| Abstract: | There is an ongoing debate in Zambia as to whether social, economic and cultural rights are to be viewed as human rights capable of immediate protection and enforcement. The present author argues that a flawed conception of economic, social and cultural rights is responsible for the misconception of the State's obligations in regard to these rights. This has in turn led to a warped view of this category of rights as exotic and requiring no constitutional guarantee. The obligations of the Zambian government vis-à-vis the realization of economic, social and cultural rights have been largely misrepresented or, at the very least, misunderstood. This has led to the government's failure to adopt a positive, progressive and pragmatic approach in dealing with these rights. To illuminate the thinking around economic, social and cultural rights the author identifies and defines the obligations of the government with respect to two of them, namely the right to health and the right to food. The article is in seven sections: introduction; economic, social and cultural rights: what are they and what is their origin?; historical development of the human rights debate; the human rights hierarchy and categorisation; conceptualisation of economic, social and cultural rights as non-enforceable (what does justiciability mean?; arguments for and against justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights); challenges to justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights in Zambia (what then are the obligations of the government of Zambia under international human rights instruments?); conclusion. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |
AfricaBib 
Periodical article
Leiden University catalogue
WorldCat