre-sessional working group, for which the conference services currently envisage only in-person participation.

30.With regard to its working methods, and following the proposal of the Bureau of the Committee, the pre-sessional working group, in the interests of efficiency, allocated to each of its members initial responsibility for undertaking a detailed review of a specific State Party report and for putting a preliminary list of issues before the working group. The Committee member allocated that task is the country rapporteur for the specific State Party report. A task force is identified to work closely with each country rapporteur. Each draft by a country rapporteur is revised and supplemented on the basis of observations by the task force members and other members of the working group, and the final version of the list of issues is adopted by the working group as a whole. This procedure will be replicated during the sessions in 2025. Reports submitted under the simplified reporting procedure (pilot phase) were not considered by the pre-sessional working group, as they did not require the drafting of a separate list of issues.

31.In preparation for the meetings of the pre-sessional working group, the Committee has asked the secretariat to place at the disposal of its members all pertinent documents containing information relevant to each of the reports and countries to be examined. In addition, the Committee has requested that documents from other treaty bodies, including lists of issues, lists of issues prior to reporting and information on follow-up or other relevant information, be considered with a view to avoiding unnecessary overlap or duplication. For this purpose, the Committee invites all concerned individuals, bodies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to submit relevant and appropriate documentation to the secretariat.

2.Consideration of reports

32.In accordance with the established practice of the human rights treaty monitoring bodies, representatives of the reporting States Parties should be present and engage at the meetings of the Committee when their reports are examined, in order to ensure a constructive dialogue. Under the procedure that is generally observed, the representative of the State Party is invited to make a brief opening statement. Next, the Committee’s country rapporteur for the particular State Party introduces the dialogue, giving a concise overview of the report, signalling gaps and advancing a set of initial questions. The Committee then considers the report by clusters of articles (usually arts. 1–5, 6–9, 10–12 and 13–15), taking particular account of the replies furnished in response to the list of issues, when one is available.

33.In accordance with the practice of appointing a task force for each State Party report, the Committee members responsible for each of the four clusters lead the dialogue, with the member responsible for the first cluster also having the role of country rapporteur, ensuring coordination between the clusters. The Chair invites questions or comments from other members of the Committee, then invites the representatives of the State Party to reply to questions. Members of the Committee are free to pursue specific issues in the light of the replies thus provided, but are expected to avoid repeating questions that have already been posed or answered. All speakers should adhere to the speaking times agreed in advance. All constructive dialogues with States Parties at the seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions were held over two meetings.

34.The final phase of the examination of the report by the Committee consists of the drafting and adoption of its concluding observations. With the assistance of the secretariat, the country rapporteur prepares a draft set of concluding observations for consideration by the Committee, which is circulated for comments among the members prior to adoption. At a later stage, the Committee discusses the draft, in private session, with a view to adopting it by consensus.

35.The concluding observations, once formally adopted, are forwarded to the State Party concerned and made public thereafter.

3.Comments by States Parties on concluding observations

36.Once adopted by the Committee, the concluding observations on the report of a State Party and any substantive comments submitted thereon to the Committee by the State Party are made public, as submitted, and are listed in the Committee’s annual report. Comments from States Parties are published for information purposes only.

37.During the reporting period, the Committee received comments from Armenia and Chad on the concluding observations on their respective reports, which had been considered at the seventy-fourth session of the Committee, in 2023. Any comments received after the date of adoption of the present report will be reflected in the next annual report of the Committee.

4.Postponement of the consideration of reports

38.Last-minute requests by States to postpone the consideration of reports that have been scheduled for examination at a particular session are extremely disruptive for all concerned and have, in the past, caused major problems for the Committee. Accordingly, the long‑standing policy of the Committee is not to grant such requests and to proceed with its consideration of all scheduled reports, even in the absence of a representative of the State Party concerned. Postponement of the dialogue may be agreed to only in exceptional situations, including those related to force majeure, such as, for example, natural disasters.

