In December, our partner GI-ESRC made two important submissions regarding public services and human rights:

• A submission to the European Commission on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. This submission emphasises that universally accessible and quality public services are at the core of the European social model, and are critical to maintaining healthy democracies. It proposes several steps to be taken by the European Commission to support the provision of strong public services in all Member States and to ensure the EU’s development interventions are focussed on strengthening public services. Read the full submission here.
• A submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier de Schutter, ahead of his visit to the European Union. The submission explains that international human rights law requires that the EU and its Member States ensure that services essential for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR), such as health care and education, be provided in a democratic and non-commercial way, with public control, for the public good. It calls on the European Commission to support and encourage Member States to invest in public services, to facilitate a rights-aligned fiscal environment, to explicitly recognise that services corresponding to the enjoyment of ESCR are not subject to European internal market and competition rules, and to play an active role in coordinating efforts for public services.  Read the full submission here.

You can find more information on GI-ESCR’s work on public services here.