COE Issue Paper

8/13/2019 COE Issue Paper

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Safeguarding human rightsin times of economic crisis

IssuePaper


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Safeguarding human rights

in times of economic crisis

Issue Paper published

by the Council of Europe

Commissioner for Human Rights

Council of Europe


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Te opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.

All requests concerning the reproduction or translation o all or part o this docu-ment should be addressed to the Directorate o Communication (F-67075 Strasbourg

Cedex or [email protected]). All other correspondence concerning this documentshould be addressed to the Office o the Commissioner or Human Rights.

Issue Papers are published by the Commissioner or Human Rights to contributeto debate and reflection on important current human rights issues. Many o themalso include recommendations by the Commissioner or addressing the concerns

identified. Te opinions expressed in these expert papers do not necessarily reflectthe Commissioners position.

Issue Papers are available on the Commissioners website: www.commissioner.coe.int

Acknowledgements:

Tis Issue Paper was prepared by Nicholas Lusiani, Senior Researcher at the Centeror Economic and Social Rights (CESR), and Ignacio Saiz, CESR Executive Director.

Cover photo: AFP Photo/Patrick Baz, Milos Bicanski/Getty Images/AFP

Cover and layout: Documents and Publications Production Department (SPDP),Council o Europe

Council o Europe, November 2013Printed at the Council o Europe


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Contents | 3

Contents

List of abbreviations...................................................................... 5

Summary ...........................................................................................7The Commissioners recommendations................................... 9

Introduction .................................................................................... 13

1. Impacts of austerity measures and economic crisison the enjoyment of human rights.................................15

1.1. A typology of austerity ................................................................. 15

1.2. Economic, social and cultural rights ..............................................17

1.3. Civil and political rights ................................................................20

1.4. Disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged

and marginalised groups of people ...............................................22

1.5. Interdependence of human rights and intergenerational effects

of austerity.................................................................................. 25

1.6. Impacts on state capacity and the human rights protectionsystem .......................................................................................26

2. Human rights standards and jurisprudenceon austerity ...........................................................................27

2.1. Human rights as legal imperatives and higher-order policy

objectives ................................................................................... 27

2.2. Economic, social and cultural rights norms under austerity ............28

2.3. Civil and political rights ................................................................32

2.4. Rights to transparency, participation and accountability .................. 33

2.5. Equality, non-discrimination and positive measures .......................35

3. Implementing human rights in timesof economic crisis..............................................................39

3.1. Institutionalising transparency, access to information

and participation ......................................................................... 39

3.2. Conducting systematic human rights and equality impact

assessments ...............................................................................40


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Safeguarding human rights in times of economic crisis4

3.3. Carrying out systematic human rights screening of budget

and fiscal policy .......................................................................... 41

3.4. Promoting equality and combating discrimination and racism .........42

3.5. Ensuring social protection floors for all ..........................................43

3.6. Guaranteeing the right to decent work ..........................................44

3.7. Ensuring access to justice for all and maintaining the human rights

protection system ........................................................................ 45

3.8. Engaging and supporting an active civil society .............................46

3.9. Regulating finance in the interest of human rights .........................47

3.10. Intergovernmental co-operation and assistance .............................48

4. Role of national human rights structures..................... 51

4.1. NHRSs promoting and protecting human rights in crisis .................. 51

4.2. Opportunities for advancing human rights-compliant crisis

responses .................................................................................... 52

4.3. Empowering NHRSs in times of fiscal austerity ...............................54

Appendix 1European Social Charter: signaturesand ratifications ....................................................................................57

Appendix 2 European Code of Social Security (ETS No. 48):signatures and ratifications .................................................................... 59

Appendix 3 Optional Protocol to the International Covenanton Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: signatures and ratifications ....... 61


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List of abbreviations | 5

List of abbreviations

CEDAW Convention/Committee on the Elimination o All Forms oDiscrimination against Women

CEPEJ European Commission or the Efficiency o Justice

CERD UN Committee on the Elimination o Racial Discrimination

CESCR UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

CESR Center or Economic and Social Rights

CRC Convention/Committee on the Rights o the Child

CRPD Convention/Committee on the Rights o Persons with Disabilities

EC European Commission

ESC Economic, Social and Cultural

ECB European Central Bank

ECHR European Convention on Human Rights

ECSR European Committee o Social Rights

EU European Union

FRA European Union Agency or Fundamental Rights

ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

ICERD International Convention on the Elimination o All Forms oRacial Discrimination

ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ILO International Labour Organization

IMF International Monetary Fund

NHRS National human rights structure

OHCHR UN Office o the High Commissioner or Human Rights

PACE Parliamentary Assembly o the Council o Europe

WHO World Health Organization


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Summary | 7

Summary

Europeans are living through the deepest economic recession since the

Second World War. What began as a meltdown o the global financial systemin 2008 has been transormed into a new political reality o austerity whichthreatens over six decades o social solidarity and expanding human rightsprotection across Council o Europe member states. Te initial govern-ment responses to the economic crisis were characterised by unprecedentedfiscal and monetary policies aimed at guaranteeing social protection whilestimulating economic demand to prevent a ull-blown global depression.However, since 2010, many governments have ocused on austerity policiesas emergency measures, ofen side-stepping regular channels o participation

and accepted democratic checks and balances. European and internationalinstitutions o economic governance have also assumed a central role inenorcing austerity.

Many of these austerity measures characterised by public expenditure cuts,regressive tax hikes, reduced labour protection and pension reforms haveexacerbated the already severe human consequences of the economic crisismarked by record levels of unemployment. Te whole spectrum of humanrights has been affected from the rights to decent work, an adequate standardof living and social security to access to justice, freedom of expression andthe rights to participation, transparency and accountability. Vulnerable andmarginalised groups of people have been hit disproportionately hard, com-pounding pre-existing patterns of discrimination in the political, economicand social spheres. Poverty, including child deprivation, is deepening and islikely to have long-term effects. In some cases, the economic crisis is under-mining the very capacity of central and local authorities to deliver on the basicpromises of a social welfare state and ensure human rights protection for all.

Economic policy is not exempt rom the duty o member states to implementhuman rights norms and procedural principles. As embodied in internationalhuman rights law, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights are notexpendable in times o economic hardship, but are essential to a sustainedand inclusive recovery. Tere is growing national and international juris-prudence on the implementation o human rights in the crisis context.Tis is particularly the case or states obligations to protect economic andsocial rights, avoid urther erosion and retrogression o these rights and

prevent disproportionate impacts o austerity measures on particular sec-tors o the population. Te cross-cutting human rights principles o non-discrimination, equality, participation, transparency and accountability havea specific significance in responses to the crisis.


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Human rights standards do not represent precise policy prescriptions.Economic policy in times o crisis requires a complex decision-makingcalculus, and governments enjoy a margin o discretion in choosing themeans or saeguarding rights in times o economic constraint which best

fit their circumstances. Nonetheless, human rights and equality do providea universal normative ramework and operational red lines within whichgovernments economic and social policies must unction. Tis Issue Paperprovides practical guidance to Council o Europe member states in navigatingthe historic opportunities and difficult policy choices they ace in upholdinghuman rights duties in times o economic constraint. Te Commissionerproposes a set o actionable recommendations and measures which helporge a new path along which governments can align their economic recoverypolicies with their commitments to human rights and equality. It is neces-sary to reinvigorate the European social model based on the oundationso human dignity, intergenerational solidarity and access to justice or all.

National human rights structures (NHRSs) such as ombudsmen, humanrights commissions and equality bodies have an essential role to play intimes o economic crisis. As statutory and independent advocates o humanrights and equality, NHRSs have great potential to promote human rights-compliant responses to the crisis and protect people rom discriminatorymeasures which result in inequalities. Tey can take an active role in assess-ing policies and budgets according to human rights standards and createplatorms or civil society and government to debate austerity measures. Asaccessible, low-threshold complaints bodies, NHRSs protect people rominringements o their rights resulting rom austerity. Governments shouldstrengthen the effectiveness and independence o NHRSs so that they areempowered to assume a critical role in saeguarding human rights duringeconomic crisis.


