Committee on EconomicSocial and Cultural Rights

Report on the seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth sessions

(10–28 February and 8–26 September 2025)

United Nations • N ew York and Geneva , 2026

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

[4 March 2026]

Contents

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.Election and replacement of officers2

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 reports4

E.Follow-up procedure in relation to the consideration of reports6

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 Parties7

I.Day of general discussion8

J.Other consultations8

K.Participation of non-governmental organizations in the work of the Committee9

L.General comments10

M.Statements and letters11

III.Submission of reports by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant11

IV.Consideration of reports submitted by States Parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant12

V.Activities of the Committee under the Optional Protocol14

A.Progress of work concerning individual communications submitted14

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

VI.Substantive issues arising from the implementation of the Covenant15

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

A.Participation in intersessional meetings16

B.Future general comments16

C.Working methods of the Committee16

VIII.Other activities of the Committee in 202516

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 of 26 September 2025, the closing date of the seventy-eighth session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 173 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 31 States have ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, 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 2025, the Committee held two sessions: its seventy-seventh session, from 10 to 28 February, and its seventy-eighth session, from 8 September to 26 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.12/77/1 and E/C.12/78/1 respectively.

3.An account of the deliberations of the Committee at its seventy-seventh and seventy‑eighth 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. Sixteen members attended the seventy-seventh session, with Nadir Adilov and Chen Peijie absent. Eighteen members attended the seventy-eighth session, with no members absent. The newly elected and present members of the Committee, Charafat El Yedri Afailal, Lazhari Bouzid, Giuseppe Palmisano and Laura Elisa Pérez made the solemn declaration on 10 February 2025, in accordance with rule 13 of the Committee’s rules of procedure. Being absent from the seventy-seventh session, Ms. Chen made the solemn declaration on 8 September 2025, in accordance with rule 13 of the Committee’s rules of procedure.

D.Election and replacement of officers

5.In accordance with rule 14 of its rules of procedure, at the 1st meeting of its seventy‑eighth session, on 8 September 2025, the Committee elected the members of its Bureau, as follows:

Chair: Preeti Saran

Vice-Chairs: Nadir Adilov

Asraf Ally Caunhye

Giuseppe Palmisano

Rapporteur: Julieta Rossi

E.Organization of work

6.In accordance with rule 5 of its rules of procedure, at the 2nd meetings of its seventy‑seventh and seventy-eighth sessions, the Committee considered the provisional agendas and tentative programmes of work for the sessions and approved them, as amended during the discussions, respectively. Upon request, at the Committee’s seventy-seventh session, Kenya was granted postponement of the examination of its report, originally scheduled to take place at the seventy-seventh session of the Committee, with the examination tentatively rescheduled to take place at the seventy-ninth session.

F.Next sessions

7.In accordance with the established schedule, taking into account the meeting time allocated pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/268, the seventy-ninth and eightieth sessions of the Committee are tentatively scheduled to be held at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 9 February to 6 March 2026 and from 28 September to 16 October 2026, respectively.

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

8.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 26 September 2025, the closing date of the seventy-eighth session, the Committee had received the reports listed below, which it decided to consider at its seventy-ninth session.

Seventy- ninth session (202 6 )
Australia	E/C.12/AUS/6
Austria	E/C.12/AUT/5
Georgia	E/C.12/GEO/3
Kenya	E/C.12/KEN/6
Mexico	E/C.12/MEX/7
Pakistan	E/C.12/PAK/2
Uruguay	E/C.12/URY/6

9.The Committee continues to remain seized of the situation of long-overdue initial reports. As at 26 September 2025, 21 States Parties had initial reports overdue for submission to the Committee. Of those initial reports, those of the following 14 States Parties were more than 10 years overdue: Bahamas (The), Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Grenada, Lesotho, Liberia, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles and Timor-Leste. The Committee noted the situation of long-overdue periodic reports. As at 26 September 2025, 50 States Parties had overdue periodic reports. Of those reports, those of the following 16 States Parties were more than 10 years overdue: Afghanistan, Algeria, Barbados, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Hungary, India, Jordan, Libya, Madagascar, Malta, Nigeria, San Marino, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago.