E.Follow-up procedure in relation to the consideration of reports

39.The follow-up procedure decided upon by the Committee at its twenty-first session,has already been applied in relation to two States Parties, and the Committee considers the experience to have been very positive in both instances.

40.During its fifty-ninth session, the Committee decided to reconsider its follow-up procedure, taking into account the working methods of the other treaty bodies and on the basis of its experience relating to the implementation of its concluding observations. At its sixty-first session, the Committee adopted a new follow-up procedure.

41.At its sixty-fourth session, the Committee decided to extend the period for follow-up to concluding observations from 18 to 24 months. Moreover, at its sixty-sixth session, it decided to align the deadline for the submission of information related to the follow-up by national human rights institutions, NGOs and other organizations with that set for the submissions for the session at which the follow-up report was scheduled to be considered.

42.At its seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions, the Committee pursued work on follow-up under the guidance of the follow-up rapporteurs, Asraf Ally Caunhye and Santiago Manuel FiorioVaesken, as decided at the seventy-fourth session. The Committee considered the information received on follow-up to the concluding observations of Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of) and Kuwait, and submitted its assessments to the States Parties concerned. It continued to apply the assessment categories as modified on the basis of its experience to date. The categories are “sufficient progress”, “partial progress”, “no progress”, “lack of sufficient information to make an assessment” and “no response”.

F.Procedure in response to non-reporting States Parties and considerably overdue reports

43.The Committee encourages all States Parties to observe reporting obligations and submit reports as required. The Committee is aware that the treaty body capacity-building programme established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/268 has given support to requesting States Parties to build capacity for reporting. The Committee encourages States Parties to avail themselves of the support available through the above-mentioned programme to submit long‑overdue reports.

G.Submission of several reports in one document

44.At its forty-eighth session, the Committee reviewed the situation regarding combined reports and decided that such reports would be considered as one report. The Committee also decided to specify the due date of the State Party’s next periodic report as five years following the date on which the Committee adopted its concluding observations, instead of five years as of the submission of the initial report, irrespective of the date of submission of the previous report. Each report is subject to the same word limits, namely those set out in paragraph 16 of General Assembly resolution 68/268 (31,800 words for initial reports, 21,200 words for periodic reports and 42,400 words for common core documents).

H.Action by the Committee with regard to information on economic, social and cultural rights received from sources other than States Parties

1.Information provided in connection with the Committee’s consideration of a State Party report

45.The Committee takes into account information provided to it by sources other than the State Party, in connection with its consideration of a State Party report. That information, which may be considered an integral part of the constructive dialogue with a State Party, is made available by the secretariat to the State Party concerned through the public website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in advance of the Committee’s consideration of the State Party’s report. The fact that such information is posted on the OHCHR website does not imply that the Committee associates itself with the content of the information.

2.Information received following consideration by the Committee of a State Party report and the adoption of concluding observations

46.On several occasions in the past, the Committee has received information, mainly from NGOs, after its consideration of a State Party report and the adoption of concluding observations thereon. In practice, this has generally been follow-up information on the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee. Not being in a position to consider and act upon such information without reopening its dialogue with a State Party, the Committee will consider information received from sources other than a State Party only in cases where such information has been specifically requested in its concluding observations.

47.The Committee considers that, following its consideration of a State Party report and the adoption of its concluding observations, the primary responsibility for the implementation thereof lies with the State Party, which is bound to report to the Committee in its next periodic report on the measures taken in this respect. The Committee therefore recommends that the information referred to in the preceding paragraph (mainly information from NGOs) be submitted directly to the competent national authorities with a view to assisting them in implementing the concluding observations of the Committee.

3.Information provided regarding non-reporting States Parties

48.The Committee has also received information from international and national NGOs on the status of the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights by:

(a)States Parties that have not submitted a report since their ratification of the Covenant and its entry into force;

(b)States Parties with long-overdue periodic reports.

49.In both cases, the failure of States Parties to comply with their obligations under the Covenant and, in particular, with their reporting obligations, has made it impossible for the Committee to effectively monitor States Parties’ implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the Covenant, in accordance with the mandate conferred on the Committee by the Economic and Social Council.

