The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights To comply with the review process, each state
state party must submit a
(ICESCR) was adopted on December 16, 1966 by the UN General
Assembly and entered into force ten years later. The ICESCR,
together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
constitute the International Bill of Human Rights. The ICESCR
defines a broad set of rights related to the economic, social, and
cultural elements of life that states must provide to their citizens.
Specific rights relate to:
 Housing
 Education
 Labor
 Environment
 Health
 Cultural rights (including language and religion)
 Self-determination
The ISCESR also requires state parties to submit reports on their
implementation of the Covenant. Initially, the Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) of the UN was responsible for the review of state
parties’ reports. However, in 1985, the ECOSOC established
the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (“the
Committee”) to assume all monitoring functions of the
implementation of the ICESCR. The Committee is a group of 18
independent experts on economic, social, and cultural rights who
meet twice a year in Geneva. The Committee provides guidance for
and also monitors each state party’s compliance with the ICESCR by
drafting general comments on the scope of treaty obligations and
conducting reviews of state parties’ progress in implementing the
treaty. In accordance with the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, the
Committee may also accept individual complaints and
communication alleging a state party’s violation of rights under the
ICESCR. However, since China is not a party to the Optional Protocol,
the Committee may not accept individual complaints related to
China.
report to the Committee every five years on steps taken in
implementing the Convention, but, in practice, reports are often
combined and reviewed less frequently. To prepare for a state
party’s review, the Committee designates a “Country Rapporteur,”
who undertakes a detailed review of the state party report and
further facilitates and coordinates the entire review process,
including the preparation of all associated documents. One such
document is the “list of issues and questions,” prepared by the
Country Rapporteur and a pre-sessional working group of four other
experts that is convened six months prior to the full Committee’s
review. The list of issues and questions highlights the Committee’s
major areas of concern and additional information the state party is
strongly urged to provide prior to the review. After considering all
the materials, the Committee conducts an interactive dialogue with
representatives of the state party. Following the dialogue, the
Committee adopts concluding observations which include final
remarks and recommendations. The state party is welcome to
submit comments to the Committee regarding the concluding
observations, which are then made public on the Committee’s
website.
Civil society members may provide input to the Committee at various
points by submitting reports, making oral statements, and
participating in briefings for Committee members. The Committee
also encourages state parties to consult and incorporate information
from civil society members in their national reports and follow-up
procedures, and requires that the concluding observations are widely
disseminated following the review. In addition, the Committee also
considers information from civil society and other stakeholders, such
as UN agencies and national human rights institutes.
CHINA AND THE ICESCR
China ratified the ICESCR in 2001.When states become parties to
international treaties, they are permitted to do so with reservations,
understandings, or declarations, which clarify the states’
interpretation of certain provisions, or change the state’s rights and
obligations under the treaty. To be valid, any such conditions cannot
contradict the purpose of the treaty itself. At the time of its
ratification of the ICESCR, China made a declaration on article 8.1(a)
of the Covenant, under which state parties must ensure the right of
everyone to form and join trade unions of their choice.

China’s declaration states that:

The application of Article 8.1 (a) of the Covenant to the People's

Republic of China shall be consistent with the relevant provisions
of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Trade Union
Law of the People's Republic of China and Labor Law of the
People's Republic of China.

Since its ratification of ICESCR, China has been reviewed by the

Committee twice. China’s next review is scheduled for May 2019.
Below are official documents and HRIC contributions related to
China’s ICESCR reviews.