10.As at 26 September 2025, reports from 42 States Parties had been submitted and were pending consideration by the Committee. The States Parties, in the order of receipt of the reports, are: Malawi, Kenya, Uruguay, Georgia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Angola, Mexico, North Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Australia, Cabo Verde, Republic of Korea, Germany, Republic of Moldova, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Austria, Eswatini, Canada, Guinea-Bissau, Ecuador, Slovakia, Egypt, Estonia, Zambia, Paraguay, Uganda, Nepal, Oman, Central African Republic, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Gabon, Togo, Norway, Somalia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia.

II.Overview of the working methods of the Committee

11.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.

12.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 seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth 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.

13.In the course of 2025, the Committee discussed the outcomes of the meetings of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies held in 2024 and 2025, in particular as they related to the harmonization and alignment of the working methods of all the treaty bodies, and the impact on the work of the treaty bodies caused by the liquidity crisis in relation to the regular budget. 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 took place during the sessions, as the Committee endeavoured to prioritize plenary meeting time.

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

14.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 2025, the Committee considered 11 State Party reports.

15.At the time of adoption of the present report, 42 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.

16.The Committee thus very much looks forward to the introduction of a 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, to reduce the backlog of reports pending review and to better align with other mechanisms, for the benefit of all stakeholders.

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

17.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.

18.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 and 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. In 2018, this procedure was extended to 13 States Parties who were invited to avail themselves of the procedure. The last reports submitted under the pilot phase are pending consideration by the Committee. The pilot exercise was then closed, and the Committee is no longer adopting lists of issues prior to reporting as resources were not allocated for this purpose.

C.Delay of predictable review cycle and simplified reporting procedure

19.At its sixty-seventh session, the Committee decided to introduce an eight-year predictable review cycle for the review of State Party reports subject to additional resources (which would result, in practice, in a third annual session), and to generalize the use of the simplified reporting procedure.

20.At the sixty-eighth session, the Committee initially 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. The predictable review cycle for all treaty bodies was envisaged in the context of the treaty body strengthening process, taking into account also the additional resources required to do so.

21.At its meeting with States on 10 October 2023, during its seventy-fourth session, 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.

22.On 8 September 2025, Laura-Maria Crăciunean-Tatu reported on the conclusions of the thirty-sixth annual meeting of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies, noting in particular that given that the predictable eight-year scheduling of reviews required additional resources which had not been approved, a simulation prepared by the secretariat for a predictable schedule of reviews within existing resources had been presented to the Chairs.

D.Examination of State Party reports

1.Preparation of lists of issues

23.Previously, a pre-sessional working group composed of five members met for five days, as authorized by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1988/4 of 24 May 1988. The main purpose of the pre-sessional working group was, following the receipt of a report, to identify additional questions (a list of issues) in advance in order to assist the Committee in preparing for the dialogue with the representatives of the reporting State Party. The aim was 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.

24.At its seventy-sixth session, the Committee decided 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 envisaged only in-person participation.

25.With regard to its working methods, following the proposal of the Bureau, the Committee nominates a country rapporteur to undertake a detailed review of each specific State Party report for which a list of issues is to be issued. A task force is identified to work closely with each country rapporteur. Each draft list of issues proposed by a country rapporteur is revised and supplemented on the basis of observations by the task force members and other members of the Committee, and the final version of the list of issues is adopted by the Committee as a whole. This procedure will in all likelihood be replicated during the sessions in 2026. Reports submitted under the simplified reporting procedure (pilot phase) were not considered, as they did not require the drafting of a separate list of issues.

26.In preparation for the adoption of the lists of issues, 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 through the channels communicated on the Committee’s dedicated webpage.

2.Consideration of reports

27.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.

28.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-seventh and seventy-eighth sessions were held over two meetings.

29.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.

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

3.Comments by States Parties on concluding observations

31.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.

32.During the reporting period, the Committee received comments from Peru and the Philippines on the concluding observations on their respective reports, which had been considered at the seventy-seventh session of the Committee, in 2025. 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

33.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

34.The follow-up procedure was decided upon by the Committee at its twenty-first session, with very positive results.

35.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, which was updated at its seventy-first session.

36.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.

37.At its seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth sessions, the Committee pursued work on follow-up under the guidance of the follow-up rapporteurs, Mr. Caunhye and Mr. FiorioVaesken, as decided at the seventy-fourth session. The Committee considered the information received on follow-up to the concluding observations on Serbia and Uzbekistan at its seventy-seventh session and on El Salvador and Luxembourg at its seventy-eighth session 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

38.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

39.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

40.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

41.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.

42.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

43.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.

44.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.

45.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

46.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 2025.