50.At its thirtieth session, the Committee, in a spirit of open and constructive dialogue with States Parties, decided that, in both of the cases referred to above, the Committee may, through a letter from the Chair, bring to the attention of the State Party concerned the information received and urge the State Party to submit its overdue report without further delay and to address therein the issues raised in the submissions of NGOs. That letter would also be made available to the NGOs concerned, upon request.

I.Day of general discussion

51.The Committee may decide to devote one day of a session to a general discussion of a particular right or aspect of the Covenant. The purpose of such a general discussion is threefold: (a) it assists the Committee in developing in greater depth its shared understanding of the issue under discussion; (b) it enables the Committee to encourage inputs into its work from all interested parties; and (c) it helps the Committee to lay the basis for a future general comment or provides the opportunity to discuss a draft general comment. The Committee did not hold a day of general discussion in 2024.

J.Other consultations

52.The Committee has sought to coordinate its work with that of other bodies to the greatest extent possible and to draw as widely as it can on available expertise in the fields of its competence. The Committee has also sought to draw on the expertise of relevant United Nations specialized agencies and bodies, special procedure mandate holders and Chairs and members of working groups and other bodies of the Human Rights Council. The Committee has further sought to pursue engagement with States Parties and with civil society stakeholders.

53.On 13 February 2024, an informal exchange between members of the Committee and members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was held, hosted by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. The discussion centred on preparatory work for the future general comment on the impact of drug policies as they relate to the Covenant. The Global Commission on Drug Policy also participated in the meeting, which was focused on the draft annotated outline of the future general comment. The contributions of the members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women were highly valued, in particular in terms of addressing the intersection of drug policies and human rights.

54.On 15 February 2024, representatives of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section of the Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch of OHCHR provided an update on the work of the Section to the Committee, focusing on the vision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in terms of economic, social and cultural rights and the expected expansion of the work of the Section. The representatives of the Section stressed the desire of the Section to engage with and seek guidance from the Committee. The details of the vision were explored and various strategies to support that vision were discussed.

55.On 19 February 2024, the Committee met with counterparts from the Freedom of Association Branch of the International Labour Organization. The meeting addressed freedom of association, the right to strike and other related issues. Emphasis was placed on the necessity of close collaboration on numerous issues of shared concern.

56.On 19 February 2024, the Committee held a meeting with representatives of OHCHR on the human rights economy and issues related to taxation.

57.On 22 February 2024, representatives of OHCHR presented the report of the Office on human rights challenges in addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem.It was of interest in particular with respect to the Committee’s work on a future general comment related to that important topic.

58.On 23 February 2024, the annual meeting with NGOs, facilitated by the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, was held. It was significantly affected by the discontinuation of hybrid meetings as of January 2024. Consequently, many participants could not engage directly with the Committee as planned. Numerous speakers highlighted the issue in their statements. Despite those challenges, a wide range of issues were addressed, with both the Committee and NGOs expressing hope for future online engagement to allow as broad as possible an interaction with the Committee.

59.On 27 February 2024, the Committee met with the secretariats of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions and the Minamata Convention on Mercury. An overview of their work was provided, focusing primarily on environmental issues. However, discussions also spanned other matters, such as child labour and exposure to hazardous substances.

60.On 11 September 2024, an informal exchange between members of the Committee and members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child was held, hosted by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. The discussion centred on preparatory work for the general comment on the impact of drug policies as they relate to the Covenant. The Global Commission on Drug Policy participated in the meeting. The contributions of the members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child were highly valued and the importance of a children’s rights perspective was noted.

61.On 16 September 2024, members of the Committee held an informal exchange with the Special Rapporteur on the right to development. The discussion centred on the draft general comment on economic, social and cultural rights and the environmental dimension of sustainable development. The Special Rapporteur welcomed the developments related to the work on the general comment and shared some thoughts, indicating that he would be happy to contribute to the process going forward.

62.On 18 September 2024, an informal exchange with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change and members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child was held at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights under the auspices of the Treaty Body Members’ Platform. The discussion centred on the recent thematic reports submitted by the Special Rapporteur. In her work, the Special Rapporteur had referenced the work of the Committee, identified good practices, challenges and opportunities relevant to the implementation of her mandate and sought input from members of the Committee.

63.On 19 September 2024, some members of the Committee, together with members from other treaty bodies, met with representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, who presented the work of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights of the Commission. Members of the Committee expressed views in favour of formalizing the relationship between the Committee and the Commission in terms of ensuring better cooperation for State reviews, participating in each body’s thematic sessions and cooperating on jurisprudence.

64.On 19 September 2024, the Committee heard a briefing on the issue of care and support by representatives of the Women’s Human Rights and Gender Section and the Human Rights and Disability Unit of OHCHR. The Committee members expressed interest in the topic, indicating that they would be keen to receive further updates.

65.On 23 September 2024, the Committee held a meeting with representatives of OHCHR on the human rights economy, focusing on issues related to taxation. The meeting was focused on developments in the negotiation of a United Nations framework convention on taxation, in which the topic of human rights, and specifically the right to privacy, has an important place. The Committee continued discussing the issuance of a statement on the subject.

66.On 26 September 2024, members of the Committee met with the Director of the Research and Publications Department of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to discuss enhancing cooperation and information exchange. The members agreed to enhance the existing collaboration between the Committee and the supervisory bodies of ILO, in particular the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.

67.On 26 September 2024, members of the Committee met with members of civil society for a meeting coordinated by FIAN International. The meeting was focused on the impact of digitalization on economic, social and cultural rights, specifically the right to social security, the rights of Indigenous Peoples and rural populations and the right to education.

68.Representatives of United Nations specialized agencies, bodies and departments demonstrated interest in and followed the dialogues held during the seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions of the Committee.

K.Participation of non-governmental organizations in the work of the Committee

69.In order to ensure that it is as well informed as possible, the Committee provides opportunities for NGOs to submit relevant information to it. They may do so in writing, prior to the consideration of the report of a given State Party or prior to the adoption of a list of issues. Such information should: (a) be focused specifically on the provisions of the Covenant; (b) be of direct relevance to matters under consideration; (c) be credible; and (d) not be abusive.

70.The Committee has requested the secretariat to ensure that written information formally submitted to it by NGOs in relation to the consideration of a specific State Party report is made available as soon as possible to the representatives of the State Party concerned. Prior to a session, this is normally done by posting it on the OHCHR website. The Committee therefore assumes that if any of the information is referred to during the dialogue with the State Party, the latter will already be aware of it.

71.Civil society organizations also contribute to the work of the Committee through inputs into the process of preparing its general comments and participation in thematic meetings. As noted, the Committee seeks to consolidate its engagement with civil society organizations, including through regular annual meetings.

72.A wide variety of NGOs, including national and international NGOs and coalitions of national NGOs, regularly submit information to the Committee and seek to engage in formal and informal meetings with Committee members. Many NGOs observe the Committee’s dialogues with State Party delegations online, for which registration is not necessary. Information submitted by NGOs is available for consultation on the web page of the Committee.

73.The Committee values the ongoing dialogue it maintains with civil society organizations in addition to the focused engagement that is country-specific or thematic. The annual meetings that take place are an important feature of the Committee’s work and are regularly facilitated by the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (see para. 58 above).

L.General comments

74.In response to an invitation addressed to it by the Economic and Social Council, the Committee began, as of its third session, preparing general comments on the various rights and provisions of the Covenant, in particular with a view to assisting States Parties in fulfilling their obligations under the Covenant by providing authoritative guidance on the interpretation thereof.

75.At its seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions, the Committee continued with the consideration of the draft general comment on sustainable development and the Covenant, prepared by the drafting group. It provided an opportunity for all the Committee members to discuss the draft text in detail and reflect on its scope and format, taking into account the word limit and other constraints. The Committee agreed to the draft text, as revised, and decided that it would be made publicly available for comments and inputs. The Committee expects to have a revised version, integrating inputs from stakeholders, as appropriate, for a final reading at its next session.

