Economic, social and cultural rights
As one of the largest providers of development assistance worldwide, the EU helps people enjoy their human rights and supports states in fulfilling their obligations.
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Economic, social and cultural rights include ensuring that people have access to water and health care, children are able to go to school, and communities and households are resilient against disasters.
The EU follows a human rights-based approach in its cooperation programmes to ensure that no one is left behind and that development is people-centred, rights-driven, and transparent. This means that people are actively consulted in the preparation and implementation of programmes, paying particular attention to the needs and risks of vulnerable populations.
In its bilateral engagement, the EU discusses with partner countries how to deliver on the commitments under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other international human rights conventions.
The EU highlights the interlinkages between, on the one hand, economic and social rights and, on the other hand, civil and political rights. For rights holders to be able to hold governments accountable and ensure they can enjoy their right to health, water or education, for example, they have to be able to freely express themselves and to assemble and organise to make their voices heard.
The EU underlines the duty of states to pay particular attention to the most vulnerable and to ensure that their rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
In multilateral fora, namely the UN Human Rights Council, UN General Assembly and the International Labour Organisation, the EU actively promotes economic, social and cultural rights through human and labour rights resolutions, EU statements, and supporting the mandates of UN Special Procedures.
The EU also advocates for the human rights dimension to be taken into account in sectoral multilateral agreements, for example, on water or biodiversity.
The EU has been at the forefront of raising awareness about and acting on the link between human rights and the environment. The EU raises awareness of the negative impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on human rights: the rights to health, food security, safe drinking water and sanitation, adequate housing, education, work and development and even life itself.
Among others, the EU strongly supported the creation of the mandates of the Special Rapporteurs on Climate Change and Human Rights and the Human Right to a Healthy Environment.