J.Other consultations

47.The Committee has throughout the year 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.

48.On 12 February 2025, an informal discussion took place with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. The discussion centred on recent endeavours by the Special Rapporteur, including her recent country visits, and her work on an upcoming report on the phasing out of fossil fuels as a critical means of climate change mitigation. The contributions were highly valued, in particular the Special Rapporteur’s comment in respect of the Committee’s work on a draft general comment on economic, social and cultural rights and the environmental dimension of sustainable development.

49.On 20 February 2025, the Committee was briefed by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative. Emphasis was placed on the value of making systematic use of indicators as a means of measuring compliance with a State Party’s obligations under the Covenant, as defined in article 2 (1), to take steps to the maximum of its available resources.

50.Also on 20 February 2025, representatives of the treaty body capacity-building programme of OHCHR provided a briefing to the Committee regarding the support provided to the Committee and the work of the treaty bodies in general. The representatives elaborated on various measures and initiatives taken vis-à-vis States Parties to encourage better reporting practices, peer-to-peer learning, and greater connection with commitments to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.

51.Furthermore, on 20 February 2025, a meeting with States Parties was held. The discussion encompassed three key topics, namely the Committee’s reporting procedure, mainly focusing on the simplified reporting procedure and the predicable review calendar and the Committee’s decisions on those issues; the critical role of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, and the Committee’s work on individual communications; and the state of the Committee’s ongoing and upcoming work on general comments and statements. States Parties widely expressed their support for a holistic application of the simplified reporting procedure, and, overall, showed goodwill concerning their engagement with the Committee in the coming years.

52.On 21 February 2025, the Committee was briefed on drug policy and economic, social and cultural rights by a variety of experts from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and OHCHR. The briefing was focused on findings in relation to the right to health, including harm reduction and general policy developments.

53.On 28 February 2025, the annual meeting with NGOs, facilitated by the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, was held. The discussion encompassed three key segments, namely general topics of discussion, strategic litigation related to economic, social and cultural rights, and the right to a healthy and clean environment.

54.On 28 February 2025, a discussion with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights took place. Her contributions were highly valued, including those relating to the important intersection of development and cultural rights, and more specifically, cultural development, as well as those regarding the importance of culture and Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge in ensuring the sustainability of ecosystems and the promotion of biodiversity.

55.Due to the United Nations regular budget liquidity crisis, the meeting time for the seventy-eighth session was reduced from four weeks to three weeks. As a result, the Committee was not able to conduct other consultations at the seventy-eighth session.

56.To facilitate the organization of consultations with other institutions, the Committee has appointed focal points among its members: Ms. Crăciunean-Tatu for consultations with the Council of Europe; Ms. Rossi for consultations with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Joo-Young Lee for consultations with the International Labour Organization; Ludovic Hennebel for consultations with other treaty bodies; and Seree Nonthasoot for consultations with national human rights institutions.

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

57.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.

58.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.

59.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.

60.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.

61.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. 53 above).

L.General comments

62.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.

63.At the seventy-seventh session, the Committee continued discussing the preparatory work being undertaken on a future general comment on the impact of drug policies on economic, social and cultural rights, following progress reports and updates provided by the rapporteur for the general comment, Mr. Nonthasoot. The working group entrusted with the preparatory work for this general comment is currently composed of Mr. Fiorio Vaesken, Ms. Pérez and Ms. Rossi, and the rapporteur, Mr. Nonthasoot. Following discussion on a first draft of the general comment, a second draft was presented by the working group incorporating comments and observations received by several Committee members.

64.During the seventy-seventh session, Mr. Hennebel, the 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. The working group entrusted with the preparatory work for this general comment is currently composed of Mr. Fiorio Vaesken, Ms. Lee, Aslan Abashidze, Mr. Caunhye, Ms. Crăciunean-Tatu, Mr. Palmisano, and the rapporteur, Mr. Hennebel.

65.At its seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth sessions, the Committee continued with its consideration of the draft general comment on sustainable development and the Covenant, prepared by the drafting group. This provided an opportunity for all Committee members to discuss the draft text in detail and to reflect on its scope and format, taking into account the word limit and other constraints. At its seventy-eighth session, the Committee agreed to the draft text, as revised, conducted a final reading, and adopted the general comment on economic, social and cultural rights and the environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

66.As at 26 September 2025, the Committee had adopted 27 general comments. As there was no consensus on continuing the discussion of the second draft of the general comment on the impact of drug policies on economic, social and cultural rights, the Committee decided to prioritize the general comment on economic, social and cultural rights in the context of armed conflict, in its agenda of work.

