Part I Defining the issues to be monitored A Nepalese couple keep track of income from the sale of recently harvested eggplant. Photo by UN Women/Narendra Shrestha, reproduced under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license. 2.4.4. Minimum core obligations This is an obligation of result that requires the realization of “minimum essential levels” of each right. States must make every effort to satisfy these basic levels, as a matter of priority. This obligation applies regardless of the availability of resources or any other factors and difficulties. This means, if a lot of people in the country are deprived of essential foodstuffs, primary healthcare, basic shelter and housing, it is considered a prima facie violation of the Covenant. In other words, it is assumed that the State is violating the Covenant unless it can prove otherwise. To show that it has not violated the Covenant, the State must demonstrate that “every effort has been made to use all resources that are at its disposition in an effort to satisfy, as a matter of priority, those minimum obligations”.9 Over the past two decades, the Committee has adopted a number of general comments which define the minimum core obligations of the Covenant. It has outlined minimum requirements for the right to food, water, health, housing and education. For example, the right to education includes, at a minimum, free and compulsory primary education for all children. Another minimum requirement is that educational content fosters diversity and understanding, rather than segregation and prejudice. The right to health includes access to essential medicines, emergency care and pre- and post-natal care, at a minimum. It is not always easy to identify specifically the minimum core content of each right and how these should apply in different country contexts. However, it is still a useful concept because it insists that States must give first priority to fulfilling a basic minimum level of ESCR for all those within its jurisdiction, over and above all other policy and economic objectives. For this reason, there is a higher burden of proof on States to demonstrate that they are doing everything they possibly can to achieve these outcomes. 9 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1990), General Comment No. 3: the nature of States parties’ obligations, U.N. Doc. E/1991/23, at para.10. Chapter 2: Economic, social and cultural rights standards | 25