and the building materials used, should be culturally appropriateviii for
example for minorities and indigenous peoples.
Obligations to Respect, Protect, Promote and Fulfil
4. All human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, impose a
combination of negative and positive duties on States. A useful framework for
understanding the nature of the duties imposed by economic, social and cultural
rights is the duty “to respect, protect, promote and fulfil” these rights. No hierarchy is
accorded to any of these duties and all should be protected through administrative
and judicial remedies.
Obligation to respect
5. The obligation to respect requires that States parties refrain from interfering directly
or indirectly with the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. This entails
respecting the freedom of individuals and peoples to use all of the resources at their
disposal to meet their economic, social and cultural needs and obligations.
6. The obligation to respect also requires States to take positive measures to ensure
that all branches of government (legislative, executive and judicial) at all levels
(national, regional and local), as well as all organs of state, do not violate economic,
social and cultural rights.
Obligation to protect
7. The obligation to protect requires the State to take positive measures to ensure that
non-state actors such as multi-national corporations, local companies, private
persons, and armed groups do not violate economic, social and cultural rights. This
includes regulating and monitoring the commercial and other activities of non-state
actors that affect people’s access to and equal enjoyment of economic, social and
cultural rights and ensuring the effective implementation of relevant legislation and
programmes and to provide remedies for such violations.
Obligation to promote
8. The duty to promote economic, social and cultural rights requires States to adopt
measures to enhance people’s awareness of their rights, and to provide accessible
information relating to the programmes and institutions adopted to realise them. ix In
this regard, the African Charter explicitly places an obligation on States Parties “to
promote and ensure through teaching, education and publication, the respect of the
rights and freedoms contained in the present Charter and to see to it that these
freedoms and rights as well as corresponding obligations and duties are
understood.”
9. It also includes an obligation to promote the values and objectives of economic,
social and cultural rights in administrative and judicial decision-making.x The training
of the judiciary and administrative officials should expressly include economic, social
and cultural rights.
11