The Flexibility Device in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

To what extent does the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities resonate with human rights and in particular the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)? Article 2 ICESCR includes the obligation to use the maximum available resources to progressively achieve the full implementation of the rights. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has called this “a necessary flexibility device” that underscores the variety among States parties in their capacity and capability to guarantee economic, social and cultural rights, allowing for different speed and form in their implementation. States parties also have the duty to take steps through international assistance and cooperation, an obligation which, according to the Committee, is “particularly incumbent upon those States that are in a position to assist others”. These words and the work of the Committee indeed show that it
broadly acknowledges that there are common and differentiated obligations; it does however not further substantiate them.