INTRODUCTION Knowing the key elements of ESC rights Minimum obligations Economic, social and cultural rights have a number of particular characteristics. It is helpful to know what these are in order to advocate for the strengthening of a state’s obligations. Firstly, states can ‘progressively realize’ economic, social and cultural rights. Under Article 2(1) of the ICESCR a state party is to ‘undertake steps individually and through international assistance and co-operation … to the maximum of its available resources with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the … Covenant’. Significantly, the steps towards fulfilling the rights are to be taken within a ‘reasonably short time’ and should be ‘deliberate, concrete and targeted’ toward fulfilling ESC rights.20 Thus, it is not only once a state has reached a certain level of economic development that the obligations provided for under the Covenant are to be undertaken. The duty in question obliges state parties, regardless of their level of national wealth, to move towards the realization of ESC rights.21 The Committee has further emphasized that, regardless of the reasons for resource constraints, ‘vulnerable members of society can and indeed must be protected by the adoption of relatively low-cost targeted programmes’.22 Resource constraints do not relieve states of their obligations to give immediate effect to their undertaking to guarantee the Covenant rights, and include ensuring certain core obligations.23 Also any process aimed at fulfilling the rights is immediately subject to the application of the principle of non-discrimination.24 Since there is a minimum core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights, under the Covenant ‘a State party, in which any significant number of individuals is deprived of essential foodstuffs, of essential primary health care, of basic shelter and housing, or of the most basic forms of education is, prima facie, failing to discharge its obligations.’25 Despite being subject to progressive realization, the obligation imposed on state parties is to ‘move as expeditiously and effectively as possible towards the goal’, for all groups without discrimination.26 While the full realization of all ESC rights generally may not be achievable in a short period of time, measures that deliberately detract from the enjoyment of any of the Covenant rights must meet a very high threshold of justification.27 International cooperation Under the ICESCR, states are obligated to meet the minimum essential levels of each right, corresponding to minimum core obligations, elaborated in the General Comments of the CESCR. Whether efforts to meet this threshold have been satisfactorily undertaken is assessed according to a number of criteria. These include: whether or not the country with inadequate resources has actively sought 9