On 10 December the UN General Assembly at its plenary meeting unanimously adopted an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Protocol is undoubtedly a milestone in the history of the universal human rights system. It aims to achieve progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the Covenant. The adoption took place on a very special occasion – on the day of the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Protocol gives any individual or group, under the jurisdiction of a State Party, claiming to be…
