Does the Right to Equality Extend to Economic and Social Rights?

We are familiar with ‘equality before the law\u27 and ‘one-person-one-vote’ as standards of the right to equality in international and domestic law. These standards address equality of civil and political rights. This paper considers whether the right to equality in international human rights law extends to economic and social rights as well. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and human rights.” On its face, this article appears to require equality of all rights – including economic and social rights. Yet, many human rights scholars maintain that human rights do not address economic and social inequalities, at least directly. Rather, they maintain that reducing economic and social inequalities is merely instrumental to realizing human rights. Based on rules of interpretation of human rights treaties, this paper goes against the grain, arguing that the right to equality extends to economic and social rights. Economic and social equality is not simply instrumental to human rights. It is core to the holistic human rights framework that encompasses civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The paper then considers the level of economic and social equality that is required under international human rights law. Turning to existing policies that reduce economic and social inequalities, as well as social science literature on the impacts of economic and social inequalities on a range of human rights, the paper argues that the evidence shows that much greater economic and social equality will be necessary to fully realize human rights for all