Abstract
Article 2(1) ICESCR imposes an obligation upon each of the more than 150 States parties to the Covenant to ‘take steps, individually and through international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with the view to achieving progressively the full realisation of the rights..’ In the light of the debate for the adoption of an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, to strengthen States' accountability for violations of economic, social and cultural rights, it is crucial to define the scope and content of this obligation and to examine how this obligation can be included in the protocol. In order to contribute to the debate, this article first explores the interpretation given to Article 2(1) by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Following the Committee's work, the author distinguishes between the obligations of developed States and developing States regarding international assistance and cooperation. The article also takes into account the principles of non-discrimination, participation, transparency and accountability as developed by the Committee which should be applied in the implementation of obligations of international assistance and cooperation. Secondly, the article examines the inclusion of Article 2(1) ICESCR in an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR in light of the three specific supervisory mechanisms that have been discussed thus far, i.e. an inter-State complaint mechanism, a individual/group complaint procedure and an inquiry procedure. After examining how international cooperation obligations, referred to in Article 2(1), could be addressed by these procedures, the author concludes that it is feasible to include this obligation under an Optional protocol to the ICESCR.