The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is one of the UN Treaty Bodies. It monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which entered into force in 1976. The CESCR is made up out of 18 experts, who meet twice a year for three weeks at a time.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the principal organ of the UN dealing with economic and social issues, was given the general mandate to monitor the implementation of the Covenant. ECOSOC established a sessional working group in 1985 to assist in the examination of State reports, which subsequently became the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1987. The members of CESCR are elected through ECOSOC.

All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must report initially within two years of accepting the Covenant and thereafter every five years. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations”.