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The Commissioners recommendations | 9

The Commissioners recommendations

In order to ensure the effective and equal enjoyment o all human rights civil, political, economic, social and cultural in times o economic crisisand fiscal austerity, the Commissioner or Human Rights calls on Councilo Europe member states to:

1. institutionalise transparency, participation and public accountabil-ity throughout the economic and social policy cycle.Governmentsshould provide timely access to such key inormation as budget, taxand financial policies to enable civil society, parliamentary commis-sions, national human rights structures and courts to monitor andprovide oversight over crisis responses. Disaggregated social indicators

should be applied to collect data on the cumulative effects o austeritymeasures on different population groups in order to measure impact,identiy disproportionate effects and design policies to protect disad-

vantaged groups. Tere is a need to set up channels or social dialogueand citizen participation, in addition to periodic elections, in orderto take civil societys views into account in policy making on austeritymeasures;

2. conduct systematic human rights and equality impact assessments

of social and economic policies and budgets. Ex anteand ex post factoassessments should gauge the present and uture impacts o austeritymeasures and budgets on the enjoyment o human rights. Audits ofiscal policy should evaluate whether fiscal contractions are strictlynecessary by identiying all possible resourcing alternatives. Austeritymeasures should not be discriminatory and they should remain tem-porary, covering only the period o the crisis. Funding levels have tobe restored when more resources become available;

3. promote equality and combat discrimination and racism.Comprehensive equal treatment legislation should be ully imple-mented during the crisis period. Particular attention should be givento combating racism and discrimination based on socio-economicstatus as a means o preventing poverty. Positive measures in avouro disadvantaged groups, including women, are necessary to addressdisproportionate and compound effects o the crisis and austeritymeasures. Marginalised and disadvantaged individuals access to rem-edies and assistance as victims o discrimination should be acilitatedby independent and effective national equality bodies;

4. ensure social protection floors for all.Governments should main-tain social security guarantees or basic income and health care to


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ensure universal access to essential goods and services during thecrisis. Governments should resist any pressure to undermine suchbasic guarantees by ring-encing public budgets to protect at least theminimum core levels o economic and social rights at all times. Tere

is a need to strengthen legal guarantees o quality social protection orthe most disadvantaged and marginalised groups o the population;

5. guarantee the right to decent work.Te rights to air and equalremuneration or equal work, sae and healthy working conditions,collective bargaining, reedom rom orced and child labour, elimina-tion o workplace discrimination, access to unemployment benefitsand compensation or employment-related injuries should be upheldduring the crisis. It is essential to ensure non-discriminatory access

to employment and education. Positive measures in avour o peoplewith disabilities, Roma and women are needed to acilitate their labourinclusion. Governments should adopt strategies that reduce unemploy-ment rom their current levels, with a particular ocus on youth andlong-term unemployment;

6. regulate the financial sector in the interest of human rights.Stateshave a duty to protect individuals rom inringements o their humanrights by third parties, including financial institutions. ransparent

financial regulations should be adopted to provide accountabilitymechanisms that penalise harmul practices and prosecute perpetra-tors. Adequate means o redress and remedies have to be available tothose adversely affected by financial sector improprieties. Vital publicunds should not be used to rescue financial institutions that engagein short-sighted and irresponsible practices;

7. work in concert to realise human rights through economic co-oper-ation and assistance.Member states should consider the human rights

impacts o their decisions taken within international and Europeaninstitutions o economic governance. Governments have a responsibil-ity to demonstrate that their decisions prioritise, and at the very leastdo not impede, the realisation o human rights. States which receiveinternational financial assistance should be empowered to ensure thatthe enjoyment o human rights is protected in international loan agree-ments. Governments should enhance co-operation on tax matters orcombating tax evasion to help states mobilise the resources necessaryor ulfilling their human rights obligations;

8. engage and support an active civil society.Governments shouldrespect the critical role o NGOs in relation to austerity and theirreedoms o expression, assembly and association. Systematic dialogue,


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The Commissioners recommendations | 11

consultation and co-operation should be promoted between author-ities and civil society to make budgeting and austerity measures moreeffective and tailor them to existing needs. Te impact o budget cutson the unding o NGOs should be assessed beore implementation so

as not to jeopardise civil societys ability to monitor the consequenceso austerity and provide services to the groups affected;

9. guarantee access to justice for all. Governments must guaranteeeffective access to justice during economic downturns by maintain-ing the judiciary, the legal aid system and low-threshold complaintsmechanisms such as ombudsmen and equality bodies. Access to justicecan also be enhanced through public interest litigation and simplifiedand less costly procedures. Particular attention should be given to

providing assistance and legal aid to disadvantaged and marginalisedgroups o people to enable them to voice their complaints;

10. ratify European and international human rights instruments in thefield of economic and social rights. Member states which have notyet done so should ratiy the revised European Social Charter and itscollective complaints mechanism, the European Convention on SocialSecurity and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights. Governments should rein-

orce national implementation o the decisions and conclusions othe European Committee o Social Rights and the UN Committeeon Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Economic and social rightsshould be made justiciable beore the domestic courts;

11. systematise work for human rights. A rights-based approach shouldbe integrated in the ordinary work o public administration at all levels,including in the ormulation o economic policies and budgeting, toensure that human rights and equality duties are taken into account

in responses to the economic crisis. Member states should considerthe adoption o a national action plan or human rights to increasethe effectiveness o, and participation in, human rights work whileidentiying priorities or addressing the effects o the crisis on theenjoyment o human rights;

12. engage and empower national human rights structures in responsesto the economic crisis. Member states should strengthen the effec-tiveness and independence o NHRSs, such as ombudsmen, national

human rights commissions and equality bodies, which can protectpeople in an accessible way against inringements o human rightsresulting rom austerity. Governments should consult NHRSs indecision making on austerity measures and budgets to benefit rom


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their expert advice on human rights and equality, and the groups thatneed the most protection. Member states should ensure that theirNHRSs have sufficiently broad mandates, also in the field o economicand social rights, as well as the expertise and stable unding needed to

cover them effectively.


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Introduction | 13

Introduction

In 2012, the Council o Europe Parliamentary Assembly expressed its concernabout austerity measures and pointed out that the restrictive approaches cur-rently pursued, predominantly based on budgetary cuts in social expenditure,may not reach their objective o consolidating public budgets, but risk urtherdeepening the crisis and undermining social rights as they mainly affectlower income classes and the most vulnerable categories o the population.1

In times o crisis, governments may not immediately view human rightsas relevant to the urgent task o rescuing the economy rom the brink ocollapse. But as the Commissioner or Human Rights has argued, periodso financial dire straits should not be seen as emergency situations that

automatically entail the curtailment o social and economic rights and thedeterioration o the situation o vulnerable social groups. On the contrary,such periods o time should be viewed by states as windows o opportunityto overhaul their national human rights protection systems and reorganisetheir administration in order to build or reinorce the efficiency o nationalsocial security systems, including social saety nets that should be operationalwhen necessary.2

Tis Issue Paper outlines the human rights consequences o austerity meas-

ures implemented across Europe in the wake o the global financial andeconomic crises, and provides supportive guidance to the member states othe Council o Europe or upholding their human rights and equality dutiesin times o economic constraint. Te Issue Paper sets out a series o concreterecommendations or human rights-compliant responses to the crisis andaddresses the important and unique role o national human rights structuresin ensuring that human rights are saeguarded in the crisis context.

Chapter 1o this Issue Paper provides a short account o some o the impacts

o the economic crisis and austerity measures on the enjoyment o humanrights in Europe.

Chapter 2presents the human rights norms and standards most relevant intimes o economic downturn and recovery.

Chapter 3provides concrete guidance on how to effectively implement thesenorms in practice, thereby illustrating how human rights law can help torame and shape the member states responses to the complex and urgenteconomic dilemmas they ace.

1. PACE, Resolution 1884, Austerity measures a danger or democracy and social rights,26 June 2012.2. Te Commissioners Report on Portugal, CommDH(2012)22, p. 15.
https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1959473&Site=&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1959473&Site=&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679


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Chapter 4concludes by outlining the significant role national human rightsstructures can play in monitoring and reviewing the design and implemen-tation o austerity policies and in providing accountability or the inringe-ments o human rights resulting rom austerity.

Te Commissioners recommendations can be ound at the beginning othe document.


