The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (Resolution 2200 A (XXI)) on 16 December 1966. As one of two international treaties that make the ‘International Bill of Human Rights’ (along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), the ICESCR provides the legal framework to protect and preserve the most basic economic, social and cultural rights, including rights relating to work in just and favourable conditions, to social protection, to an adequate standard of living, to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, to education and to enjoyment of the benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress.