Summary Report: ESCR-Net International Strategy Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya
Table of Contents
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I. INTRODUCTION
II. KEYNOTE ADDRESSES DURING THE OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONIES
III. PLENARY SESSIONS
Plenary 1: ESCR-Net: Work to Date and Future Direction
Plenary 2: Building a Bottom-Up Network of Mutual Support and Collective Action
Plenary 3: Accountability: Expanding the Scope and Creating New Tools
IV. WORKING SESSIONS
1. Adjudication of ESCR
2. Optional Protocol to the ICESCR
3. Corporate Accountability
4. Trade, Investment, Finance and Human Rights
5. Budget Analysis and ESCR
6. Women and ESCR
7. Human Right to Health
V. SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND GRASSROOTS GATHERING AND SOLIDARITY VISITS
VI. GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND ELECTION OF THE NEW ESCR-NET BOARD
VII. COMMUNITY VISITS
VIII. OPEN SPACES
IX. AFRICAN DELEGATES AND KENYAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS MEETINGS
I. INTRODUCTION
ESCR-Net, in partnership with the Kenyan ESCR Coalition, held a four-day International Strategy Meeting on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 1-4 December, 2008. This landmark gathering brought together more than 250 participants from key human rights, social justice and grassroots groups from 53 countries around the world. Building on the collective achievements of ESCR-Net and its members since its Inaugural Conference in Thailand in 2003, as well as the strong trajectory of local Kenyan organizations, this meeting was a significant occasion to explore new and more systematic avenues for collective action for social and economic justice through human rights. Participants in ESCR-Net’s Working Groups and Initiatives benefited significantly from meeting together—in one location with interpretation and preparation—to network, strategize and advance their collective agendas.
The gathering also represented a crucial step forward in strengthening ESCR-Net’s institutional capacity to influence decision-making processes regarding state and non-state accountability for the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights. At the meeting, members discussed ESCR-Net’s priorities for the coming years, defined criteria and procedures to launch urgent actions, and elected a new Board, among other institutional decisions. Moreover, this meeting presented a valuable opportunity to support and learn from ongoing mobilizing efforts of local organizations and communities affected by ESCR violations in Kenya and the African region.
Special consideration in the planning of the meeting was given to the need to strengthen supportive relationships between social movements, grassroots and indigenous groups, and NGOs, academics, and other professional institutions. Emphasis was placed on developing stronger networks of resources and support with and for use by these groups, and on promoting their inclusion and centrality in ESCR-Net’s leadership. To achieve these goals, three full days of meetings were organized to surround the International Strategy Meeting and ESCR-Net General Assembly on 29-30 November, and 5 December. 30 social movements, indigenous and grassroots groups from around the world participated.
Based on the previously mentioned goals, the meeting had the following components:
- Plenary Sessions provided the space for all the participants in the Strategy Meeting to convene as a single group to learn about and discuss developments in the field of ESCR, and within the Network.
- Working Sessions provided the space for substantive, working meetings of the various ESCR-Net Working Groups and Initiatives to convene and advance their ongoing projects and advocacy work.
- General Assembly allowed members to discuss and decide a number of governance issues critical to strengthening the Network’s institutional capacity to be influential in the ESCR field as well as to elect a new ESCR-Net Board.
- Community Visits were organized by local groups and interwoven into the gathering to provide an opportunity to learn about and to support the work that local organizations are undertaking in the field of ESCR.
- Open Spaces allowed participants to organize informal gatherings to present their work or debate other issues of interest that had not been included in the formal sessions.
II. KEYNOTE ADDRESSES DURING THE OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONIES
In the opening ceremony, Professor Yash Pal Ghai’s keynote address highlighted the increasing impact of globalization and the need to prioritize the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights and the Millennium Development Goals to realize the promise of the full realization of human rights embodied by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on its 60th Anniversary.
In the closing ceremony, Ms. Olatokunbo Ige of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), and Human Rights Advisor to the UN Country team in Kenya, addressed participants. Ms. Ige began her remarks by commemorating the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, which she said presents us with an exceptional opportunity to celebrate six decades of human rights struggle, and to chart our course for the challenges ahead. She noted that the High Commissioner has repeatedly highlighted that the full realization of the spirit of the Declaration requires that we take up the entire set of rights it proclaimed as an indivisible and organic whole, inseparable and interdependent, and of equal importance. Economic, social and cultural rights cannot be fully enjoyed where civil and political rights are curtailed and civil and political rights cannot be fully exercised where economic, social and cultural rights are neglected. Ms Ige expressed the effort of the OHCHR to strengthen its work on ESCR as a key priority at all levels.
