ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the problems that the current performance standard of "progressive realization" entails for monitoring economic, social, and cultural rights, and proposes a "violations approach" as a more feasible and effective alternative. It focuses on three types of violations approach: violations resulting from actions and policies on the part of governments; violations related to patterns of discrimination; and violations taking place due to a state's failure to fulfill the minimum core obligations contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Covenant). In addition to the Covenant, several international human rights instruments enumerate economic, social, and cultural rights. These include the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The implementation and monitoring of the rights articulated in the Covenant have been hampered by conceptual and methodological difficulties.
