The importance of economic, social and cultural rights in guaranteeing civil and political rights within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Abstract:

By focusing exclusively on civil and political rights, the human rights component of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership mirrors one of the continuing fundamental misconceptions of the human rights discourse. Despite the proclamations of indivisibility and interdependence, economic, social and cultural rights are still frequently viewed as the poor relations of their civil and political rights counterparts. Yet, the increasing amount of economic, social and cultural rights case law at the national level, combined with standard setting and benchmarking at the international level, means that questions of implementation and enforcement are no longer as problematic as previously thought. Arguing that there is a strong correlation between democracy and pluralism and the universal enjoyment of economic and social goods, this study explores the conceptual and practical links between the two sets of rights in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean region, in particular focusing on the importance of applying a human rights normative framework to the social alleviation aspects of MEDA programming.