76.At the seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions, the Committee discussed the preparatory work being undertaken on the general comment on the impact of drug policies on economic, social and cultural rights, following progress reports and updates provided by the lead rapporteur for the general comment, Seree Nonthasoot.

77.During the seventy-sixth session, Ludovic Hennebel, the lead rapporteur for the future general comment on economic, social and cultural rights in the context of armed conflict, provided a preliminary report and an update on the preparatory steps taken and meetings held during the intersessional period.

78.As at 27 September 2024, the Committee had adopted 26 general comments.

79.Through its general comments, the Committee endeavours to make the experience gained during its examination of State Party reports available for the benefit of all States Parties, in order to assist and promote further implementation of the Covenant, to draw the attention of States Parties to inadequacies disclosed by a large number of reports, to suggest improvements in the reporting procedures and to encourage States Parties and relevant international organizations and United Nations specialized agencies to achieve progressively and effectively the full realization of the rights recognized in the Covenant. Whenever necessary, the Committee may, in the light of the experience of States Parties and the conclusions drawn therefrom, revise and update its general comments.

80.With a view to ensuring the clarity and visibility of its procedures, the Committee adopted an internal paper on the methodology related to the development of general comments to facilitate the engagement of a wide variety of stakeholders.

M.Statements and letters

81.With a view to assisting States Parties to the Covenant, the Committee adopts statements to clarify and confirm its position with respect to major international developments and issues that have a bearing on the implementation of the Covenant.

82.As at 27 September 2024, the Committee had adopted 34 statements. The Chair of the Committee had also addressed open letters to States Parties to the Covenant on issues of particular interest, such as economic, social and cultural rights and the economic and financial crisis and related austerity measures.

83.During its seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions, the Committee discussed a proposal for a statement on taxation and economic, social and cultural rights. The discussion will continue at the seventy-seventh session.

III.Submission of reports by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant

84.In accordance with rule 58 of its rules of procedure, at the 1st meeting of its seventy‑sixth session, on 9 September 2024, the Committee considered the status of the submission of reports under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant.

85.In that connection, the Committee had before it the following documents:

(a)Note by the Secretary-General on the revised general guidelines regarding the form and content of reports to be submitted by States Parties;

(b)Note by the Secretary-General on the status of submission of reports by States Parties to the Covenant as of 1 July 2024.

86.The Secretary-General informed the Committee that, between 13 October 2023 and 27 September 2024, he had received 12 reports submitted under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant from the following States Parties (listed in the order of receipt of the reports): Australia, Tunisia, Cabo Verde, Republic of Korea, Germany, Republic of Moldova, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Kazakhstan, Austria, Eswatini and Canada.

IV.Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant

87.At its seventy-fifth session, the Committee examined the following reports submitted by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant:

State P arty	Symbol
Second periodic report
Indonesia	E/C.12/IDN/2
Mauritania	E/C.12/MRT/2
Fourth periodic report
Ireland	E/C.12/IRL/4
Fifth periodic report
Iraq	E/C.12/IRQ/5
Sixth periodic report
Romania	E/C.12/ROU/6
Seventh periodic report
Sweden	E/C.12/SWE/7

88.At its seventy-sixth session, the Committee examined the following reports submitted by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant:

State P arty	Symbol
Initial report
Malawi	E/C.12/MWI/1
Third periodic report
Honduras	E/C.12/HND/3
Fourth periodic report
Albania	E/C.12/ALB/4
Kyrgyzstan	E/C.12/KGZ/4
Fifth periodic report
Iceland	E/C.12/ISL/5
Seventh periodic report
Cyprus	E/C.12/CYP/7
Poland	E/C.12/POL/7

89.The Committee adopted concluding observations on each report considered. The concluding observations listed below are available from the Official Document System of the United Nations. In accordance with established practice, members of the Committee do not participate in the dialogue with the delegation or in the drafting or adoption of the concluding observations relating to the report of their country of nationality. Members can also declare potential conflicts of interest and decide not to participate in or not to contribute to a dialogue, when such a conflict of interest exists or may be perceived to exist.

