A/HRC/32/31 23. In terms of the obligation to recognize, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has noted that, in many instances, legislation is highly desirable and in some cases may even be indispensable.10 It subsequently added that, although the precise method by which Covenant rights are given effect in national law is a matter for each State party to decide, the means used should be appropriate in the sense of producing results which are consistent with the full discharge of its obligations by the State party.11 24. Much of the literature on economic and social rights has focused on the extent to which these rights have actually been recognized not in legislation, but through constitutional entrenchment, which is consistently assumed to be a far more significant step. While that is important, it has not been considered by the Committee to be an indispensable element, especially because of the great variety of State constitutional traditions and approaches. In any event, constitutional recognition will generally need to be supplemented by legislation. The question that then arises is, under what circumstances would legislation not be required? In part the answer will depend on the legal system in question, so that a State that makes extensive use of decrees or regulations or some other form of instrument that is not considered to be legislative in nature might be able to demonstrate that it meets the legal recognition requirement in an appropriately formal and legally meaningful way, even in the absence of legislation. But such cases are likely to be relatively rare. 25. In the light of what appears to be the relatively common State practice of not giving explicit legislative recognition to individual economic and social rights, the most important question is whether legislation, or an equivalent form of legal instrument, can be dispensed with altogether by a State that claims to be fulfilling its obligations through other means. In practice, the argument will usually be that legislation has been adopted in relation to the issue or sector in question, and it is unnecessary for any reference to be made in that legislation to the relevant human right. In other words, to take the example of the right to food, the argument would be that it is sufficient that there is legislation in place that addresses food safety or food security, even though it reflects no explicit rights dimension. Or, in the case of the right to education, laws dealing with the establishment of educational institutions are considered sufficient, even if there is no acknowledgement that education is a human right. 26. In support of the view that specific recognition is not required, it might be argued that if a treaty envisages such recognition, it would say so explicitly. Thus treaties dealing with torture, genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity call not just for legislative recognition of the norm, but also for explicit criminalization of particular conduct. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women unequivocally requires States parties “to embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation” (art. 2 (a)). It further obliges them “to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle.” 27. Nonetheless, aside from the clear position that the relevant Committee has taken in its general comments, it is difficult to understand how the obligations to “recognize” the rights, and to “guarantee” non-discrimination, could possibly be achieved in the absence of targeted legislative or equivalent measures. As stated in the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, the general 10 11 10 See the Committee’s general comment No. 3 (1990) on the nature of States parties’ obligations, para. 3. See general comment No. 9 (1998) on the domestic application of the Covenant, para. 5.