She then highlighted two other international commemorations that have coincided with the meeting which bring critical elements to the work on economic, social and cultural rights: World AIDS Day and the International Day for Persons with Disabilities. She further highlighted the expected adoption of the OP-ICESCR at the General Assembly on December 10, 2008 and commented that the lack of a communications mechanism under the International Covenant on ESCR has been for many years a manifestation of the asymmetry that has characterized the international human rights protection system.
She closed her statement noting that poverty and inequality remain an enormous challenge for the majority of the population in the world. They are compounded and rendered more poignant by the most recent crises, whether climate change, the global food crisis or the financial crisis. But our concerted efforts are needed to ensure that human rights remain at the core of the global agenda. The respect, protection and fulfillment of economic, social and cultural rights, now more than ever, must inform the decision-making at all levels. Finally, she reiterated the support of the OHCHR and the United Nations as we strive towards achieving the full enjoyment of all human rights without discrimination anywhere.
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III. PLENARY SESSIONS
Plenary 1: ESCR-Net: Work to Date and Future Direction
The purpose of the opening plenary was to provide an overview of the development of the Network, highlighting the current areas of collective work, how these efforts have responded to the needs in the field of ESCR as well as what challenges remain unmet. The plenary was further meant to provide a critical assessment of the ESCR-Net’s work to date, with the goal of strategizing on its future direction. The presentations for this panel were delivered by representatives of each of the areas of work, and based upon the Strategy and Assessment and Papers especially prepared for the meeting.
Adjudication of ESCR by Malcolm Langford, NCHR, Norway: Malcolm’s comments described how ESC rights adjudication is emerging in almost every jurisdiction around the world and correspondingly huge opportunities and challenges are arising. He also noted strategic entry points for the Network moving forward, including expanding the Caselaw Database, the creation of a strategic litigation fund and transnational litigation.
Optional Protocol to the ICESCR by Bruce Porter, SRAC, Canada: Bruce Porter discussed the work of the NGO Coalition in supporting the development and adoption of the OP. He also argued that moving forward the OP-ICESCR could prove to be an essential mechanism in equalizing human rights conceptually as well as uplifting the voices of victims of ESC right violations.
Corporate Accountability by Tricia Feeney, RAID, United Kingdom: Tricia’s comments highlighted the increasingly ubiquitous nature of globalization and how the Corporate Accountability Working Group has been utilizing the various UN and other processes to raise awareness of the negative impacts of business activity on human rights, and suggest ways to prevent abuses and hold those responsible to account.
Trade, Investment, Finance and Human Rights by Areli Sandoval, Equipo Pueblo, Mexico: Areli’s comments focused on the development of the group over the past few years and the obstacles they face. Externally, the reduction of the State’s role in economic policy-making weakens these efforts, and internally the diverse range of ESCR-Net Member approaches makes coordination sometimes challenging. Looking forward, Areli hoped the working sessions would be used to discuss whether the Secretariat should play a more active role, adopting greater leadership, and greater interaction with membership.
Budget Analysis and ESCR by Ann Blyberg, IHRIP, United States: Ann’s presentation gave a brief background on the successful projects of the group to date, some obstacles such as the lack of information and networking, and then highlighted the need for greater capacity-building and networking between groups.
Social Movements and Grassroots Groups by Renji Joseph, AHSDC, India: Renji noted his appreciation to the Network for ensuring meaningful space for the social movement groups but also highlighted the great difficulties they are facing and called on the Network and its Members to engage in solidarity and support actions.
Women and ESCR by Leilani Farha, CERA, Canada: Finally, Leilani gave a brief history of the Women and ESCR group since Chiang Mai and reflected on how we can think strategically and conceptually about this group moving forward, while encouraging even more collaboration and interaction between groups.
