The imperatives of economic, social and cultural rights in the development of nascent democracies: an inter-jurisdictional view

Abstract

Economic, social and cultural rights remain the bedrock of good governance, which is a prerequisite for sustainable democracy. The obligations of any democratic government are founded on this principle. The desideratum for the recognition of any government as civilized and responsive is its respect for the socio-economic rights of the people. This research was aimed at situating the contemporary implementation of ESC rights. It was also aimed at identifying the impeding dichotomy of the generations of rights. The work also sought to highlight the imperatives of ESC rights in the development of nascent democracies. The methodology employed in this research work is basically doctrinal. The analysis of relevant statutory and judicial authorities was adopted in this work. Materials from journals and the internet were also considerably utilized. It was found that ESC rights suffered tremendous inhibitions in their implementations. It was further found that most nascent jurisdictions hide under presumed poor economy to undermine their obligations under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles, thereby denying their citizens of their fundamental rights. It is therefore recommended that government should formulate policies in practical compliance with their obligations under the fundamental objectives and directive policies. The budgetary allocations of government should be directed towards realizing the economic, social and cultural rights of the people as the assured pathway to the development of our democracy.

Key words: Economic, Social, Cultural, Development and Democracy