Social Movements and Grassroots Groups

Social Movements and Grassroots Groups:

Activities and Actions

The Working Group of Social Movements and Grassroots Groups strengthens alliances and learning; promotes human rights related to land; challenges forcible displacement in the name of “development” and facilitates collective support for activities to promote and realize human rights in practice.

Solidarity visits, alliance-building and learning exchanges

Social movements and grassroots groups often represent people who directly experience injustice and human rights violations. Many times, they feel isolated in their struggles or limited in their capacity to confront the complex threats that they face. Through the Social Movement Working Group, ESCR-Net brings social movements together in Solidarity Visits, alliance-building activities and mutual learning exchanges.

Read more about ESCR-Net’s work to bring social movements and grassroots groups together, including:

·         Solidarity Visits, including Thailand (2003), Kenya (2008) and Brazil (2010)

·         Collaborative responses to tragedies and threats

·         Strengthening alliances and mutual learning exchanges

Promoting human rights related to land

For many members of the Social Movement Working Group, access to land is a fundamental requirement  for the realization of a range of human rights. Land is rapidly gaining space on the international human rights agenda, and new international jurisprudence related to land and human rights is rapidly emerging. ESCR-Net is working to ensure that the perspectives and demands of social movements and grassroots groups inform the international human rights agenda regarding land and promotes international solidarity across diverse social movements.

Read more about ESCR-Net’s efforts to promote greater international recognition of human rights and land

Challenging development-induced displacement

Every year more than 15 million people are forcibly displaced from their lands and communities in the name of “development,” which poses serious threats to the ability of affected people to realize their human rights and live lives of dignity. The impacts often fall hardest on the poorest and most disadvantaged groups within society, who are in turn least likely to enjoy the benefits.  In response to this pervasive threat, ESCR-Net has undertaken a multi-year initiative to provide strategic support to organizations and social movements that are working to resist forcible evictions and related human rights violations. 

Read more about ESCR-Net’s efforts to confront development-induced displacement 

Collective support for social movements struggling to promote, defend and realize human rights

ESCR-Net’s Social Movement Working Group endeavors to generate movement-to-movement, Network-wide, and broader collective support to efforts by a wide range of social movements to promote and defend human rights. This includes disseminating experiences advancing international standards; contributing to movement-building activities, amplifying victories and leveraging their impact; building capacity and documenting lessons learned in their struggles for justice.

Read more about collective support for social movements struggling to realize human rights