WHAT IS SOCIAL RIGHT?

Social rights are those that are necessary for full participation in the
life of society. They include at least the right to education and the right to found and maintain a
family but also many of the rights often regarded as ‚civil’ rights: for example, the rights to
recreation, health care, privacy and freedom from discrimination.

1. The Right to Education - enabling all persons to participate effectively in a free society
and is directed to the full development of the human personality.

2. The Right to Food - guaranteeing freedom from hunger and access to safe and nutritious
food.

3. The Right to Health - ensuring the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health including access to care, nutrition, and clean water and air.

4. The Right to Housing ensuring access to a safe, secure, habitable, and affordable home
with freedom from forced eviction.

5. The Right to Social Security - guaranteeing that everyone regardless of age or ability to
work has the means necessary to procure basic needs and services.

6. The Right to Work guaranteeing the opportunity to have fulfilling and dignified work
under safe and healthy conditions with fair wages affording a decent living for oneself
and one's family. It also provides for freedom from unemployment and the right to
organize.
Economic rights are part of a range of legal principles based on the philosophy of human
cultural and social obligations in which economic equality and freedom are preserved.
Economic and social rights are granted to Americans fulfilled by the government in an effort to
ensure that citizens have the ability to maintain their needs.

1. Right to Adequate Wages. A person has the right not only to work but also the right to
be paid adequate wages for his labor. For this purpose, state fixes minimum wages
according to the quality and quantity of work. Wage is always regarded as a reward for
the work done.

2. Right to Property Right to property is as natural to man as family. It means the right to
retain the surplus wealth or money and purchase immovable or movable property.
Property contributes towards the growth of culture and civilization. Right to property is
a natural corollary of right to adequate wages.

3. Right to Rest and Leisure After working for some hours and days man needs rest
because he is not a machine which can work continuously. Therefore, the state gives the
right to rest and leisure which enables the workers to protect their health. For this
purpose state Fixes working hours, makes provisions for a break or interval between the
working hours, and establishes rest houses.

4. Right to Economic and Social Security In a modern welfare state, citizens are also given
the right to economic and social security. State provides security in case of old age,
sickness, unemployment etc. Most of the states give old age pensions, unemployment
allowances, and benefits of provident fund, financial helps during illnesses or accidents
or natural calamities.

5. Right to fixed hours of Work The modern state also fixes the hours of work per day. No
one can be forced to work for more than fixed hours.
Key concepts on ESCRs -What are examples of violations of economic, social and cultural rights?

A violation of economic, social and cultural rights occurs when a State fails in its obligations to
ensure that they are enjoyed without discrimination or in its obligation to respect, protect and
fulfil them. Often a violation of one of the rights is linked to a violation of other rights.

A few examples of violations of economic, social and cultural rights include:

• Forcibly evicting people from their homes (the right to adequate housing)

• Contaminating water, for example, with waste from State-owned facilities (the right to
health)

• Failure to ensure a minimum wage sufficient for a decent living (rights at work)

• Failure to prevent starvation in all areas and communities in the country (freedom from
hunger)

• Denying access to information and services related to sexual and reproductive health
(the right to health)

• Systematically segregating children with disabilities from mainstream schools (the right
to education)

• Failure to prevent employers from discriminating in recruitment (based on sex,

disability, race, political opinion, social origin, HIV status, etc.) (The right to work)

• Failure to prohibit public and private entities from destroying or contaminating food and
its source, such as arable land and water (the right to food)

• Failure to provide for a reasonable limitation of working hours in the public and private
sector (rights at work)

• Banning the use of minority or indigenous languages (the right to participate in cultural
life)

• Denying social assistance to people because of their status (e.g., people without a fixed
domicile, asylum-seekers) (the right to social security)

• Failure to ensure maternity leave for working mothers (protection of and assistance to
the family)

• Arbitrary and illegal disconnection of water for personal and domestic use (the right to
water).