The ICESCR contains many provisions which are critical to the protection of the
rights of minority women in the areas of economic, social and cultural rights.
Under the Covenant, two principles are very important to minority women: the
principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination (Article 2); and the principle
of equality between men and women (Article 3), which should be applied to all
areas of economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Covenant. The areas
covered by the Covenant are: right to work, including „just and favorable
conditions of work‟, (which means equal pay for work of equal value, decent living
for the workers and their families, minimum wages above poverty level, safe
working conditions without sexual harassment). The Covenant also covers right to
social security, right to family, right to decent standard of living, right to housing,
food, water and sanitation, the highest attainable physical and mental health,
right to education, and right to enjoy cultural life.
When there are minorities in a given country under consideration, the Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights always raises the issues minority people
face, issues such as higher rate of unemployment, poverty, land ownership and
titling, forced eviction and shortage of housing, water or toilets, or cultural
heritage at risk due to development projects, etc. Minority women often face
double or triple discriminations. For example, in a State party the Committee
dealt with just last week, the minority women of that country were earning only
37.5% of the majority men, because of the double discrimination as women and
as minority.
Under this morning‟s agenda item, our task is to identify existing challenges faced
by minority women and good practices to ensure minority women‟s enjoyment of
the economic, social and cultural rights.
Challenge No. 1, in my opinion, is to educate the minority women and to let them
know their rights prescribed in the international human rights treaties, such as
CEDAW and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
What would the ICESCR mean to a Roma woman living in rural area of Sweden, or