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Impacts of austerity measures | 15

1. Impacts of austerity measuresand economic crisis on the enjoymentof human rights

1.1. A typology of austerity

Europeans are living through the deepest economic recession since theSecond World War. What began as a meltdown o the global financial systemin 2007 and 2008 has been transormed into a new political reality o auster-ity which threatens over six decades o growing social solidarity, economicintegration and human rights protection across Council o Europe member

states.

Government policy responses to the first wave o the economic crisis (roughly2007 to 2009) were characterised by unprecedented counter-cyclical fiscaland monetary policies aimed at guaranteeing social protection, re-establish-ing financial stability and stimulating economic demand to prevent a ull-blown global depression.3By 2010, however, many European governmentshad made the reduction o deficit levels their overriding policy priority. Mostnational deficits had not resulted rom unsustainable public expenditure

beore the crisis period but rom public rescues o financial markets (esti-mated at 4.5 trillion in the EU between 2008 and 2011, or 37% o the regionsGDP)4and reductions in tax revenue stemming rom the economic downturnand record unemployment.5Nonetheless, the policy response o the secondwave o the crisis (2010-2013) was characterised by contractionary fiscalpolicies, cuts in public expenditure, selective tax hikes, pension reorms andreductions in labour protection aimed at curbing public deficits, revitalisingthe economy and gaining financial market confidence. Afer three years oausterity, these chosen measures have not yet achieved their stated aims.6

Austerity is a worldwide phenomenon. According to estimates, contractionsin public spending as an ongoing consequence o the global economic down-turn are affecting 5.8 billion people or 80% o the global population in 2013,increasing to 6.3 billion or 90% o persons worldwide by 2015. In Council

3. EC, A European Economic Recovery Plan, 26 November 2008; World Bank, Te JobsCrisis Household and Government Responses to the Great Recession in Eastern Europe andCentral Asia,2011.

4. EC, Bank recovery and resolution proposal: Frequently Asked Questions, 6 June 2012.5. IMF, A New Globalization or a New World, Opening Address by the Managing Directorto the 2010 Annual Meetings o the Boards o Governors o the World Bank Group and theIMF, 8 October 2010.6. IMF, Fiscal Monitor: Fiscal Adjustment in an Uncertain World, April 2013.
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication13504_en.pdfhttp://www.abbl.lu/sites/abbl.lu/files/FAQ_MEMO-12-416_EN.pdfhttp://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2010/100810.htmhttp://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fm/2013/01/pdf/fm1301.pdfhttp://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fm/2013/01/pdf/fm1301.pdfhttp://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2010/100810.htmhttp://www.abbl.lu/sites/abbl.lu/files/FAQ_MEMO-12-416_EN.pdfhttp://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication13504_en.pdf


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o Europe member states, fiscal adjustment strategies have been remarkablyvaried, as have the associated impacts across the region. Te policy responseso countries receiving international assistance have differed rom those ocountries affected more indirectly by the crisis. Tose Council o Europe

member states which are also members o the EU are subject to specific regu-lations on economic governance agreed at EU level. It should also be notedthat many European countries have undergone structural reorms in the pastwhich resemble current austerity policies. Despite the important differences,a general typology o austerity measures can be deduced both rom earlierstructural reorm policies and those being carried out across Europe today.In general, austerity measures all into our types, each with its own uniqueconsequences or the enjoyment o human rights: a) public budget contrac-tions affecting social spending, b) regressive taxation measures, c) labourmarket reorms, and d) structural reorms to pension plans.7

Public social spending has been the primary target o austerity measures inmany member states. Tis has occurred through wage bill cuts or caps, espe-cially or education, health and other public sector workers, the rationalisa-tion o social protection schemes, the elimination or reduction o subsidies onuel, agriculture and ood products, stricter accessibility conditions or a num-ber o social benefits, and other cuts to education and health-care systems.

Reorms o the tax regime have also been a central part o the austerity mixas governments have sought to address deficits by recovering revenue lostdue to the economic downturn. Many o these tax reorms have raised con-siderable sums and offset the need or urther budget cuts. Yet tax increasesare rarely neutral in their distributional impact, and some have added extraburdens to low-income amilies who already suffer disproportionately romcuts in public services. Value-added taxes and other consumption taxes havebeen a preerred strategy o many governments. I not properly designed

with clear exemptions on essential items, consumption taxes ofen orce low-income people to shoulder high responsibilities or economic recovery asthey spend a higher proportion o their income on ood and basic services.axes on income, property and financial transactions, by contrast, generallyhave more equal distributive effects.

Many governments have engaged in labour reorms with the aim o increasingcompetitiveness and supporting business development. Tese reorms haveincluded eroding collective bargaining powers, easing dismissals, slowing or

7. I. Ortiz and M. Cummins, Age o Austerity: A Review o Public Expenditures andAdjustment Measures in 181 Countries, Initiative or Policy Dialogue and the South CentreWorking Paper, May 2013; Report o the UN Independent Expert on extreme poverty andhuman rights, Magdalena Seplveda Carmona, 17 March 2011, A/HRC/17/34.
http://policydialogue.org/files/publications/Age_of_Austerity_Ortiz_and_Cummins.pdfhttp://policydialogue.org/files/publications/Age_of_Austerity_Ortiz_and_Cummins.pdfhttp://policydialogue.org/files/publications/Age_of_Austerity_Ortiz_and_Cummins.pdfhttp://policydialogue.org/files/publications/Age_of_Austerity_Ortiz_and_Cummins.pdf


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reversing salary adjustments to inflation (namely decreases in real wages)and altering other employment protection regulations. Te empirical casethat weakened labour protection drives business development and growthis, however, questionable.8

Te fiscal crisis has also provided a context or long-discussed structuralreorms to pension systems. Most Council o Europe member states areconsidering or have begun such reorms which expressly aim to go beyondtemporary spending cuts by, or example, increasing the retirement age,reducing retirement benefits and restricting the accessibility o the pensionsystem. According to the OECD, these measures are unlikely to deliverimmediate social spending reductions.9

1.2. Economic, social and cultural rights

Some o the most drastic and lasting human rights consequences o austerityhave been in the domain o economic and social rights.10

Te first major casualty o the economic crisis and subsequent austeritymeasures has been the enjoyment o the right to work.Te dramatic spikein seasonally adjusted unemployment in Europe since 2008 reached his-toric levels o 12.1% in the eurozone area and 10.9% in the EU27 in June2013, with depression-level unemployment rates haunting Spain, Greeceand Portugal.11As contractionary fiscal policies dampen growth prospects,long-term unemployment is becoming more entrenched,12with long-lastingstructural implications. In 2012 alone, the European Committee o SocialRights (ECSR) ound 13 countries in breach o their duty under Article 1(1)o the revised European Social Charter to pursue ull employment policies.13

A wayward economic recovery, coupled with a weakening of worker protec-tion, is likely to threaten rights at work, including the rights to fair remunera-tion, to collective bargaining and to safe and healthy working conditions. InSpain, for example, the minimum wage remains frozen well below European

8. ILO, World of Work Report 2012: Better Jobs for a Better Economy.9. OECD, November 2012, Social spending during the crisis: Social expenditure (SOCX)data update 2012.10. PACE,Resolution 1884(2012); Report o the UN Independent Expert on extreme povertyand human rights, Magdalena Seplveda Carmona, 17 March 2011, A/HRC/17/34.11. Eurostat News Release 118/2013, 31 July 2013, Euro area unemployment rate at 12.1%.

