On this page, you will find guidance for using the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for individual communications in Refugee and Asylum cases.
How to make an individual application alleging a violation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) thanks to the Optional Protocol, which allows individuals to submit complaints against States responsible for an alleged violation of human rights. Only States which have ratified the Optional Protocol can receive individual complaints.
Which States are parties to the Optional Protocol permitting to file such complaints?
30 States have ratified the Optional Protocol. The list of States can be found here.
Who can file a complaint to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?
Individuals claiming to be a victim of a violation of the ICESCR by a State Party. It is therefore the individual or his representative that must file the complaint.
A complaint can also be submitted on behalf of a victim (or groups of victims) with their consent, unless the author can justify acting with it.
See Article 2 of the Optional Protocol and Rule 12 of the 2022 Rules of Procedure.
What human rights can the Committee protect?
The Committee can only deal with the rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It includes a number of rights, such as :
- The principle of non-discrimination (Article 2(2)).
- Equal right of men and women to enjoy economic, social and cultural right (Article 3).
- Right to work (Article 6).
- Right to enjoy just and favourable conditions of work (Article 7)
- Right to social security and social insurance (Article 9).
- Right to family life (Article 10).
- Right to adequate standard of living (Article 11).
- Right to enjoy highest attainable standard of health (Article 12)
- Right to education (Article 12).
The principle of non-refoulement is not included in the ICESCR, and has not been acknowledged explicitly by the Committee.
What rules must be observed for the complaint to be admissible ?
- Anonymity and abuse of right
The Committee does not consider anonymous submissions and those that constitute an abuse of right (Article 3(2)(f) &(g)) .
- Exhaustion of domestic remedies
An individual should first seek protection from the national courts. The Committee is considered a body of last-resort and can therefore only be sought once the complainant has exhausted all available domestic remedies (Article 3(1))
The rule on domestic remedies does not apply if the remedies are unreasonable prolonged (Article 3(1)).
- 1 year time-limit.
The complaint must be filed within 1 year of the exhaustion of domestic remedies, unless it is possible to demonstrate that it was not possible (Article 3(2)(a)).
- Examination of the complaint by another procedure
The complaint will not be considered if it has been previously materially assessed by another procedure of international investigation or settlement (regional human rights Court or other human rights Bodies) (Article 3(2)(c)).
How to request interim measures to be taken to avoid irreparable damage
In addition to individual communications, the Committee can order interim measures in order to avoid “irreparable damage to the victim”. This can be requested at any time during the proceedings, before a determination on the merits has been reached.
The ordering of interim measures does not imply a determination on the admissibility or the merits of the case.
Failure to respect these measures will be incompatible with the obligation to respect in good faith the procedure of individual communication.
See Article 5 of the Optional Protocol and Rule 7 of the 2022 Rules of Procedure.
Important considerations
Complaints must only address matters that have happened after the entry into force of the Optional Protocol in the State concerned. (Article 3(2)(b). This is 3 months after the State ratifies or accedes to the Optional Protocol (Article 18).
An exception to the rule is when the violation started before the entry into force of the Optional Protocol but continued after that date (Article 3(2)(b).
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Last updated March 2025