Concluding observations from the seventy-fifth session

State P arty	Symbol
Indonesia	E/C.12/IDN/CO/2
Iraq	E/C.12/IRQ/CO/5
Ireland	E/C.12/IRL/CO/4
Mauritania	E/C.12/MRT/CO/2
Romania	E/C.12/ROU/CO/6
Sweden	E/C.12/SWE/CO/7

Concluding observations from the seventy-sixth session

State P arty	Symbol
Albania	E/C.12/ALB/CO/4
Cyprus	E/C.12/CYP/CO/7
Honduras	E/C.12/HND/CO/3
Iceland	E/C.12/ISL/CO/5
Kyrgyzstan	E/C.12/KGZ/CO/4
Malawi	E/C.12/MWI/CO/1
Poland	E/C.12/POL/CO/7

V.Activities of the Committee under the Optional Protocol

A.Progress of work concerning individual communications submitted to the Committee

90.At the time of adoption of the present report, the Committee had registered 359 communications under the Optional Protocol since its entry into force. At present, the status of the communications registered is as follows:

(a)Consideration concluded by the adoption of Views under article 9 (1) of the Optional Protocol, finding of a violation of the Covenant: 18;

(b)Consideration concluded by the adoption of Views under article 9 (1) of the Optional Protocol, finding no violation of the Covenant: 3;

(c)Declared inadmissible: 27;

(d)Discontinued: 123;

(e)Pending consideration: 188.

91.At its seventy-fifth session, the Committee adopted its Views on Saydawi and Farah v. Italy,concerning the eviction of two families from the dwelling they had been occupying, without the provision of alternative housing, in which it found a violation of the Covenant. The Committee also discontinued 24 communications against Spain,either because the authors had found alternative housing or been granted social housing, or because they had lost interest in the communication. At its seventy-sixth session, the Committee adopted its Views on El Korrichi et al. v. Spain,concerning the eviction of a family, without the provision of alternative housing options, from the dwelling they had been occupying without a legal title, in which it found a violation of the Covenant. The Committee decided that that decision would be the Committee’s pilot decision concerning eviction cases in Spain and that all future cases on the issue would follow the approach and decision taken in those Views. The Committee also adopted its Views on the cases J.T. et al v . Finland,concerning the granting of an exploration permit and the designation of a reservation on Indigenous Peoples’ traditional land without an adequate impact assessment and without a process aimed at obtaining the authors’ free, prior and informed consent, in which it found a violation of the Covenant. Those were the first decisions of the Committee on the issue of cultural rights. At that same session, the Committee discontinued the consideration of 24 individual communications.

92.At its seventy-fifth session, the Committee decided to suspend, until further notice, the possibility for States Parties to request consideration of the admissibility separately from the merits of individual communications, as provided for by rule 6 of the Committee’s rules of procedure under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

93.According to rule 11 of the Committee’s rules of procedure under the Optional Protocol, prior to being examined by the Committee in plenary, communications will be examined by the working group on communications. The working group on communications is composed of up to nine members, and it meets for one day prior to each session, in order to examine draft decisions on communications before they are submitted to the plenary.

94.Owing to the liquidity crisis, the meeting of the working group on communications prior to the seventy-fifth session was cancelled. The working group therefore had to meet during the plenary time allocated to the consideration of individual communications.

B.Follow-up to the Committee’s Views on individual communications

95.At its seventy-fifth session, the Committee adopted its follow-up progress report on individual communications.The Committee assessed the State Party’s compliance with its recommendations concerning Walters v Belgium .The Committee considered that some initial action had been taken but that further action and additional information on the measures taken were still needed. The Committee decided to continue the follow-up procedure for the communication and invited the State Party to provide information on the measures taken in relation to all of its recommendations.