12. ILO, World o Work Report 2013: Repairing the economic and social abric: EuropeanUnion Snapshot.13. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Italy,Latvia, the Republic o Moldova, Slovakia, the ormer Yugoslav Republic o Macedoniaand urkey.
http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD2012SocialSpendingDuringTheCrisis8pages.pdfhttp://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD2012SocialSpendingDuringTheCrisis8pages.pdfhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=18916&Language=enhttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-31072013-BP/EN/3-31072013-BP-EN.PDFhttp://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_214471.pdfhttp://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_214471.pdfhttp://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_214471.pdfhttp://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_214471.pdfhttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-31072013-BP/EN/3-31072013-BP-EN.PDFhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=18916&Language=enhttp://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD2012SocialSpendingDuringTheCrisis8pages.pdfhttp://www.oecd.org/els/soc/OECD2012SocialSpendingDuringTheCrisis8pages.pdf


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Social Charter standards established to guarantee a decent standard of living.14In Greece, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association found repeatedand extensive interventions into free and voluntary collective bargainingand an important deficit of social dialogue.15High unemployment tends to

weaken workers bargaining power, leading to high worker vulnerability andlower economic growth rates.16Labour exploitation, including child labour,human trafficking and mistreatment of migrant workers, has been a constantconcern of experts as demand for cheap labour increases, economic condi-tions deteriorate and fewer public authorities are available to conduct labourinspections or offer child protection services.17

Concomitantly with the setbacks in the right to decent work, the right toan adequate standard o livinghas been threatened as a result o austeritymeasures. Te compound effects o setbacks in decent work opportuni-ties, cuts in social services and regressive tax reorms have contributed todeepening poverty in Europe.18In 2011, the percentage o people at risko poverty or social exclusion reached 24.2% in the EU27.19In Estonia, orexample, the proportion o the population living below the absolute povertyline (that is, below the subsistence minimum) increased rom 8.2% in 2007to 11.7% in 2010.20

Te right to social security and social protection has also suffered austerity-related setbacks. Social insurance and assistance programmes build resilienceagainst social and financial risks and provide access to essential goods andservices, meeting needs which would ordinarily go unmet in economicdownturns. As the crisis has deepened, many member states have acedexponential increases in demand or social protection. Simultaneously,constrained social security revenue coupled with austerity and fiscal con-solidation has pushed the financial and administrative capacities o many

14. Eurostat Labour Force Survey 2012 and CESR, Visualizing Rights Spain: Fact SheetNo. 12, May 2012.15. ILO Committee on Freedom o Association, Case No. 2820 Findings and recommenda-tions on Greece in the Committee Report, 2012.16. ILO, Is aggregate demand wage-led or profit-led? National and global effects, Conditionso Work and Employment Series No. 40, Working Paper, 30 October 2012.17. Report o the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially womenand children, 12 August 2009, A/64/290; UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary ormso slavery, including its causes and consequences, Mission to Romania, 30 June 2011,A/HRC/18/30/Add.1; Report o the UN Independent Expert on oreign debt and human

rights, 13 August 2012, A/67/304.18. EC, Te social effects o labour market developments in the EU in the crisis, Researchnote 7/2012; EU employment and social situation, quarterly review, December 2012.19. Eurostat, News Release, 171/2012, 3 December 2012.20. Te Commissioners Report on Estonia, CommDH(2013)12, p. 5.
http://www.ilo.org/gb/GBSessions/GB316/ins/WCMS_193260/lang--en/index.htmhttp://www.ilo.org/gb/GBSessions/GB316/ins/WCMS_193260/lang--en/index.htmhttp://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Fsocial%2FBlobServlet%3FdocId%3D9801%26langId%3Den&ei=BDtMUqWiCMGm0AX8uIDQBQ&usg=AFQjCNGopsuEYEn0RuxXiHMogt7J6n6P1w&bvm=bv.53371865,d.d2khttps://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=2075361&Site=COE&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=2075361&Site=COE&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Fsocial%2FBlobServlet%3FdocId%3D9801%26langId%3Den&ei=BDtMUqWiCMGm0AX8uIDQBQ&usg=AFQjCNGopsuEYEn0RuxXiHMogt7J6n6P1w&bvm=bv.53371865,d.d2khttp://www.ilo.org/gb/GBSessions/GB316/ins/WCMS_193260/lang--en/index.htmhttp://www.ilo.org/gb/GBSessions/GB316/ins/WCMS_193260/lang--en/index.htm


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social protection institutions beyond their limits.21Many governments havechosen to reorm pension systems, potentially deepening the increasing vul-nerability and risk o poverty among older persons. In Greece, or example,the ECSR observed in its decision on a collective complaint that pension

reorm measures would risk bringing about a large-scale pauperisation oa significant segment o the population.22

Te right to housing has been compromised as a result o the economic crisis.Te housing market crisis at the root o the financial and economic crises,coupled with growing unemployment, induced a sharp increase in evictionsas a result o non-payment o mortgages, oreclosures and home reposses-sions in many countries.23Since 2007, homelessness has increased in 15 othe 21 countries monitored by national experts. Te crisis has been identified

as a key driver o expanding homelessness in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal,Spain and the UK.New groups o homeless have emerged, with homelessnessspreading among migrants, young people, women and amilies.24

Te right to ood has been affected by austerity measures when governmentshave limited ood subsidies without adequate saeguards to ensure access tothe minimum essential levels. Reduction in the consumption o staple oodwas reported as the most requent coping mechanism in central and easternEuropean countries.25Food banks are experiencing record lines in the UK,

or example, with cuts to the welare system the most common reason given.26

Many people have aced setbacks in their right to water as a result o austerity.As a condition or international assistance rom the EC, ECB and IMF, newees or domestic water use have been introduced in Ireland, or example.27

21. International Social Security Association,Coping with the crisis: Managing social securityin uncertain times, ISSA Crisis Monitor Project, 2012; PACE Committee on Social Affairs,Health and Sustainable Development (Rapporteur: Denis Jacquat), Decent pensions or all,9 April 2012, Doc. 12896.

22. ECSR, Federation of employed pensioners of Greece (IKA-EAM) v. Greece, complaintno. 76/2012, decision on the merits o 7 December 2012, 81.23. Te Commissioners Recommendation on the implementation o the right to housing,CommDH(2009)5 and Report on Spain, CommDH(2013)18, pp. 8-9; Report o the UNSpecial Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing: the financial crisis and its causes,4 February 2009, A/HRC/10/7.24. FEANSA, On the Way Home?, FEANSA Monitoring Report on Homelessness andHomeless Policies in Europe, 2012.25. European Bank or Reconstruction and Development, Te second Lie in ransitionSurvey (LiS II), 2011.

26. Oxam and Child Action on Poverty, Walking the Breadline: Te Scandal of Food Povertyin 21st century Britain,May 2013.27. IMF, Ireland: Letter o Intent, Memorandum o Economic and Financial Policies,and echnical Memorandum o Understanding; Letter o Intent and Memorandum oUnderstanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality, 28 November 2011.
http://www.issa.int/content/download/158630/3165859/file/2-social-security-coping-with-crisis.pdfhttp://www.issa.int/content/download/158630/3165859/file/2-social-security-coping-with-crisis.pdfhttp://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-DocDetails-EN.asp?FileID=18153&lang=ENhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?Index=no&command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=1269007&SecMode=1&DocId=1420944&Usage=2http://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/surveys/LiTS2e_web.pdfhttp://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/surveys/LiTS2e_web.pdfhttp://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/oxfam/bitstream/10546/292978/1/rr-walking-readline-food-poverty-britain-300513-en.pdfhttp://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/oxfam/bitstream/10546/292978/1/rr-walking-readline-food-poverty-britain-300513-en.pdfhttp://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/2011/irl/112811.pdfhttp://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/2011/irl/112811.pdfhttp://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/oxfam/bitstream/10546/292978/1/rr-walking-readline-food-poverty-britain-300513-en.pdfhttp://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/oxfam/bitstream/10546/292978/1/rr-walking-readline-food-poverty-britain-300513-en.pdfhttp://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/surveys/LiTS2e_web.pdfhttp://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/surveys/LiTS2e_web.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?Index=no&command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=1269007&SecMode=1&DocId=1420944&Usage=2http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-DocDetails-EN.asp?FileID=18153&lang=ENhttp://www.issa.int/content/download/158630/3165859/file/2-social-security-coping-with-crisis.pdfhttp://www.issa.int/content/download/158630/3165859/file/2-social-security-coping-with-crisis.pdf


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Long-standing concerns about decreased attention to water inrastructuremaintenance have been accentuated as a result o austerity measures, withserious risks associated with the quality and accessibility o water. Plans toprivatise public water utilities have been part and parcel o several auster-

ity packages which may threaten the affordability o water and the effectiveaccountability o water suppliers.28

Te right to education has suffered setbacks, primarily due to reductionsin education budgets. Investment in education ell in one third o OECDcountries between 2009 and 2010 as a result o the economic crisis.29Spaincut its education budget by 21.4% between 2011 and 2012, or example,and Estonia by 10% between 2008 and 2009. Cuts in education subsidiesand scholarships, school teachers salaries and budgeting or schools affect

the quality, accessibility and affordability o education and can also result inearly school dropouts with long-term effects on the children concerned.30

