Privatization is an ever more dominant model of economic and social rights (ESR) realization. Thus far, however, there has been relatively little attention paid to privatization in ESR scholarship and practice, resulting in a significant lacuna from both a normative and an empirical perspective. Taking as its starting point the delineation of ESR obligations in terms of the tripartite typology of respect, protect, and fulfill, this article critiques how that framework (and the treaty bodies which employ it in their work) addresses privatization from an ESR perspective. The author outlines a new approach-focused on the obligation to fulfill-which would contribute significantly to the ability of ESR law as it stands to capture and address the scope of state decision-making and (in)action at issue in privatization situations.