ADJUDICATION AND ESCR - July 2010

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ESCR Strategic Litigation Project

Strategic litigation on economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) issues was identified as a critical area of engagement for the Adjudication of ESCR Working Group emerging from the Nairobi meeting. We have moved forward in the implementation of these projects and will describe the phase each project is in more fully below.  In addition, we have updated the Adjudication of ESCR webpage in both English and Spanish.  Please refer to this page for further information on all projects listed below. 

• Strategic Litigation Support for the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR

With the recent adoption of the Optional Protocol to ICESCR (OP-ICESCR), there will soon be a need to support good cases at the domestic level that could be potentially taken forward under the new complaint mechanism in order to render positive precedents and provide attention to the process. The objective of this project is to enhance collaborative efforts and shared strategies in the use of the OP-ICESCR, support organizations in countries that have ratified the OP-ICESCR to begin bringing cases forward and provide assistance and promote collaboration in the development of strategies and arguments.

This project includes 3 key components: design of a program and fund to support strategic litigation; development of authoritative commentaries that establish a progressive interpretation of state's obligations under the OP-ICESCR and workshop to encourage input and exchange on both the program design and commentaries. In addition to ESCR-Net and the NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, the Social Rights Advocacy Centre (Canada) and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (Norway) are critical collaborators in this project.

The workshop will be held in October 12-13^th, 2010 in New York. We are advancing this project in consultation with our members and other key groups with experience on strategic litigation generally. 

• Implementation and Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Judgments 

Lack of implementation of ESCR judgments was also determined to be a key issue for ESCR-Net to address in 2010-2012. To support a move toward increased implementation, ESCR-Net with its member organizations Dejusticia (Colombia) and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (Norway) organized a successful international symposium May 6-7, 2010 in Bogota, Colombia. The event brought together litigation experts at the national and international levels, social movement representatives and high profile judges to reflect on the bottlenecks and obstacles that impede implementation and factors that have allowed for implementation, exchange lessons from different jurisdictions and develop a campaign and strategies to improve accountability for implementation at the national level.

A key output of this event will be a book available in English and Spanish and hopefully Arabic as well, including conceptual papers and national, regional and international case studies on implementation. Specific short term actions emerged from the Bogota discussions, including support for the implementation of the Paraguayan cases Yakye Axa and Sawhoyamaxa from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and a right to a minimum wage case in Egypt. In addition, long term strategies are being developed for how to effectively carry this project forward to address some of the key obstacles and opportunities presented during the symposium and in the papers. This will be done in consultation with symposium participants as well as other key Network members between July and September 2010. 

• Online Litigation Support Forum

There is a need to build capacity and facilitate reciprocal support among groups in ESCR litigation processes. To help support groups newly interested in using litigation strategies to address ESCR violations, as well as support those already engaged in this strategy but in need of additional support in particular cases or on particular issues, ESCR-Net will create a virtual forum for requests for input on litigation strategy and amicus support. ESCR-Net aims to develop a pool of experts interested in supporting the project, a process for responding to particular questions or requests and coordinating expert input in individual cases as needed.

GET INVOLVED ! 

We are currently outreaching to interested ESCR-Net members and interested organizations to be a part of this project.  Please let us know if you have the capacity to provide input or are interested in possibly receiving support through this forum. We are happy to send more information upon request.  Please contact Rebecca Brown if you are interested in finding out more about this project and how to get involved at rbrown@escr-net.org.

ESCR-Justice: Monthly Caselaw Update

ESCR-Justice is a monthly update, circulated in English, French and Spanish, highlighting an important economic, social or cultural rights (ESCR) case that has been added to the Case Law Database. To date, ESCR-Net has produced eleven editions of ESCR-Justice, which can be found here.  The new cases disseminated since the last Newsletter include: Mazibuko and Others v. City of Johannesburg from the Constitutional Court of South Africa on the right to water (Oct 2009); Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) v. Nigeria and Universal Basic Education Commission on the jurisdiction of ECOWAS, the West African economic body, to adjudicate a right to education claim; City of Victoria v. Adams from the British Colombia Court of Appeal on right to housing issues; South Fork Band and Others v. U.S. Dept. of Interior from the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals on the impact of mining activities on indigenous rights;  Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v. Kenya from the African Commission on Human and People's Rights on right to land for indigenous communities in Kenya; and the Latvia Pensions case on the primacy of human rights, specifically pensions and social security, in relation to austerity measures imposed by the IMF.

We hope that ESCR-Justice will support activists and advocates to stay abreast of important developments in ESCR litigation and promote exchange of litigation strategies across regions and jurisdictions that are otherwise limited by language and distance. ESCR-Justice is also intended to encourage discussion of crucial challenges for ESCR advocacy and encourage the use of legal strategies and the human rights approach as valid and effective means for claiming economic, social and cultural rights.

The ESCR-Justice: Monthly Case Law Update and the ESCR-Net Caselaw Database on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Related Jurisprudence, Cases and other Decisions (see below) are created in partnership with the following organizations:

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Argentina

Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Switzerland

Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad - DeJusticia, Colombia

Human Rights Centre at Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland

Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, Norway

Social Rights Advocacy Centre (SRAC), Canada

GET INVOLVED !

Please send new cases and interesting developments in ESCR jurisprudence to Rebecca Brown at rbrown@escr-net.org. To share information or strategies with other ESCR advocates subscribe to the Adjudication listserv.