Cuts in health-related spending have affected the right to enjoy the high-est attainable standard o health. In Greece, the EC, ECB and IMF havedemanded that public spending on health should not exceed 6% o GDP, witha potentially long-term impact on public health. Latvian budget cuts in thehealth sector have undermined the availability o and access to health care.31Out-o-pocket ees have increased in many countries despite evidence that

the introduction o health co-payment systems is associated with decreaseduse o health services and worsening health outcomes or both high-riskand low-income patients.32Weakened mental health, substance abuse andsuicide have been linked with austerity measures.33Recent improvements inlie expectancies across the region are being compromised due to the crisis.34

1.3. Civil and political rights

Te rights to participate in public affairs and to transparency through the

provision o timely, accessible and relevant inormation have suffered as a

28. Report o the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to sae drinking water and sanita-tion, Catarina de Albuquerque, 11 July 2013, A/HRC/24/44; Stockholm International WaterInstitute (SIWI), Te Global Financial and Economic Crisis and the Water Sector, 2009.29. OECD, Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators,p. 186.30. Te Commissioners Report on Spain, CommDH(2013)18, pp. 9-10; Report on Estonia,CommDH(2013)12, p. 4; Report on Portugal, CommDH(2012)22, pp. 6-7.31. M. Karanikolos et al., Financial crisis, austerity, and health in Europe, Te Lancet,13 April 2013; Report o the UN Independent Expert on oreign debt, Cephas Lumina,

Addendum Mission to Latvia, 27 May 2013, A/HRC.23/37Add.1.32. N. Mas et al., Los sistemas de copago en Europa, Estados Unidos y Canada: Implicanciaspara el caso espaol, IESE Business School, University o Navarra, November 2011.33. WHO, Impact o economic crises on mental health, 2011.34. WHO, European Health Report 2012, pp. 8-10.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2013-enhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2308567&SecMode=1&DocId=2023896&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2134231&SecMode=1&DocId=1919090&Usage=2http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960102-6/fulltext?_eventId=loginhttp://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/197113/The-European-health-report-2012.-Charting-the-way-to-well-being.pdfhttp://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/197113/The-European-health-report-2012.-Charting-the-way-to-well-being.pdfhttp://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2960102-6/fulltext?_eventId=loginhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2134231&SecMode=1&DocId=1919090&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2308567&SecMode=1&DocId=2023896&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2013-en


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result o the crisis. Many governments have speedily drawn up austerity poli-cies, side-stepping regular channels o participation and social dialogue onthe pretext o a national financial emergency. Te executive has ofen beenallotted greater margins o authority to adopt austerity measures without

consultation with the legislature, challenging accepted democratic checksand balances. National-level democratic decision making is urther thwartedby the act that deficit caps and other key fiscal rules made at the Europeanintergovernmental level determine spending levels o many national govern-ments, with little to no participation rom those suffering the consequenceso cutbacks.35

Te severity o austerity measures alongside the requent ailure to consultwith the people affected has provoked large-scale demonstrations especially

in Spain, Portugal and Greece. Concerns have been raised about the use oexcessive orce against demonstrators and inringements o the reedomso expression and peaceul assembly. Harsh reactions to social unrest mayengender mistrust in the democratic system.36

Austerity measures have also threatenedaccess to justice by weakening theaccessibility and capacity o the judicial system.37Between 2008 and 2010,the budgets o judicial systems were reduced together with general reduc-tions in public expenditure in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary,

Serbia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.38Court ees have also been increasedin some countries as a response to the crisis. In Estonia, or example, stateees or civil and certain administrative law proceedings underwent two- tofive-old increases in 2009.39In 2011 and 2012 legal aid was subjected tosignificant cuts in Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom, restrictingits availability to a more limited number o cases.40

Media reedoms have endured setbacks in the context o austerity measures,including in countries where fiscal contraction has been deepest.41Public andprivate media have suffered staff and salary cuts and the closure o outlets,including the temporary closure o the Greek public broadcaster. Not onlydo these cutbacks contribute to worsening existing problems o decreasing

35. PACE, Resolution 1888, Te crisis o democracy and the role o the State in todaysEurope, 27 June 2012.36. he Commissioners Report on Spain, CommDH(2013)18, pp. 22-26; AmnestyInternational, Police violence in Greece: Not just isolated incidents , 2012.37. Report o the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, 9 August 2012,

A/67/278.38. CEPEJ, Evaluation o European Judicial Systems2012, p. 60; Edition 2010, pp. 46-47.39. Te Commissioners Report on Estonia, CommDH(2013)12, p. 10.40. FRA,Annual report 2012,p. 243.41. Freedom House, Freedom o the Press 2013: A Global Survey o Media Independence.
http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/XRef/X2H-DW-XSL.asp?fileid=18943&lang=enhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR25/005/2012http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/cepej/evaluation/2012/Rapport_en.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2308567&SecMode=1&DocId=2023896&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2308567&SecMode=1&DocId=2023896&Usage=2http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/cepej/evaluation/2012/Rapport_en.pdfhttp://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/EUR25/005/2012https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/XRef/X2H-DW-XSL.asp?fileid=18943&lang=en


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media diversity, they also threaten the effective operation o a undamentalpillar o democracy. Te ability o journalists to perorm their essentialeducational and watchdog roles has been impaired, curtailing reedom oexpression and the right to be inormed.

1.4. Disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged

and marginalised groups of people

Full and substantive equality or all, while increasingly protected by lawin Council o Europe member states, remains an enormous challenge inpractice, with systemic barriers to equality urther aggravated by the eco-nomic crisis. Austerity-driven policy responses to the crisis are exacerbatingalready widening inequalities and ingrained discriminatory practices.42Tosediscriminated against in economic, cultural and social lie ofen also findthemselves ar rom political decision-making and may not be in a positionto speak up against the effects that austerity measures have on their lives.Te victims o multiple and compound discrimination are especially at risk.

Unemployment, discriminatory and precarious working conditions and ris-ing xenophobia affect the daily lives o migrants and asylum seekers. Due tobudget cuts, ewer resources are made available or the reception o asylumseekers, programmes to acilitate the social and economic integration o

migrants, and legal aid and access to social and health services.43Even thoughmigrant workers contribute to the tax base, they ace increased barriers toaccessing essential social services. In Spain, or example, austerity-promptedreorms have resulted in the denial o previously guaranteed public healthcare to undocumented migrants,44leaving them exposed to the increasedhealth risks associated with recessions.

Te economic crisis has resulted in a urther deterioration o the alreadydifficult economic situation o many ethnic minorities, including the Roma.

Roma are particularly exposed to long-term unemployment and recent fig-ures show that 70% to 90% o Roma in the countries surveyed live in condi-tions o severe material deprivation.45Anti-Roma sentiment is uelled by theeconomic downturn, making positive measures or the protection o Roma

42. OECD, Divided we stand: why inequality keeps rising,2011.43. OECD, Settling in: OECD indicators of immigrants integration 2012;EC, Inclusion oyoung migrants, Research note 6/2012; CESR, Mauled by the Celtic iger: Human rightsin Irelands economic meltdown, February 2012; Te Commissioners Report on Greece,

CommDH(2013)6.44. Urgent Measures to Guarantee the Sustainability o the National Health System and toImprove the Quality and Security o Loans, Spanish Royal Decree 16/2012.45. European Employment Observatory, Review: Long-term Unemployment 2012; FRA,Te Situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States: Survey results at a glance, 2012.
http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/progressmadeonimmigrantintegrationbutmoreeffortsneededoneducationandjobsfindsoecd.htmhttp://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO2012_RN6_%20Migrants_Final.pdfhttp://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO2012_RN6_%20Migrants_Final.pdfhttp://www.cesr.org/downloads/cesr.ireland.briefing.12.02.2012.pdfhttp://www.cesr.org/downloads/cesr.ireland.briefing.12.02.2012.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?Index=no&command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2306182&SecMode=1&DocId=2024918&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?Index=no&command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2306182&SecMode=1&DocId=2024918&Usage=2http://www.cesr.org/downloads/cesr.ireland.briefing.12.02.2012.pdfhttp://www.cesr.org/downloads/cesr.ireland.briefing.12.02.2012.pdfhttp://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO2012_RN6_%20Migrants_Final.pdfhttp://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO2012_RN6_%20Migrants_Final.pdfhttp://www.oecd.org/newsroom/progressmadeonimmigrantintegrationbutmoreeffortsneededoneducationandjobsfindsoecd.htm