Plenary 2: Building a Bottom-Up Network of Mutual Support and Collective Action
This panel focused on building a platform of collaboration in sustainable solidarity and support actions between social movements, grassroots and indigenous groups on the one hand and NGOs and other professional organizations on the other. The plenary had two main objectives. First, it provided the space to build dialogue between participating social movements and NGOs with the aim of enhancing solidarity with and mobilizing support for the social movements and grassroots groups from their professional advocacy and documentation NGO partners in attendance. Second, it provided the basis for determining concrete steps for ESCR-Net to be an ongoing and sustainable channel of solidarity and support for social movements, indigenous and grassroots groups.
The session started with a video edited by the Media Mobilizing Project which illustrated the work and struggles of some of the participating groups, including Comité de Emergencia Garífuna de Honduras, Honduras; Western Shoshone Defense Project, Newe Sogobia/USA; Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan; and Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens, Brasil.
The video was followed by presentations made by representatives of three social movements. Ezekiel Rema of Slums Dwellers Federation, Kenya, spoke about the social movement experience of the Toi Market and the struggle of its traders to defend their means of subsistence, gain basic rights and organize their community. Joji Cariño of Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines, shared their experience helping to create the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the partnerships among indigenous people’s groups and NGO’s and the need for social movement mobilization and solidarity among different groups to defend the land and other natural resources of groups that traditionally have had to bear top-down solutions. Finally, Lucas Benítez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, USA shared the successes of this rural workers’ group against powerful private actors, achieved through unity, solidarity, alliance-building and strong organization of its members.
The presentations were followed by small group discussions, each facilitated by social movement representatives. These discussion tables focused on identifying positive examples of collaboration, work ESCR-Net should attempt to facilitate, as well as processes that could be followed to implement this collaboration. These exchanges highlighted the importance and need of meaningful and transparent partnerships between social movements or grassroots groups and NGOs. Discussions emphasized that these relationships should empower and strengthen the movements and grassroots groups, who must remain the central actors and final decision makers of the issues that affect them. The groups identified mutual-learning exchanges and capacity-building as a main project ESCR-Net should undertake, along with the pressing need to support members under urgent threat and in their local campaigns. Exchange of experiences, successes and other types of information in different forms were also highlighted among different valuable efforts.
Plenary 3: Accountability: Expanding the Scope and Creating New Tools
The final Plenary focused on the increased impacts of global economic forces and agreements on the realization of human rights. The introduction to the Plenary, by Steve Ouma Akoth of University of Western Cape, South Africa, presented new ways of conceptualizing violations to increase the focus on personhood, as well as on historical and political context as a method for expanding the scope of accountability. The Plenary further sought to illuminate the current shift in the scope of accountability, discuss the perceived progress and challenges, and share new tools, mechanisms and strategies for implementing rights and enhancing accountability.
Presentations highlighted the current developments, in the efforts towards expanding the scope of human rights accountability. Danwood Chirwa of the University of Cape Town, South Africa argued for a more comprehensive consideration of the responsibilities of non-state actors in the analysis of ESC rights violations, as corporate activity tends to violate these sets of rights, e.g. water and health, more than civil and political rights. Joseph Schechla of Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) and of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC), Egypt, then discussed the movement to expand the scope of accountability beyond a narrow focus on domestic obligations, particularly with respect to the capacity for progressive realization, to a consideration of extra-territorial obligations. Miloon Kothari of HRLN-HIC, India, suggested that human rights failures were the cause of the current global economic meltdown, and that specifically lack of regulation and accountability within the housing market was a major contributor to the current global crisis. Aldo Caliari of Center of Concern, USA called for increased accountability within trade and investment policy and specifically in requiring human rights obligations to be central elements in the processes of economic policy decision-making.
On new strategies and tools for enhancing accountability, Eitan Felner of Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), Spain presented the work carried out by his organization during the last years on building an interdisciplinary methodology to assess violations of ESCR. Magdalena Sepúlveda, UN Independent Expert on Extreme Poverty, discussed a new and promising mechanism at the international level, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which will offer a legal mechanism for complaint and redress for victims of ESCR violations. Finally, Pilar Arcidiácono of the Centre of Legal and Social Studies (CELS), Argentina highlighted the ways in which her organization has undertaken to monitor social policies from a rights-based approach, suggesting the key difference between rights language within a policy on the one hand and the true integration of human rights obligations on the other.