Expansion of the Caselaw Database

The ESCR-Net Caselaw Database is continuously updated as a critical resource and repository of court decisions and other relevant documents relating to economic, social and cultural rights. It is a collaborative project developed under the leadership of the organizations above and in collaboration with many other groups and individuals working to advance economic, social and cultural rights throughout the world. The ESCR-Net Caselaw Database makes ESCR-related pleadings, commentary and decisions available to a wide audience of ESCR activists and defenders from a range of countries, legal traditions and languages.

Here are a few of the new cases that have been recently added or updated (not including those listed above): 

San Antonio School District

T-821 of Colombia

Mike Campbell v Zimbabwe

Sandra Lovelace v. Canada

GET INVOLVED !

Please send new cases and interesting developments in ESC rights jurisprudence to Rebecca Brown at rbrown@escr-net.org. To share information or strategies with other ESCR advocates subscribe to the Adjudication listserv.

OP-ICESCR Ratification Campaign

Update on Ratifications

Honoring their commitments to international human rights obligations and realization of economic, social and cultural rights, Ecuador and Mongolia have ratified the OP-ICESCR. Ecuador became the first State to ratify on June 11, 2010 and Mongolia quickly followed on July 1, 2010.

Most recently, during the week of July 5^th, 2010, the Portuguese Parliament adopted a recommendation for the government to ratify the OP-ICESCR.

The Optional Protocol was opened for signature and ratification on 24 September 2009 during the 2009 Treaty Event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Protocol is signed so far by 32 countries: Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, Congo, El Salvador, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Timor-Leste, Togo, Ukraine and Uruguay; and ratified by two countries: Ecuador and Mongolia. 

Join the campaign and Get involved!

Ten ratifications are needed for the Optional Protocol to enter into force. Victims of violations of ESC rights can only utilize the procedure after their state has ratified the Optional Protocol. Therefore, the Campaign is aimed at getting as many states as possible to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol. For this campaign, we need your help. States will only ratify the Optional Protocol if civil society groups tell them how important it is to do so.

To join the Coalition, simply fill out the Membership Form and return it to:
OP-Coalition@escr-net.org

To join the Coalition email list please send an E-mail to:
escrprotocolnow-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

For further information on the Coalition visit: http://www.opicescr-coalition.org/

Advocacy Kit on Ratification Strategies for the OP-ICESCR

An Advocacy Kit is currently being compiled by ESCR-Net and the NGO Coalition for an OP-ICESCR for groups interested in working toward the ratification and implementation of the OP-ICESCR in their country.

The objective of Advocacy Toolkit is to provide human rights advocates with the relevant information, strategies and tools for undertaking national level efforts toward the ratification and implementation of the OP-ICESCR in their country. The Toolkit will provide historical background on economic, social and cultural rights and State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as a description of the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR and the three new mechanisms that Protocol creates: individual complaint / communication procedure, inquiry procedure and inter-State mechanism. This will help increase understanding of the relevance of having an Optional Protocol and the benefits that it offers affected groups. It will provide arguments and counter arguments on OP-ICESCR ratification for civil society to use as a basis for discussions with their governments on the importance of becoming a Party to the OP-ICESCR, as well as templates and practical ideas for engaging with the media, civil society and government officials.

We expect to release the Toolkit electronically in September. An announcement will be circulated on the NGO Coalition and ESCR-Net listservs once it is finalized. To join the Coalition email list please send an E-mail to: escrprotocolnow-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights Elections

On April 28, 2010, elections for the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) were held. The CESCR is composed of 18 experts, who are elected for a period of four years and half of its membership is renewed every second year. The term of service of half of the Members of the Committee will expire on 31 December 2010. The new elected members will initiate their mandate in January 2011.

With the Optional Protocol now in place, the strength and capacity of the Committee becomes even more critical. Individual members elected will have an impact on the overall quality and effectiveness of this body. Thus, it is key that organizations get involved in the election process.

Election Results:

* The candidate of Germany will resign its seat in two years time, at the end of 2012, and Portugal will stand for election to complete the term until it comes to an end on 31 December 2014.

For further information about the results of the election process:

 http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/ecosoc6419.doc.htm and

 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/elections2010.htm

GET INVOLVED !

Next deadline for nominations: January 2012

Please be in contact with the NGO Coalition for an OP-ICESCR if you are interested in supporting candidates from your country in the next CESCR election. OP-Coalition@escr-net.org.   

Advocacy on the Rules of Procedure for the OP-ICESCR

The CESCR is in the process of adopting Rules of Procedure for the OP-ICESCR. A number of key issues that will be influential in determining the effectiveness and competence of the ESCR Committee's consideration of communications under the OP-ICESCR will be addressed in the Rules of Procedure.  Currently, the CESCR is still in the process of revising and discussing the draft rules and will have their next discussion on November 12th during the 45th session in Geneva. The NGO Coalition is hoping to organize an event with the Committee during this session to further the dialogue between Committee members and civil society. More information will be circulated via the NGO Coalition listserv once plans for this event are advanced. 

The NGO Coalition for the OP-ICESCR has drafted a commentary on the draft Rules of Procedure aimed at influencing the development process. This commentary is available at:

http://www.escr-net.org/actions/actions_show.htm?doc_id=1105081&attrib_id=13453

For a summary of the document in Spanish click here. 

For more information on the NGO Coalition for an OP-ICESCR and ESCR-Net's work in this area, please contact Suad Elias at selias@escr-net.org or Rebecca Brown at rbrown@escr-net.org. 

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