The Millennium Declaration, Rights, and Constitutions

The Millennium Declaration, Rights, and Constitutions

January 13, 2013

As the international community and individual countries have committed themselves to attacking poverty within the context of realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), this work examines the experiences of various states in achieving socio –economic rights for their citizens.  It argues that countries need to re-visit their constitutions to include basic socio-economic and cultural rights for their societies.  It further presents the challenges involved when constitutional significance is given to economic, social and cultural rights, and to the principles underlying the MDGs. The authors explains how the framework and assumptions of human rights law and policy can be utilised in the realisation of economic and social rights in general, and the MDGs in particular.