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unpopular.46Democracies across Europe have also been seriously threatenedby an upsurge o intolerance, xenophobia and racism and worrying trendso extremism, amplified by the dire economic situation.47Many politicianshave chosen to redirect public scrutiny o their conduct by scapegoating the

powerless and blaming the victims be they ethnic or religious minorities,migrants or asylum-seekers, Roma or low-income people. Racist acts haveall too ofen been met by weak state responses.48

Structural inequalities and disparities affecting womens enjoyment o humanrights have been worsened by the cumulative effects o several austeritymeasures, particularly as regards the rights to decent work and an adequatestandard o living.49In 2011, women aced a higher risk o poverty than menin the EU, with rates o 25.2% and 23% respectively.50Cuts in public-sector

jobs, pensions and services, including childcare, parental and child benefits,health care and services to victims o violence and legal aid, affect womenin particular. Cuts have also been made in gender equality programmes.51Women who are primary caretakers in the amily have assumed the largelyunrecognised burden o care, such as or people with disabilities or chil-dren, which has grown heavier as states reduce staff and financial sup-port and impose stricter conditions or receiving benefits. As governmentsrecede rom social protection and the uncompensated care economy grows,

womens ability to participate on an equal ooting in public and economiclie dwindles.52

Child poverty and youth unemployment are major concerns which are likelyto have long-term effects. In many countries child poverty has increased evenmore sharply than poverty rates among the general population. Austeritymeasures related to child and amily benefits, generalised unemployment

46. Te Commissioners Report on Portugal, CommDH(2012)22.47. Report o the UN Special Rapporteur on racism, Mutuma Ruteere, 29 May 2012,

A/HRC/20/38; FRA, EU-MIDIS Data in Focus Report 6: Minorities as Victims o Crime, 2012.48. Te Commissioners Human Rights Comment, Europe must combat racist extrem-ism and uphold human rights, 13 May 2013; he Commissioners Report on Greece,CommDH(2013)6.49. Report o the UN High Commissioner or Human Rights on the impact o austeritymeasures on economic, social and cultural rights, 7 May 2013, E/2013/82.50. Eurostat, Headline indicators 20052012.51. EC, Women and men in the crisis, Research note 4/2012; European Womens Lobby,Te Price o Austerity, 2012; J. Butterworth and J. Burton, Equality, Human Rights andthe Public Service Spending Cuts: Do UK Welare Cuts Violate the Equal Rights to Social

Security, Te Equal Rights Review,Vol. 11, 2013.52. Oxam International and European Womens Lobby,An Invisible Crisis? Womens povertyand social exclusion in the European Union at a time of recession,March 2010; J. Lethbridge,Impact o the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women, Public ServicesInternational, 2012.
https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2134231&SecMode=1&DocId=1919090&Usage=2http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/SRRacism/Pages/ReportsHRC.aspxhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?Index=no&command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2306182&SecMode=1&DocId=2024918&Usage=2http://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO_RN%204_2012_Women-men%20in%20the%20crisis_Final.pdfhttp://www.womenlobby.org/spip.php?article4235&lang=enhttp://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/an-invisible-crisis-womens-poverty-and-social-exclusion-in-the-european-union-a-111957http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/an-invisible-crisis-womens-poverty-and-social-exclusion-in-the-european-union-a-111957http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/an-invisible-crisis-womens-poverty-and-social-exclusion-in-the-european-union-a-111957http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/an-invisible-crisis-womens-poverty-and-social-exclusion-in-the-european-union-a-111957http://www.womenlobby.org/spip.php?article4235&lang=enhttp://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO_RN%204_2012_Women-men%20in%20the%20crisis_Final.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?Index=no&command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2306182&SecMode=1&DocId=2024918&Usage=2http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/SRRacism/Pages/ReportsHRC.aspxhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2134231&SecMode=1&DocId=1919090&Usage=2


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and rising ood prices are central issues affecting the well-being o children.School dropouts, child labour and domestic violence are urther concerns.53Te correlation o spiralling unemployment among young people under 25with the crisis years is undisputed. Over hal o all young people are offi-

cially unemployed in Spain, Portugal and Greece, with little improvementexpected until 2016. Te rate o young people not in employment, educationor training (NEE) has increased by around 1% since 2008 region-wide, andby 4% and 6% in Spain and Greece respectively, with severe and long-lastingscarring consequences or these young people.54

As Europe as a whole ages, and with young people finding an increasinglyinhospitable labour market, intergenerational solidarity is more important

than ever. Yet austerity affects older people as well. Discrimination and stig-matisation on the basis o age in the labour market, disproportionate cutbacksto pensions, the availability and adequacy o long-term care services andelder abuse are principal concerns. Older women are particularly vulnerableto the effects o the crisis as their income/pension is ofen substantially lessthan that o men as a result o cumulative discrimination.55

People with disabilities have been acutely affected by unemployment andausterity measures which have limited their access to personal assistance andreasonable accommodation. Since the beginning o the economic crisis, theparticipation o persons with disabilities in the labour market has decreasedin Europe. Tere is also evidence that austerity budgets have restricted theaccess o people with disabilities to community living, education, primarycare and assistance, posing barriers to de-institutionalisation.56

53. UNICEF, A recovery for all: rethinking socio-economic policies for children and poorfamilies, 2012;Eurochild, Survey on the effects o economic and financial crisis on childrenand young people, 9 October 2009and Reports, January 2011and December 2012; EC,

Material deprivation among children, Research note 7/2011; Te Commissioners Reporton Portugal, CommDH(2012)22; Report on Estonia, CommDH(2013)12; Report on Spain,CommDH(2013)18.54. ILO, GlobalEmployment trends for youth 2013 a generation at risk;and Global Employmentrends 2013 Recovering from a second jobs dip;PACE, Resolution 1885, Te young genera-tion sacrificed: social, economic and political implications o the financial crisis, 26 June 2012.55. PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development (Rapporteur:Denis Jacquat), Decent pensions or allworking document, 9 April 2012, Doc. 12896;he Commissioners Report on Portugal, CommDH(2012)22; Report on EstoniaCommDH(2013)12; Report o the UN High Commissioner or Human Rights on the human

rights o older persons, 20 April 2012, E/2012/51.56. European Foundation Centre, European Consortium o Foundations on Human Rightsand Disability, Assessing the impact o European governments austerity plans on the rights opeople with disabilities, key findings, October 2012; Te Commissioners Report on Estonia,CommDH(2013)12; Report on Spain, CommDH(2013)18.
http://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Policy/Financial_Crisis/Eurochild_report_on_crisis_impact_-_9October09.pdfhttp://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Policy/Financial_Crisis/Eurochild_report_on_crisis_impact_-_9October09.pdfhttp://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/ThematicPriorities/Crisis/Eurochild%20updates/Eurochild%20crisis%20paper%20-%20How%20the%20economic%20and%20financial%20crisis%20is%20affection%20children%20and%20young%20people.pdfhttp://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/ThematicPriorities/Crisis/Eurochild%20updates/Eurochild_Crisis_Update_Report_2012.pdfhttp://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO%20RN7%20Material%20Deprivation_Final.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2134231&SecMode=1&DocId=1919090&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=2075361&Site=COE&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_212423.pdfhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/XRef/X2H-DW-XSL.asp?fileid=18918&lang=enhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=18739&Language=ENhttp://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-DocDetails-EN.asp?FileID=18153&lang=ENhttps://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1959473&Site=&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=2075361&Site=COE&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679http://www.efc.be/Pages/default.aspxhttp://www.enil.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Austerity-European-Report_FINAL.pdfhttp://www.enil.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Austerity-European-Report_FINAL.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2308567&SecMode=1&DocId=2023896&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2308567&SecMode=1&DocId=2023896&Usage=2http://www.enil.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Austerity-European-Report_FINAL.pdfhttp://www.enil.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Austerity-European-Report_FINAL.pdfhttp://www.efc.be/Pages/default.aspxhttps://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=2075361&Site=COE&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1959473&Site=&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-DocDetails-EN.asp?FileID=18153&lang=ENhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/XRef/X2H-DW-XSL.asp?fileid=18918&lang=enhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=18739&Language=ENhttp://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_212423.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=2075361&Site=COE&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2134231&SecMode=1&DocId=1919090&Usage=2http://www.socialsituation.eu/research-notes/SSO%20RN7%20Material%20Deprivation_Final.pdfhttp://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/ThematicPriorities/Crisis/Eurochild%20updates/Eurochild_Crisis_Update_Report_2012.pdfhttp://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/ThematicPriorities/Crisis/Eurochild%20updates/Eurochild%20crisis%20paper%20-%20How%20the%20economic%20and%20financial%20crisis%20is%20affection%20children%20and%20young%20people.pdfhttp://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Policy/Financial_Crisis/Eurochild_report_on_crisis_impact_-_9October09.pdfhttp://www.eurochild.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Policy/Financial_Crisis/Eurochild_report_on_crisis_impact_-_9October09.pdf


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Te crisis has also had a deleterious impact on the situation o other disad-vantaged groups, though region-wide documentation has been more lim-ited. For example, some civil society groups have reported that the humanrights o lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have been adversely

affected by austerity measures, particularly in terms o access to health careand services.57

1.5. Interdependence of human rights

and intergenerational effects of austerity

Human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Setbacks

concerning economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights are intimatelyinterconnected and have compound effects on individuals. Inringement othe enjoyment o economic, social and cultural rights also affects the enjoy-ment o civil and political rights. For example, homelessness and living ininstitutions can easily result in a violation o the right to private and amilylie. Poverty can become a serious obstacle to the enjoyment o a wide varietyo human rights.

Human rights violations related to austerity can also have long-term andintergenerational effects. Te loss o a decent job without an effective socialprotection programme in place can quickly lead to eviction rom hous-ing and homelessness, and ultimately result in ill health and even death.58Children exposed to poverty and malnutrition in their amilies may sufferrom stunted physical growth and lasting social and health effects into adult-hood. In addition, their educational achievements are likely to be inhibited,hindering their potential as human beings in society. An increasing numbero children are dropping out o school to find employment and support their

amilies, risking lie-long setbacks in educational achievement. Tis createsthe conditions or job insecurity coupled with the re-emergence o childlabour and exploitation.59As a result, Europe risks producing a lost genera-tion o disillusioned young people with potentially grave consequences orintergenerational solidarity, social cohesion and long-term political stability.60

57. See or example, Joint civil society submission to the CESCR on Spain, May 2012, p.14.58. George Kaplan, Economic crises: Some thoughts on why, when and where they (might)matter or healthA tale o three countries, Social Science and Medicines, 74, (2012)

pp. 643-646.59. Save the Children, Food or Tought: ackling child malnutrition to unlock potentialand boost prosperity, 2013; Te Commissioners Report on Portugal, CommDH(2012)22;Report on Spain, CommDH(2013)18.60. PACE, Resolution 1885(2012).
http://www.cesr.org/downloads/Joint%20Submission%20CESCR%2015%20March%202012.pdf?preview=1http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Food_for_Thought_UK.pdfhttp://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Food_for_Thought_UK.pdfhttps://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1959473&Site=&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/XRef/X2H-DW-XSL.asp?fileid=18918&lang=enhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=18739&Language=ENhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/XRef/X2H-DW-XSL.asp?fileid=18918&lang=enhttp://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=18739&Language=ENhttps://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2356735&SecMode=1&DocId=2056522&Usage=2https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1959473&Site=&BackColorInternet=B9BDEE&BackColorIntranet=FFCD4F&BackColorLogged=FFC679http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Food_for_Thought_UK.pdfhttp://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/Food_for_Thought_UK.pdfhttp://www.cesr.org/downloads/Joint%20Submission%20CESCR%2015%20March%202012.pdf?preview=1


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1.6. Impacts on state capacity and the human rights

protection system

Policy preerences or austerity and fiscal consolidation have had systemic

consequences on state capacity and the human rights protection system.Governments are primary human rights duty-bearers, and thus their effect-iveness and competency are o the utmost importance in ensuring respector everyones human rights. Yet there are increasingly worrying signs thatthe capacity o the state to protect and ulfil human rights and execute otherstate unctions in times o crisis is being rayed by successive fiscal consoli-dation plans.61

In many countries budget cuts have targeted public institutions and public

employees at the central and municipal levels, which in some cases couldseriously weaken the capacity o the state to execute its unctions effectively.Austerity measures have had serious effects on local and regional govern-ments which have key responsibilities or providing welare and social insur-ance programmes to their communities. While some countries have resistedcutting unding to local authorities, countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria andthe UK have decreased local grants. Previously able to shield people rom theworst effects o the first wave o crisis, local governments have aced severeconstraints on local resources due to decreases in unding rom the national

government, reliance on unstable tax bases and increasing demand or publicservices rom people no longer able to cope on their own.62

Te human rights protection system and domestic accountability inrastruc-ture have aced setbacks in many countries as a result o austerity. Access to

justice has been weakened by cuts in the unding o the judiciary and legalaid. Many national human rights structures (discussed in Chapter 4) haveaced disproportionate cuts or mergers. Some have disappeared altogether.Te non-governmental sector, which ofen acts as an essential social service

provider during breakdowns in state capacity, has also been affected bydiminished public unding.

61. PACE, Resolution 1888(2012).62. PACE,Resolution 1886, Te impact o the economic crisis on local and regional authoritiesin Europe, 26 June 2012; Council o Europe, Local Government in Critical imes: Policiesor Crisis, Recovery and a Sustainable Future, 2011.
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Human rights standards and jurisprudence on austerity | 27

2. Human rights standards and jurisprudenceon austerity

Economic policy is an exercise o state power and as such is subject tohuman rights norms, standards and procedural principles. As embodied ininternational human rights law, civil, political, economic, social and culturalrights are not expendable in times o economic hardship, but are essentialto a sustained and inclusive economic recovery. Tis chapter presents themost relevant international and regional human rights standards in times oeconomic recession, grounded in relevant international jurisprudence anddomestic case law. As international and European human rights monitoringbodies and domestic courts have begun to pay more attention to the impactso the crisis, these relevant standards and associated criteria have been urtherdeveloped to meet present-day economic conditions. Tis is particularly thecase or states obligations to protect economic and social rights, to avoidurther erosion and retrogression o these rights and to prevent dispropor-tionate impacts o austerity measures on particular sectors o the population.

2.1. Human rights as legal imperatives and higher-order

policy objectives

Te UN Human Rights Council affirmed at its Special Session in 2009 thatthe global economic and financial crises do not diminish the responsibilityo national authorities and the international community in the realizationo human rights.63Similarly, in 2009 the European Committee o SocialRights stated that the economic crisis should not have as a consequence thereduction o the protection o the rights recognised by the [European Social]Charter. Hence, the governments are bound to take all necessary steps toensure that the rights o the Charter are effectively guaranteed at a periodo time when beneficiaries need the protection most.64In 2012, the HumanRights Council welcomed a new set o Guiding Principles on Foreign Debtand Human Rights which stipulate that governments have an obligation toensure the primacy o human rights when they make lending and borrowingdecisions.65Likewise, the ECSR, with reerence to commitments made byGreece to the roika, made it clear that states partiesshould both whenpreparing the text in question and when implementing it into national law

63. Human Rights Council Resolution S-10/1 Te impact o the global economic andfinancial crises on the universal realization and effective enjoyment o human rights, para. 5.64. ECSR, Conclusions 2009,Vol. I, paragraph 17.65. Report o the UN Independent Expert on oreign debt, Cephas Lumina, 10 April 2011,A/HRC/20/23.


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take ull account o the commitments they have taken upon ratiying theEuropean Social Charter.66It ollows that states carry the primary burden orproving that any proposed austerity measures are in line with their standinghuman rights obligations.

