What are economic, social and cultural rights?

 

60 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed a wide spectrum of human rights that every human being has – without discrimination. They include not only rights to freedom of expression and freedom from torture and ill-treatment, but also rights to education, to adequate housing and other economic, social and cultural rights.

Economic, social and cultural rights are a broad category of human rights guaranteed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other legally binding international and regional human rights treaties. Nearly every country in the world is party to a legally binding treaty that guarantees these rights. They include:

rights at work, particularly just and fair conditions of employment, protection against forced or compulsory labor and the right to form and join trade unions;

the right to education, including ensuring that primary education is free and compulsory, that education is sufficiently available, accessible, acceptable and adapted to the individual;

cultural rights of minorities and Indigenous Peoples;

the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including the right to healthy living conditions and available, accessible, acceptable and quality health services;

the right to adequate housing, including security of tenure, protection from forced eviction and access to affordable, habitable, well located and culturally adequate housing;

the right to food, including the right to freedom from hunger and access at all times to adequate nutritious food or the means to obtain it;

the right to water – the right to sufficient water and sanitation that is available, accessible (both physically and economically) and safe.

Who is responsible?

States – national governments – bear the primary responsibility for making human rights a reality. Governments must respect peoples' rights – they must not violate these rights. They must protect peoples' rights – ensuring that other people or bodies do not abuse these rights. And they must fulfill peoples' rights, making them a reality in practice.

Governments have widely differing resources. International law allows for the fact that making economic, social and cultural rights a reality can only be achieved progressively over time. However, the duty of governments to respect and protect these rights and to ensure freedom from discrimination is immediate. Lack of resources is no excuse.

Although governments may need time to realize economic, social and cultural rights, this does not mean they can do nothing – they have to take steps towards fulfilling them. As an initial step, they must prioritize "minimum core obligations" – minimum essential levels of each of the rights. Under the right to education, for example, core obligations include the right to free primary education.

Governments must not discriminate in their laws, policies or practices and must prioritize the most vulnerable when allocating resources.

States also have obligations when they act beyond their borders to respect, protect and fulfill economic, social and cultural rights. These obligations extend to action they take through intergovernmental organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

As stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "every organ of society" has human rights responsibilities. Corporations play an increasingly significant role globally in the realization or denial of human rights. Amnesty International is committed to holding businesses accountable where their actions result in human rights violations.

Despite international guarantees of these rights, across the world:

923 million people were suffering from chronic hunger. Hunger is often driven by human rights violations, as Amnesty International has documented in North Korea, Zimbabwe and elsewhere. The current world food crisis, which itself has been fuelled by human rights violations, has led to an additional 75 million people being chronically malnutritioned.

Over a billion people live in 'slums' or informal settlements, with one in every three city residents living in inadequate housing with no or few basic services. Their situation is worsened by a global epidemic of mass forced evictions.

Every minute, another woman dies because of problems related to pregnancy. For every woman who dies, 20 or more experience serious complications.

Over 100 million children (more than half of whom are girls) do not have access even to primary education.

 

 

Vocabulary:

Xenophobia: A fear of foreigners, of persons from other countries or of things foreign generally. Xenophobia can lead to discrimination, racism, violence and even armed conflict against foreigners.

Human trafficking: the recruitment, transportation, harboring or receipt of people for the purposes of slavery, forced labor

Creed – A set of fundamental beliefs or guiding principles

GRAMMAR: Infinitive: Infinitive Constructions

 

Work with units 56-59 pp.112-119 in a self-study reference book and practice book for intermediate students (with answers) by R. Murphy “English Grammar in Use” (Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2002).

 

Задания на СРО:

To read any fairy-tale and to prepare a talk about the rights of its characters.

Do §182 ex.1 and §183 ex.1 on p. 520 (К.Н. Качалова «Практическая грамматика английского языка», Москва 1998 г).

 

Unit 3

Theme: Jobs

Grammar: Gerund: Gerundial Constructions

Objectives: By the end of this unit, students should be able to talk about roles and responsibilities and to explain how an organization works.

Students should know the rule of Gerund: Gerundial Constructions and fulfill grammar exercises.

 

Methodical instructions: This theme must be worked out during two lessons a week according to timetable.

Lexical material: Introduce and fix new vocabulary on theme “Jobs”. Speak about roles and responsibilities. Pre-teach departments in an organization

Define the basic notions of responsibilities and organization. Observe the departments in an organization.

 

PRACTICAL PART:

Work with unit 1 pp.4-7 in Course Book 2 by Evan Frendo “English for Construction” (Pearson Education Limited, 2012).

 

Grammar: Introduce and practice Gerund: Gerundial Constructions. Revise the word order in Infinitive.

 

Work with units 60-63 pp.120-127 in a self-study reference book and practice book for intermediate students (with answers) by R. Murphy “English Grammar in Use” (Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2002).

 

Задания на СРО:

Study the state program “Road Map - 2020” and prepare a talk about what construction jobs are in need and where they are used. And write an essay about a position you would apply for as participant of this program.

Do the exercises of §202-211 on pp. 525-526 (К.Н. Качалова «Практическая грамматика английского языка», Москва 1998 г.).

 

 

Unit 4

Theme: New developments

Grammar: Gerund: Gerundial Constructions

 

Objectives: By the end of this unit, students should be able to use active vocabulary of this theme in different forms of speech exercises.

Students should be aware of writing CV.

Students should know the rule of Gerund: Gerundial Constructions and fulfill grammar exercises.

 

Methodical instructions: This theme must be worked out during two lessons a week according to timetable.

Lexical material: Introduce and fix new vocabulary on theme “New developments”.

Define the basic features and notions of new developments. Search in Google for any information/ works/ biography of inventors and discuss it in groups. Teach how to write CV.

Discuss roles in an international construction project.

 

PRACTICAL PART:

Work with unit 1 pp.8-11 in Course Book 2 by Evan Frendo “English for Construction” (Pearson Education Limited, 2012).

 

Grammar: Introduce and practice Gerund: Gerundial Constructions. Revise Infinitive.

 

Work with units 64-67 pp.128-135 in a self-study reference book and practice book for intermediate students (with answers) by R. Murphy “English Grammar in Use” (Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2002).

 

Задания на СРО:

Study the information about EXPO - 2017. Compare how this exhibition was held in different countries. Make a chart describing similarities and changes.

 

 

Unit 5

 

Theme: 2D and 3D shapes

Grammar: Participle I

Objectives: By the end of this unit, students should be able to use active vocabulary of this theme in different forms of speech exercises.

Students should be better at discussing 2D and 3D shapes.

Students should know the rule of Participle I and fulfill grammar exercises.

 

Methodical instructions: This theme must be worked out during two lessons a week according to timetable.

Lexical material: Introduce and fix new vocabulary on theme “2D and 3D shapes”.

Define the basic notions of dimensions (imperial and metric). Explain how to describe technical drawings. Pre-teach collocations relating to estimating.

 

PRACTICAL PART:

Work with unit 2 pp.12-15 in Course Book 2 by Evan Frendo “English for Construction” (Pearson Education Limited, 2012).

 

Grammar: Introduce and practice Participle I. Revise the use of Present Continuous.