ISLAMABAD: A United Nations committee will review Pakistan’s efforts to implement the Interna­tional Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) during its eighth session in Geneva on Wednesday.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the ICESCR by its state parties. The covenant enshrines economic, soc­ial and cultural rights, for instance the rights to adequate food, adequate housing, education, health, social security, water and sanitation.

This year the session is taking place at a significant moment - the 60th anniversaries of the ICESCR and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For six decades, these two covenants have served as the foundation of the inte­rnational human rights framework.

Together, they affirmed that all human rights were universal, indivisible, interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Progress in one area could not be sustained without progress in the others, the UN says.

The committee seeks to develop a constructive dialogue with state parties, determine whether the covenant’s norms are being applied, and assess how the implementation and enforcement of the covenant could be improved so all people can enjoy these rights in full.

Barrister Aqeel Malik, the Minister of State for Law and Justice, will lead the Pakistan delegation to a session which will review the country’s second periodic report under the international covenant.

The 11-member delegation inclu­des Tahir Andrabi, Pakistan’s Amb­a­ssador and Permanent Represen­tative, the secretary to the ministry of human rights, and Nayyab Ali, a consultant on transgender rights.

In its periodic report, Pakistan submitted that it has made considerable progress in ensuring that human rights enshrined in the covenant are justiciable under the domestic legal order.

The courts and administrative departments are empowered to take cognizance in case of breach of any rights mentioned in the covenant.

Pakistan signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Nov 2004 and ratified it in April 2008.

The report contains information regarding the implementation of Articles 1 to 15 of the covenant.

Meanwhile, Amnesty Intern­ational is due to submit a briefing paper to the UN Committee on Econ­omic, Social and Cultural Rig­hts to coincide with Pakistan’s second periodic review under the ICESCR.

In its briefing, Amnesty International clai­m­ed Pakistan has not taken “substantive steps” to incorporate the three fundamental rights into its domestic legislation as binding rights. Despite several amendments to the Constitution in the subsequent reporting period, no efforts were made to incorporate the three rights into the fundamental rights chapter, Amnesty said.

Amnesty International has recommended that Pakistan incorporate the rights recognised under the covenant fully into domestic legislation and ensure their direct enforceability before all courts and tribunals.

It called upon Islamabad to provide regular and mandatory training to judges, prosecutors, lawyers and public officials about implementation of the agreement.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2026