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IV. WORKING SESSIONS
1. Adjudication of ESCR
The presentations given during the Adjudication of ESCR sessions emphasised the rapid growth of ESC rights litigation, and highlighted some successes achieved in both clarifying many state and non-state legal obligations and having an impact on the ground. At the same time, many challenges remain, which range from the lack of effective justiciability in some countries, conceptual challenges over some legal and remedial issues, the relationship between lawyers and social movements, and ensuring the effective implementation of judgments.
The working sessions discussed a range of current issues in ESC rights adjudication such as:
(1) national and regional jurisprudential developments from South Asia and Latin America, specifically Colombia and South Africa; (2) the critical need to involve social movements in litigation which has an impact on that community, with perspectives given from lawyers, claimants and social movement groups; (3) current conceptual developments in ESC rights litigation, such as securing effective remedies, utilizing civil and political rights to claim ESCR, the possibilities of the newly adopted OP-ICESCR and the challenges in litigating positive obligations; (4) equality rights issues relating to gender, disability and social rights; as well as (5) the impact of globalization on the enjoyment of ESCR and corresponding litigation strategies.
In the final collaborative session, participants identified a large number of possible projects to be advanced in the coming years, including scaling up the Caselaw Database, serving a coordinating role in the NGO Coalition Campaign for the Ratification of the OP-ICESCR, developing a focus and possible capacity-building strategy for enforcement of unimplemented judgements, as well as possible litigation support around the emerging OP-ICESCR mechanism and with regard to transnational litigation.
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2. Optional Protocol to the ICESCR
The presentations and discussion that occurred during the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP) sessions, focused on reviewing the stage of the OP process at the time the meeting took place, analyzing the importance of the OP as an instrument to close legal gaps for the protection of traditionally marginalized groups and discussing joint future work. This group had two exclusive sessions and shared the rest of its sessions with the Adjudication Group.
During the first session the aims of the NGO Coalition for an OP (who up to now has coordinated the campaign for the creation of an OP) were shared, followed by an overview of the components of the OP. The current status, next steps and challenges for the ratification of the OP were then discussed. Presentations followed to analyze if and how the OP brings protection of informal settlement dwellers, women and indigenous groups.
In the collaborative sessions, experiences of the ratification campaigns for the International Criminal Court, the OP-CEDAW and the Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities were shared in order to learn from them as decisions are made around future work on the OP. Participants agreed that once the OP has been adopted, strong efforts need to focus on the ratification process for this instrument. These efforts, in order to be successful, will need to ensure the involvement of national level organizations and guarantee that the OP becomes a relevant tool that strengthens the ESCR demands made nationally.
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3. Corporate Accountability
The Corporate Accountability Working Group brought together a number of long-standing members with other interested organizations to discuss efforts to date, share hands-on experiences, and strategize on future coordinated actions. Discussions emphasized a number of key challenges in the field. Engagement in other key arenas setting standards applicable to business outside of the human rights regime was highlighted. The lack of access to information and transparency around business impacts on society was further identified as challenging, as was the meaningful access to justice and accountability for business-related abuses. Each of the various accountability mechanisms explored evinced serious practical and procedural challenges. While creative use of a variety of judicial and non-judicial mechanisms showed potential for advocacy, a stunning failure of meaningful avenues to seek redress and access justice for human rights violations involving companies was apparent. Efforts at the international level were supported, but equally emphasized was the ongoing challenge of grounding efforts in practical support for local and national-level struggles, campaigns, capacity-building and monitoring efforts to strengthen and defend members carrying out this work on the frontlines, often at great personal risk and facing tremendous power imbalances.
The first session reviewed the objectives, strategies and activities of the Working Group to date, discussing the various challenges and opportunities in the field, and the interest and activities of participants. A three-part Accessing Justice workshop was then conducted. The first part consisted of a training session on participatory tools for researching, monitoring and assessing the human rights impacts of companies, addressing the key challenges of accessing information and documentation in initiating corporate campaigns. The last two parts delved into a number of avenues and strategies of bringing cases against business enterprises based on hands-on experience. These sessions focused on highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of several fora to provide effective remedy and/or open new avenues for leverage and advocacy. These included various mechanisms in the UN and regional human rights bodies, corporate liability litigation in the US and the EU, the OECD National Contact Points, multilateral development banks, international financial institutions, the WTO, investment arbitration panels, private banks and insurance companies, export credit agencies, hedge funds and other domestic avenues.
