Since the first edition published in 2009 there have been several important treaty developments including the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights ICESCR on individual communications and significant developments in the case law on economic social and cultural ESC rights The second edition addresses these developments and explores ESC rights from foundational issues to substantive rights and systems of protection It has been fully updated to include new material and up to date coverage of the case law of human rights bodies and national courts on ESC rights In addition to the rights to health education and work covered in the first edition the second edition analyses new developments such as the rights to adequate food water and sanitation adequate housing social security and cultural rights It also considers several contemporary issues including the extraterritorial human rights obligations of states in the area of economic social and cultural rights; non state actors; relationship of the ICESCR to other areas of international law; the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR; regional protection of ESC rights; more examples of the domestic protection of ESC rights; the protection of ESC rights of vulnerable groups; contemporary challenges to ESC rights including poverty corruption armed conflicts and terrorism It concludes by exploring the possible establishment of a World Court of Human Rights
