National Budget Analysis as a Tool to Monitor Economic and Social Rights: A Human Rights Approach

This research endeavours to critically examine the pivotal role of national budget analysis in promoting and monitoring the realization of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR) within the framework of international human rights law. It conceptualizes state budgets as moral and political maps of a government's social equity agenda and its commitment to human dignity, not just fiscal papers. By doing so, it advocates for the application of the "Human Rights Budgeting" (HRB) approach, which integrates human rights principles into the budget analysis process to ensure the prioritization and fulfilment of ESCR. The HRB approach focuses on the distribution of resources in accordance with human rights norms and builds a public and accountable mechanism for monitoring government actions, and in this perspective, this paradigm encourages transparency, engagement, and participation across a spectrum of stakeholders. Despite the implicit reference to the source of authority, the legitimacy of HRB derives from international human rights instruments, e.g., the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The present study draws attention to the direct link between budgeting mechanisms and human rights by elucidating the normative architecture supporting ESCR, established on the ICESCR and general remarks delivered by the ICESCR Committee. This framework outlines various obligations, including the tripartite obligations of states to respect, protect, and fulfill rights through equitable resource allocation, as well as the concept of minimum core obligations (MCO) and the principle of "maximum available resources" (MAR). This research found important gaps and roadblocks in the implementation and achievement of ESCR, such as the absence of data with high accuracy in the disaggregated form, insufficient monitoring instruments, and variance in fund allocations according to the geography and socioeconomic context. It further highlights the central role played by the non-state actors, such as Civil Society Organizations and NGOs, in the budget process. In the aim of making it a practical approach, the study also suggests an analysis of a case study, that of Scotland, which can be considered a good illustration of the use of HRB. In conclusion, this research highlights the positive implications of the HRB approach as a cohesive strategy for bridging the gap between international commitments and domestic implementation, ensuring that national budgets promote human dignity and inclusion.

This research endeavours to critically examine the pivotal role of national budget analysis in promoting and monitoring the realization of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR) within the framework of international human rights law. It conceptualizes state budgets as moral and political maps of a government's social equity agenda and its commitment to human dignity, not just fiscal papers. By doing so, it advocates for applying the "Human Rights Budgeting" (HRB) approach, which integrates human rights principles into the budget analysis process to ensure the prioritization and fulfilment of ESCR. The HRB approach focuses on the distribution of resources in accordance with human rights norms and builds a public and accountable mechanism for monitoring government actions, and in this perspective, this paradigm encourages transparency, engagement, and participation across a spectrum of stakeholders. Despite the implicit reference to the source of authority, the legitimacy of HRB derives from international human rights instruments, e.g., the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The present study draws attention to the direct link between budgeting mechanisms and human rights by elucidating the normative architecture supporting ESCR, established on the ICESCR and general remarks delivered by the ICESCR Committee. This framework outlines various obligations, including the tripartite obligations of states to respect, protect, and fulfill rights through equitable resource allocation, as well as the concept of minimum core obligations (MCO) and the principle of "maximum available resources" (MAR). This research found important gaps and roadblocks in the implementation and achievement of ESCR, such as the absence of data with high accuracy in the disaggregated form, insufficient monitoring instruments, and variance in fund allocations according to the geography and socioeconomic context. It further highlights the central role played by the non-state actors, such as Civil Society Organizations and NGOs, in the budget process. In the aim of making it a practical approach, the study also suggests an analysis of a case study, that of Scotland, which can be considered a good illustration of the use of HRB. In conclusion, this research highlights the positive implications of the HRB approach as a cohesive strategy for bridging the gap between international commitments and domestic implementation, ensuring that national budgets promote human dignity and inclusion.