Two strategy sessions wrapped up the Corporate Accountability Working Group meetings, in which a preliminary work plan was sketched out, providing several new opportunities for collective action. Strengthening ongoing advocacy for international standards on business and human rights remained a key area, both within the UN human rights machinery but also increasingly in other standard-setting regimes affecting the field, with special reference to ongoing negotiations on climate change, the financial crisis and biodiversity. Further development of the knowledge base of the Network through the creation and creative use of new tools on research and documentation was also set forth, with one concrete project being the Business and Human Rights Documentation (B-HRD) Project to come. Capacity-building, campaign and litigation strategies were also reinforced, especially for use by groups working at the local and national levels. The Working Group’s commitment to bringing affected communities into leadership positions in international debates on corporate accountability was deemed critical. Yet, a continuing priority expressed by many groups lied in the need to build the strength of and defend Members challenging corporate abuse at the local and national levels, vis-à-vis transnational, state-owned, or domestic companies. Trainings in human rights documentation of business-related abuses was emphasized, along with a continued commitment by Network Members and the Secretariat itself to carry out actions in solidarity with human rights defenders at risk. Participants also stressed the importance of building a broad-based movement on corporate accountability in coordination with various constituencies, including trade unions, which would help give further identity and power to the group, and assist in the coordination and development of all the other areas of work. The Steering Committee of this Working Group was also strengthened through the inclusion of new leading Members.
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4. Trade, Investment, Finance and Human Rights
A number of strategies and activities were shared and discussed during the Trade, Investment, Finance and Human Rights sessions in Nairobi, with discussions exploring a rich array of types of work in the field. Some participants pushed forward human rights norms within the WTO, within trade agreements themselves or in other economic policy bodies. Others attempted to bring economic policy concerns into the human rights protection system, or other related bodies. Some participants presented their work to transform the approach of regional or international institutions, while others shared their experiences targeting national or local. Even with this diversity in approach, the primacy of human rights obligations over other trade, investment or finance obligations remained the key concept guiding discussions. Throughout, a number of challenges and opportunities emerged. Especially in this historical period presented by the financial crisis, with real opportunities for systemic change, the human rights approach was clearly a promising, universal normative framework upon which to base new economic policies based on justice at the national and increasingly global level. Yet, coordinated action amongst civil society has been an ongoing challenge, especially facing such powerful and entrenched economic theories and institutions. Equally daunting has been the lack of access to trade negotiations and trade and finance ministries. The lack of access to information and technical knowledge, and the need for grassroots mobilization were further mentioned as other key challenges.
The first working sessions of this group allowed participants to share conceptual understanding, practical experiences and useful strategies of using the human rights approach to trade, investment, and finance (or, together economic policy). A number of mutual-learning sessions took place in which organizations exchanged their distinct experiences, advocacy and legal strategies at the local, domestic, regional and international levels. Participants exchanged some of the challenges, opportunities and lessons from having targeting various UN committees, bodies and agencies, the WTO, within regional and bilateral free trade negotiations, export credit agencies, multilateral development banks, arbitration panels, private banks, governments, regional bodies and other fora. Two skills-based workshops were also conducted in coordination with the Corporate Accountability and Adjudication working sessions on targeting different global finance institutions as points of leverage to strengthen human rights guarantees, and on legal strategies in a globalized age.
Finally, two strategy sessions were also held, which laid out a number of action items to base a future collective work alliance. These included scaling up the sharing of experiences on economic policy and human rights at a regional level, the identification and integration of more cases on economic policy into the ESCR-Net Case-law database, an update of an ESCR-Net mapping of organizations working in the area, a survey of related norms, instruments and guidelines in the area which could be used to help orient government policy, capacity-building of national and local organizations and lawyers’ exchanges, coordinated litigation in domestic courts (to challenge trade agreements which threaten human rights, for example), and finally the organization of coordinated actions to integrate a human rights approach into ongoing policy decisions on the financial crisis. Participants also pointed out the value of proposing more constructive alternative agreements, systems, and mechanisms, rather than merely reacting to the global agenda being set by those unconcerned with or opposed to human rights principles. More broad-based social mobilization in this area to link NGOs and social movements, together with outreach, education, awareness-raising, training and building, was also brought up here as a key added-value activity of the Network.
