THE INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF SOCIAL RIGHTS. ON THE SUBJECT OF SPANISH RATIFICATION OF THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS OF 2008

The economic, social and cultural rights have received little attention and development by States that have traditionally denied their justiciability. This has meant that the treaties that recognize these rights do not contain adequate mechanisms for monitoring their implementation. The Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter of 1995, and, above all, the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 2008, ratified by Spain, constitute a step forward in protecting these rights in the international arena.