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Seminar on "The Justiciability of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) in Nepal"
December 19, 2007, Kathmandu, Nepal

Background

Economic, social and cultural rights first emerged as internationally recognised rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. They were further entrenched as international norms in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1966. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in 1993 reaffirmed that all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated. However, in spite of their affirmation in treaty form for over 40 years, the perception still remains that economic, social and cultural rights lag behind civil and political rights when it comes to their realisation as legally enforceable rights in national courts; also known as 'justiciability'. Indeed, some critics have claimed that economic, social and cultural rights are inherently non-justiciable, but comparative international case law increasingly demonstrates that national courts can and do recognise and enforce economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights.

The concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights on Nepal in 2007 recommended that the government of Nepal improve effective access to judicial and administrative remedies in cases of alleged violations of the prohibition of discrimination based on caste and discrimination against women. The Committee also made recommendations for the government to take effective measures in relation to victims of domestic violence, child labour, the right to food, access to water, the right to housing, the right to health and the right to education. In this context, the seminar will explore how these rights and others might be better realized as legally enforceable rights in Nepali legal system by reference to international standards and experience in other parts of the world.

Structure

The seminar, to be held in English, will be held over half - day in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 19 December 2007, as a joint collaboration of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Action Aid Nepal and Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN).

The seminar will be structured around four plenary sessions, comprising deliberations by the specialists on different aspects of economic, social and cultural rights, followed by questions and answers. The plenary session will be preceded by an inauguration session where general discussion on ESCR in Nepal's context will take place.

Participants

A total of approximately 40 representatives of different human rights institutions, NGOs, and other civil society organizations from Nepal who play an active role in defending the economic, social and cultural rights in Nepal will be invited for this seminar.