Recent domestic jurisprudence in Latvia, Portugal and Lithuania illustratesthe normative superiority o constitutionally protected human rights prin-ciples over unjustified budgetary measures. In Latvia, the Constitutional Courtconcurred that international loan provisions stipulated in the IMF/EC/ECBagreements could not serve as an argument or restricting constitutionallyguaranteed human rights obligations to ensure adequate social security. Boththe social consequences o pension cuts and less restrictive alternatives had tobe taken into consideration when concluding such agreements.67In Portugal,

the Constitutional Court declared reduced budget allocations or social rightsas unconstitutional and ordered restitution.68Te Lithuanian ConstitutionalCourt has articulated specific, strict criteria or assessing when social rightscan be limited during an economic crisis.69

2.2. Economic, social and cultural rights norms

under austerity

Under international and European human rights law, Council o Europemember states have an obligation to respect, protect and ulfil economic,social and cultural rights, in times o both economic growth and stagna-tion.70Te principal instruments include the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights, the revised European Social Charter,the European Code o Social Security and various ILO conventions. Whilethe European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is primarily a civil andpolitical rights pact, the European Court o Human Rights has also ound

violations o the Convention concerning rights related to social welare,

health care and housing, or example.

While the ull realisation o economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights canonly be achieved progressively over time, relevant standards impose obliga-tions o immediate effect, inter alianon-discrimination (discussed under 2.5.)and minimum core obligations. Tat is, states have a direct and immediateduty to ensure the satisaction o, at the very least, minimum essential levels

66. ECSR, Panhellenic Federation of pensioners of the Public Electricity Corporation (POS-

DEI) v. Greece,complaint no. 79/2012, decision on the merits o 7 December 2012, para. 47.67. Constitutional Court o Latvia, Case No. 2009-43-01, Judgment o 21 December 2009.68. Constitutional Court o Portugal, Ruling No.187/13, 5 April 2013.69. Constitutional Court o Lithuania, Decision o 20 April 2010 and Ruling o 6 February 2012.70. Maastricht Guidelines on Violations o Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.


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o economic and social rights universally, whatever their level o economicdevelopment or resource base.71In times o resource scarcity, governmentsmust deliberately prioritise in terms o how they raise revenue and allocatepublic resources the achievement o the minimum core content o rights

necessary or ensuring human dignity.72

Te UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), theEuropean Committee o Social Rights and domestic jurisprudence in severalcountries have elaborated on the content o this minimum core requirementrelating to ESC rights. Te ECSR has made it clear that while backsliding inunding or the national social security system is not ipso factoa violationo the European Social Charter, the European Code o Social Security orInternational Labour Convention No. 102 concerning Minimum Standardso Social Security, a minimum, satisactory level must be ensured or all peo-ple at all times so that they can effectively enjoy the right to social security.73Pension income or older people, or example, must not be lower than thepoverty threshold, defined as 50% o the median income in any given country.Te Committee o Ministers o the Council o Europe has also explained thatcountries would be ailing in their duties under the European Code o SocialSecurity i social security benefits were effectively below the poverty line.74

Te minimum essential levels o the right to work and rights at work aredefined through the jurisprudence o the ECSR and ILO labour standards.Te minimum standard o the right to air remuneration, or example, is setby the ECSR at a threshold o 60% o the national average wage, or as agreedby collective bargaining.75At national level, while reviewing the constitu-tionality o the State Budget Law or 2013, the Portuguese ConstitutionalCourt established the existence o a guarantee o a right to a minimum levelo subsistence and ound that this was not put in place by the state whenadopting the budget reductions in sickness and unemployment benefits.76

Any ailure to meet the minimum core obligations is assumed to be aprimafacieviolation, unless the state can demonstrate that every effort has beenmade to use all resources that are at its disposition in an effort to satisy, as

71. CESCR, General Comment No. 3, paras. 5 and 10.72. CESCR, General Comments No. 3, para. 12, No. 12, para. 28 and No. 14, para. 18; Statementon allocation o resources, E/C.12/2007/1, paras. 4 and 6.73. ECSR, Pensioners Union of the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways (I.S.A.P.) v. Greece,com-

plaint No. 78/2012, decision on the merits o 7 December 2012, para. 65.74. CoE Committee o Ministers, Resolution CM/ResCSS(2012)8 o 12 September 2012onthe application o the European Code o Social Security and its Protocol by Greece.75. ECSR, Conclusions XIV-2, Statement o Interpretation on Article 4.1, pp. 50-52.76. Constitutional Court o Portugal, Ruling No.187/13, 5 April 2013.
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a matter o priority, those minimum obligations.77A human rights-basedsocial protection floor which protects the universal availability o essentiallevels o social services, income, health care, ood and housing is increasinglyrecognised by the ILO and human rights bodies as the policy embodiment

o ensuring the ulfilment o a minimum core level o ESC rights.78

Governments also have a duty to mobilise the maximum available resourcesnecessary or realising ESC rights. Te availability o resources reers not onlyto the resources under a states command at present, but also to resourcesthat could be reasonably and equitably mobilised. Depending on the nationalcircumstances, marshalling these resources to invest in ESC rights generallyinvolves re-allocations o existing resources, resource generation through fis-cal and tax policy reorms, monetary policy and financial regulation, deficit

financing, debt restructuring and development assistance.79Emphasisingthe need to consider all financing alternatives to prevent deteriorations ineconomic and social rights, the CESCR has stated that any proposed austeritymeasures may only be introduced afer exhausting all possible alternatives,including adjustments in tax policy.80Te obligation o international co-operation and assistance as set out in Articles 2(1) and 11(1) o the ICESCRimplies that states must co-operate with and not undermine efforts oother countries to mobilise the maximum o available resources or the

ulfilment o ESC rights through, or example, increased co-operation tostem tax evasion.

O particular resonance to the debate over austerity is the prohibition onon-retrogression. As stated above, states are not required to ulfil all eco-nomic and social rights overnight, but instead must move as swifly as pos-sible towards this goal by realising the rights over time through measurableprogress. Te logical corollary o this duty o progressive realisation is thatgovernments must avert retrogression in the realisation o ESC rights, even

in times o severe resource constraints such as economic recessions. Actionsor omissions which lead to a deterioration in ESC rights enjoyment, whether

77. CESCR, General Comment No. 3, para. 10.78. ILO, Recommendation concerning national floors o social protection, No. 202, 2012;Report o the Office o the UN High Commissioner or Human Rights on the impact o theglobal economic and financial crises on the realization o all human rights and on possibleactions to alleviate it, 18 February 2010, A/HRC/13/38, paras. 21 and 25.79. R. Balakrishnan, D. Elson, J. Heintz, N. Lusiani,Maximum Available Resources & HumanRights: Analytical Report, Center or Womens Global Leadership, Rutgers University, 2011.

80. CESCR, Letter on behal o the Committee o Economic, Social and Cultural Rights toall States Parties to the ICESCR on the protection o rights in the context o the economicand financial crisis, 16 May 2012; Report o the United Nations High Commissioner orHuman Rights on the impact o austerity measures on economic, social and cultural rights,2013, E/2013/51.


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through de jure weakened legal protection or de facto material cutbacks insocial services, can only be introduced afer the most careul considerationo all alternatives and would need to be ully justified by reerence to thetotality o the rights provided or in the Covenant and in the context o the

ull use o the maximum available resources.81

While a good degree o reedom o action is given to the legislature and theexecutive, assumptions about the scarcity o unding must be thoroughlyanalysed, monitored and reviewed or their reasonableness, rather thansimply accepted as a given. A growing body o national jurisprudence andauthoritative interpretations by international bodies has begun to developa more evolved set o operational prerequisites and normative criteria to

judge whether states conduct is leading to unreasonable retrogression in

ESC rights.82Perhaps the clearest articulation o the prohibition o non-retrogression was offered by the CESCR in May 2012. Te CESCR establishedthe ollowing criteria or assessing whether austerity or fiscal adjustmentmeasures would be considered reasonable and justifiable, and thus compat-ible with the ICESCR:

a. the policy is a temporary measure covering only the period o the crisis;

b. the policy is necessary and proportionate, in the sense that the adoptiono any other policy, or a ailure to act, would be more detrimental to

economic, social and cultural rights;

c. the policy is not discriminatory and comprises all possible measures,including tax measures, to support social transers and mitigate ine-qualities that can grow in times o crisis and to ensure that the rightso disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups are notdisproportionately affected; and

d. the policy identifies the minimum core content o rights, or a socialprotection floor, as defined by the International Labour Organization,

and ensures the protection o this core content at all times.83

States primary duties are to rights holders within their own jurisdiction.Nevertheless, g

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