67.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.

68.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

69.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.

70.During its seventy-seventh session, the Committee adopted a statement on tax policy and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The initiative had been proposed during its seventy-fifth session, and the working group entrusted with the preparatory work on the statement was composed of Ms. Rossi (rapporteur), Ms. Lee, Michael Windfuhr and Mr. Nonthasoot. This initiative benefited from the technical support of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section and the Sustainable Development Section of OHCHR.

71.As at 26 September 2025, the Committee had adopted 35 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.

72.At its seventy-eighth session, one member, Mr. Palmisano, supported by many, proposed that the Committee send an open letter to States Parties on the situation in Gaza. In discussing the proposal, several concerns were raised about procedural aspects, including the precedent that would have been set by such a letter in view of the fact that the Committee did not have a practice of issuing country-specific statements or letters. Some members expressed concern about the compatibility of such a letter with the Committee’s mandate and rules of procedure. The gravity of the unfolding events in Gaza was not contested by any member. Some members considered that expressing a Committee view on the egregious violations of Covenant rights was central to its raison d’être. Some members indicated that neither the Covenant nor its rules of procedure prohibited such action, which they considered to be the minimum action warranted by the situation. As there was no consensus, no action was taken on the proposal.

73.Mr. Fiorio Vaesken proposed that during its seventy-ninth session, the Committee consider the draft statement on national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, which had been under discussion in previous meetings.

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

74.In accordance with rule 58 of its rules of procedure, at the 2nd meeting of its seventy‑eighth session, on 8 September 2025, the Committee considered the status of the submission of reports under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant.

75.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.

76.The Secretary-General informed the Committee that between 27 September 2024 and 26 September 2025, he had received 19 reports submitted under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant from the following States Parties (listed in the order of receipt of the reports): Guinea-Bissau, Ecuador, Slovakia, Egypt, Estonia, Zambia, Paraguay, Uganda, Nepal, Oman, Central African Republic, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Gabon, Togo, Norway, Somalia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia.

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

77.At its seventy-seventh 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
Croatia	E/C.12/HRV/2
Fifth periodic report
Peru	E/C.12/PER/5
Rwanda	E/C.12/RWA/5
Seventh periodic report
Philippines	E/C.12/PHL/7
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	E/C.12/GBR/7

78.At its seventy-eighth 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
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	E/C.12/LAO/1
Second periodic report
Zimbabwe	E/C.12/ZWE/2
Fifth periodic report
Chile	E/C.12/CHL/5
Seventh periodic report
Colombia	E/C.12/COL/7
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)	E/C.12/NLD/7
Russian Federation	E/C.12/RUS/7

79.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-seventh session

State P arty	Symbol
Croatia	E/C.12/HRV/CO/2
Peru	E/C.12/PER/CO/5
Philippines	E/C.12/PHL/CO/7
Rwanda	E/C.12/RWA/CO/5
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	E/C.12/GBR/CO/7

Concluding observations from the seventy-eighth session

State P arty	Symbol
Chile	E/C.12/CHL/CO/5
Colombia	E/C.12/COL/CO/7
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	E/C.12/LAO/CO/1
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)	E/C.12/NLD/CO/7
Russian Federation	E/C.12/RUS/CO/7
Zimbabwe	E/C.12/ZWE/CO/2

V.Activities of the Committee under the Optional Protocol

A.Progress of work concerning individual communications submitted

80.At the time of adoption of the present report, the Committee had registered 383 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: 22;

(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: 31;

(d)Discontinued: 180;

(e)Pending consideration: 147.

