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The Right to Work: The Legal and Moral Construction of a Human Right

Objective

The right to work is enshrined in the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights. It has also been incorporated into the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It can be further observed in several Constitutions of European Countries and worldwide. Various scholars have argued the need to promote the right to work as a human right, whether moral or legal, although there are striking differences between the proponents\' views regarding the right\'s substance. However, despite the growing acceptance of the economic and social rights, which are regaining new meaning after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the right to work continues to be contested. Some argue against the right to work in moral terms. Others argue that while the right to work maybe important it cannot be operational zed as a Constitutional right. Some arguments are characteristic to the critique of economic and social rights, but even the strong proponents of social and economic rights seem to neglect the right to work. It may therefore not be surprising that the Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights is yet to provide a comment that constructs the meaning of the right. The purpose of the proposed project is to explore the gap between the recognition of the right to work as a human right and its intrinsic difficulties. The project seeks to account for the neglect of the right to work in the development of social and economic rights, to identify the tensions within the right to work, and the relationship between the right and other human rights. This investigation should accommodate a more rigorous response to the question: is there a need to recognize the right to work as a human right, and if there is ? what is its content? More generally, because of the right to work\'s nature, the project seeks to unfold the relationship between the State, the market and human rights.

Fields of science

Call for proposal

FP6-2002-MOBILITY-5
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Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
EU contribution
No data
Address
Spui 21
AMSTERDAM
Netherlands

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Total cost
No data