Constitutionalising a Social Minimum as a Minimum Core

Abstract

First paragraph: The legalisation of the right to a social minimum is closely connected to the international human rights framework that requires states to take steps to progressively realise economic and social rights (ESR), including the right to an adequate standard of living, to the state’ s maximum available resources. The right to an adequate standard of living includes the right to food, housing and freedom from poverty. The international framework also provides for the protection of the rights to health, education, employment and social security, among others. As part of this legal framework there is an immediate obligation to ensure a minimum level of protection across the rights. This obligation is referred to as a minimum core obligation. This chapter analyses the concept of the social minimum through the lens of a minimum core obligation.