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5. Budget Analysis and ESCR
The presentations and discussions that occurred during the Budget Analysis and ESCR sessions in Nairobi highlighted both the great potential but also the multiple obstacles for working in this area. Groups from around the world, with very different backgrounds and levels of knowledge came together to share experiences and strategies. Successful uses of budget analysis to promote implementation of ESCR were noted in Argentina, Mexico and South Africa. However, lack of access to information and lack of capacity to undertake budget work are obstacles which were often repeated. There was also an effort to elaborate on the conceptual analysis of the linkages between budget analysis and human rights obligations.
The working sessions on Budget Analysis and ESCR were geared toward informing new participants of the work done by the Network to date, as well as toward providing space for new project ideas and alliances to emerge. The first session gave examples of successful projects around the world. Sessions 2 and 3 were devoted to providing conceptual analysis of the linkages between budget analysis and human rights obligations. Sessions 4 and 5 focused on obstacles and strategies for overcoming them. Finally, Sessions 6 and 7 provided a space for participants to develop ideas for possible future collaborative action, including capacity-building, information-sharing, mapping and networking-building, further conceptual development and increased work at the regional and UN levels. Overall, there was consensus that budget analysis is most useful when it is integrated within the various streams of work to inform and strengthen advocacy in all areas.
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6. Women and ESCR
The presentations and discussions on women’s ESC rights showed that there is increasing awareness and focus on the importance of economic, social and cultural rights within the larger international women’s human rights movement. Groups from around the world discussed both the important gains and disappointing set-backs on women and ESCR within the current global context of climate change, religious fundamentalism, the “war on terror” and the global financial crisis. A reoccurring theme of participants’ comments from both Africa and Latin America was on the importance of the link between violence and discrimination against women and lack of implementation of women’s ESC rights in their countries.
The presentations during the working sessions began with a background on the past work of the Network, then moved into providing short case study-type overviews of the situation of women and ESCR in various countries. This led into presentations on the developments on women and ESCR within national, regional and international human rights systems. A joint session was then held with the Adjudication group focused on equality rights litigation and advocacy strategies. Finally, a session devoted to major obstacles facing work on women and ESCR was held. These presentation sessions then culminated in a two-part open discussion period on priorities of members and developing a future work plan for the Network.
Participants chose to focus on 2009 as the 30th Anniversary of CEDAW as a lens to demand the implementation of women’s ESC rights and a number of activities and projects are being developed around that theme. Participants also highlighted the need for capacity-building for women’s groups on the use of the ICESCR and possibly its Optional Protocol, therefore, strategic engagement with the CEDAW and ESCR Committees will be explored. Production of a resource on how attorneys and advocates can link CEDAW and the ICESCR to protect women’s human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, is also currently being discussed. Finally, the participants agreed that the Caselaw Database should include a focus on women’s ESC rights.
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7. Human Right to Health
The working sessions on the Human Right to Health were developed in response to the interest and input of members and geared toward providing space for new project ideas and alliances to emerge. The gathering brought together a diverse group of people working from different perspectives and at different levels on the right to health. The presentations highlighted the strength brought by the human rights approach to health issues, the constant violations to the human right to health faced by different groups and communities including women, indigenous groups, peoples with disabilities and those who live in poverty, strategies being used to overcome these abuses, as well as the need to work with effective tools and approaches to identify, argue and implement policies that address violations of the right to health. Finally, the initial steps for future joint work were agreed upon.
The first session provided an overview of the field conceptually, as well as discussing the viewpoints of working in the field from various perspectives. Session 2 focused on possibilities for monitoring and implementation of the right to health, while session 3 highlighted two critical health issues: HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality. Session 4 discussed the emerging issue of access to medicine in light of increased globalization and intellectual property agreements. Session 5 looked at the adequacy of healthcare systems from various viewpoints, including people with disabilities.
Finally, Sessions 6 and 7 provided a space for participants to develop ideas for possible future collaborative action. The group agreed that due to the diversity of its participants, it needed to find a broad theme that would be relevant for the work happening at different levels and decided to focus on access to medicines. There was a lot of cross-cutting interest on the issue as it allows for mutual-learning, support and other types of actions. The overarching aims of the future work of the group will be to develop awareness and recognition at all levels and among different actors of access to medicines as a fundamental human rights issue, and to increase government and other actors’ accountability for providing this access.
