Background Information

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was opened for signature by the UN General Assembly on December 19, 1966. It entered into force on January 3, 1976. As of June 3, 2005, it had been ratified by 152 countries.

Canada acceded to the ICESCR on May 19, 1976. The ICESCR requires periodic reports at the request of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Because of the scope and complexity of the subject matter, in past years the Committee has requested reports in stages, dealing with specific groups of articles of the Covenant. Accordingly, Canada submitted a first report on articles 6 to 9 in August 1980; a first report on articles 10 to 12 in December 1982; a first report on articles 13 to 15 in February 1985; a second report on articles 6 to 9 in December 1987; and a second report on articles 10 to 15 in September 1992. The Third Report, submitted to the United Nations on May 27, 1997, is the first to cover all substantive articles of the Covenant in one report. Canada's Fourth Report was submitted in September 2004 and the Fifth Report in August 2005.