VI.Substantive issues arising from the implementation of the Covenant

96.In addition to its ongoing work on general comments and statements (seeparas. 52–61 above), the Committee continued to reflect on issues affecting its work. As the official meeting time allocated to the Committee offers limited space for in-depth substantive discussions, members have also reached out to partners in order to garner their support in creating the space for and facilitating such discussions. Committee members also conduct background research themselves or with the support of OHCHR, whose capacities are increasingly limited.

VII.Additional decisions adopted and matters discussed by the Committee at its seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions

A.Participation in intersessional meetings

97.Members of the Committee continued to participate in, and/or contribute in different capacities to, initiatives taken by different stakeholders for a better understanding and implementation of the Covenant. Requests for such participation are addressed to the Committee through the Chair, to members directly or through the secretariat.

B.Future general comments

98.The Committee is working on general comments, as noted above. In addition, the Committee has indicated interest in revising some of its existing general comments. A working group for general comments, set up at the seventy-fifth session, will consider matters related to sequencing and planning for future work on the revision of existing general comments, or the preparation of new ones.

C.Working methods of the Committee

99.At its sixty-seventh session, the Committee continued to discuss several aspects of its working methods. As indicated in paragraphs 17–22 above, the Committee decided to introduce an eight-year predictable reporting cycle and to standardize the use of the simplified reporting procedure for States wishing to avail themselves of it. That decision was based on the need to engage with all States Parties to the Covenant and to further contribute to the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights globally. In reaching that decision, the Committee was guided by the discussions relating to the 2021 review of the treaty body system, including on the basis of General Assembly resolution 68/268, on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system, by the vision of the Chairs of the treaty bodies and by the views presented by States and other stakeholders.

100.At its sixty-eighth session, the Committee decided on a methodology for the adoption of lists of issues prior to reporting. In doing so, the Committee benefited from the experience of members of other treaty bodies, in particular the Human Rights Committee, with which it exchanges views and considered common approaches as much as possible.

101.The Committee looks forward to the introduction of the predictable reporting cycle, which would allow it to engage with all 172 States Parties and also to provide the predictability that States and all stakeholders require.

102.During the seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions, the Committee dedicated time to discussing the strengthening of the treaty body system, including information from the annual meeting of the Chairs of the treaty bodies. Representatives of the Human Rights Treaties Branch of OHCHR attended those meetings to provide updates and respond to questions from Committee members.

VIII.Other activities of the Committee in 2024

103.Members of the Committee engaged in activities organized on the margins of and between sessions. Those activities were often organized at the initiative of the members themselves or of various stakeholders, including, notably, States, national human rights institutions, NGOs and academics.

IX.Adoption of the report

104.At the 59th meeting of its seventy-sixth session, held on 27 September 2024, the Committee adopted the report to the Economic and Social Council on the work of the Committee at its seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions, as amended during the discussions.

Annex

Members of the Committee

Name	Country of nationality	Term expires on 31 December
Aslan Abashidze	Russian Federation	2026
Mohamed Ezzeldin Abdel-Moneim	Egypt	2024
Nadir Adilov	Azerbaijan	2028
Mohammed Amarti	Morocco	2024
Asraf Ally Caunhye	Mauritius	2026
Laura-Maria Crăciunean-Tatu	Romania	2028
Peters Sunday Omologbe Emuze	Nigeria	2026
Santiago Manuel Fiorio Vaesken	Paraguay	2026
Ludovic Hennebel	Belgium	2026
Joo-Young Lee	Republic of Korea	2026
Karla Vanessa Lemus de Vásquez	El Salvador	2026
Mikel Mancisidor de la Fuente	Spain	2024
Seree Nonthasoot	Thailand	2028
Lydia Carmelita Ravenberg	Suriname	2024
Julieta Rossi	Argentina	2026
Preeti Saran	India	2026
Shen Yongxiang	China	2024
Michael Windfuhr	Germany	2028