General Comment No. 19 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: The right to social security (Art. 9)

Year: 2008
Language: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
PDF of Resource

Article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Covenant) provides that, “The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance.” The right to social security is of central importance in guaranteeing human dignity for all persons when they are faced with circumstances that deprive them of their capacity to fully realize their Covenant rights.

During its monitoring of the implementation of the Covenant, the Committee has consistently expressed its concern over the denial of or lack of access to adequate social security, which has undermined the realization of many Covenant rights. The Committee has also consistently addressed the right to social security, not only during its consideration of the reports of States parties but also in its general comments and various statements. With a view to assisting the implementation by States parties of the Covenant and the fulfilment of their reporting obligations, this general comment focuses on the normative content of the right to social security, on States parties’ obligations, on violations and on implementation at the national level, while the obligations of actors other than States parties are addressed in chapter VI.

Link to General Comment (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish)

Related Principles