81.At its seventy-seventh session, the Committee adopted its Views on Salazar Motos et al . v . Spain and Quintero Colobón et al . v . Spain,both of whichconcerned the eviction of a family from the dwellings they had been occupying, without the provision of alternative housing, in which the Committee found a violation of the Covenant. The Committee found a case admissible, Martínez de Orellana v . Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which concerned the right to work of a human rights defender. It found three cases inadmissible: M.T.R. v . Spain,concerning the eviction of a family from a dwelling they had been occupying, without the provision of alternative housing, and Claparède et al. v . Franceand Faux v . France, both concerning the right to compensation for hours worked. In addition, the Committee discontinued 35 communications against Spain, six communications against Italy and one communication against Portugal,either because the authors had found alternative housing or had been granted social housing, or because they had lost interest in the communication. At its seventy-eighth session, the Committee adopted Views on the case 26 residents of Villa 15 v . Argentina, concerning the eviction of a group of inhabitants of an informal settlement near Buenos Aires. The Committee found that the authors’ eviction without a proper proportionality assessment by the judicial authorities, including consideration of the disproportionate impact that the eviction could have on the authors and their children and of the principle of the best interests of the child, and without a guarantee, as part of the procedure, of genuine and adequate consultation or the right of the children to be heard, together with the lack of alternative housing and the State Party’s failure to provide evidence that it had taken all appropriate measures to the maximum of its resources, would constitute a violation of their right to adequate housing. The Committee also found a violation of the authors’ right to housing in the case Sague r Sai s v . Spain, concerning the eviction of the author and her son with disabilities from commercial premises that they were occupying without a legal title. The Committee declared inadmissible the case El Fandor v . Spain, concerning the eviction of the author and her son from an apartment they were occupying, for failure to exhaust domestic remedies. Finally, the Committee discontinued the consideration of 15 communications against Spain and Uruguay.

82.At its seventy-eighth session, the Committee decided to change the composition of the working group on communications to the following: Mr. Abashidze, Mr. Caunhye, Ms. Crăciunean-Tatu, Mr. Hennebel, Ms. Lee, Mr. Palmisano, Ms. Rossi, Ms. Saran and Mr. Fiorio Vaesken.

83.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.

84.Owing to the liquidity crisis, the meetings of the working group on communications prior to the seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth sessions were 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

85.At its seventy-sixth session, the Committee, acting through its working group on individual communications, appointed Ms. Rossi as rapporteur on follow-up to communications. At its seventy-seventh session, the Committee adopted its follow-up progress report on individual communications. The Committee assessed the State Party’s compliance with its recommendations concerning Hernández Cortés et al. v. Spain, Gómez-Limón Pardo v. Spain and Naser et al. v. Spain. The Committee decided to continue the follow-up procedure for all the cases assessed 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

86.In addition to its ongoing work on general comments and statements (seeparas. 62–73 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.

87.The Committee has entrusted specific members with the task of further exploring substantive issues arising from the implementation of the Covenant: Ms. El Yedri Afailal and Ms. Pérez have been entrusted with the topic of the Sustainable Development Goals, and Ms. El Yedri Afailal and Mr. Hennebel have been entrusted with the topic of artificial intelligence and the rights under the Covenant.

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

A.Participation in intersessional meetings

88.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

89.The Committee continues working on general comments, as noted above. In addition, the Committee has indicated interest in revising some of its existing general comments.

C.Working methods of the Committee

90.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.

91.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.

92.The Committee looks forward to the introduction of the predictable reporting cycle, which would allow it to engage with all 173 States Parties and also to provide the predictability that States and all stakeholders require.

93.During the seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth 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.

94.The Committee continues to work on improving its working methods. It has entrusted Mr. Windfuhr, Mr. Hennebel, Ms. Pérez and Mr. Abashidze with examining the Committee’s working methods and proposing any future improvements for the consideration of the Committee.

VIII.Other activities of the Committee in 2025

95.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.

96.The Committee notes that 2026 will mark the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee has entrusted the coordination of activities related to the anniversary to Ms. Crăciuinean-Tatu, to work closely with Mr. Windfuhr, Mr. Hennebel, Karla Vanessa Lemus de Vásquez, Ms. El Yedri Afailal, Ms. Rossi, Mr. Abashidze and Mr. Nonthasoot.

IX.Adoption of the report

97.At the 57th meeting of its seventy-eighth session, held on 26 September 2025, the Committee adopted the report to the Economic and Social Council on the work of the Committee at its seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth 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
Nadir Adilov	Azerbaijan	2028
Lazhari Bouzid	Algeria	2028
Asraf Ally Caunhye	Mauritius	2026
ChenPeijie	China	2028
Laura-Maria Crăciunean-Tatu	Romania	2028
Charafat El Yedri Afailal	Morocco	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
Seree Nonthasoot	Thailand	2028
Giuseppe Palmisano	Italy	2028
Laura Elisa Pérez	Mexico	2028
Julieta Rossi	Argentina	2026
Preeti Saran	India	2026
Michael Windfuhr	Germany	2028