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V. SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND GRASSROOTS GATHERING AND SOLIDARITY VISITS
Social movements and grassroots leaders from across the Americas, Africa, and Asia came together in Nairobi to organize and participate in three full days of strategic meetings of the Social Movement Working Group, which surrounded the four-day International Strategy Meeting on ESCR and ESCR-Net General Assembly. The gathering supported mutual-learning amongst social movements, strengthened solidarity and support between social movements and NGOs, and organized solidarity visits to stand in support and learn from Kenyan social movements in their struggle. The Social Movement Working Group also developed common strategies and plans for collective work, and emphasized ensuring the inclusion and centrality of social movement leadership in ESCR-Net. The discussions were animated and grounded by the decades of strength and experience of participants from diverse and rich backgrounds as organized small-scale farmers, rural and urban poor, indigenous, Dalit, women and workers’ organizations, fisherfolk, pastoral people, and the HIV/AIDS positive.
The gathering began with a warm welcome from local hosts, followed by a discussion of the history of ESCR-Net’s work with social movements. With video, in small groups and in assembly, participants then shared their concrete individual experiences, the key challenges and obstacles faced, the human rights strategies utilized in these struggles, and the recent successes and emerging opportunities in securing ESC rights.
Discussions were then held to identify and map out struggles shared by all. These common struggles were diverse, including the privatization of land, water and other natural resources; displacement and dispossession; the lack of meaningful participation within governments, global institutions, and broader civil society; the lack of recognition of the rights of family farmers; the criminalization of dissent; and the denial of access to justice and inability to make economic and social rights justiciable. Ongoing discrimination and violations of cultural rights, as well as the systematic attempt to destroy mobilization and to disempower community organizations were also recognized as common struggles.
The group then collectively began to analyze and map out root causes of these common struggles. The lack of respect for diversity, corrupt or misaligned representative structures, ongoing forms of colonialism, commoditization and capitalism were all emphasized. Equally stressed were issues around the lack of political will, good leadership, accountability, and impunity. The lack of meaningful participation, and a misunderstanding or lack of information about human rights, were also identified as some causes of the challenges faced by social movements across the globe.
Participants then moved from analyzing their common struggles to exchanging effective and emerging human rights strategies to confront them. Strategic alliance-building by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, leadership in international-level networks by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), public education, public mobilization and direct action by the Movimento Sem Terra (MST), the use of legal mechanisms by the Western Shoshone, video advocacy to document abuses and build awareness by the Comité de Emergencia Garífuna de Honduras and the Media Mobilizing Project were some examples of such strategies discussed. The day ended with a video advocacy training facilitated by WITNESS, with video flip cameras provided by ESCR-Net.
On the second day, participants evaluated the efforts of the Working Group to date, and discussed models of effective collaboration in the build-up of an action plan. A strong consensus emerged over the need for more mutual-learning programs, especially when paired with Solidarity Visits, where participants can support, work with and learn from local movements very concretely in their everyday acts of defending human rights. Other effective ways to collaborate were also shared by the participants, including educating young people, the engagement of community leaders, training trainers in human rights (especially women), and creating an accessible manual on ESC rights and on effective social movement strategies to implement them. Notably here, various video interviews and recordings occurred throughout the sessions toward the aim of developing this manual. Participants further discussed ways of engaging the wider Network in their action plan, the creation of guidelines for ESCR-Net urgent actions, and ways to take up leadership positions in the Network, through for example more active roles in the working areas and strengthened representation on the Board.
The Social Movement Working Group then participated in Solidarity Visits, led by the Nairobi Peoples Settlement Network, Miss Koch and Kasarani Youth Congress, Ngazi ya Chini and other Kenyan social movements. Participants visited three communities: Korogocho, Kibera and Mukuru Kwa Ngenga/ Kwa Ruben. These visits allowed participants to stand in solidarity with and support local groups by sharing successful strategies, and to learn from local day-to-day struggles in Kenya over the plight of women and the disadvantaged, struggles over land and housing, and deep health disparities.
Following these two intense days of sharing experiences and building a collective voice, the Social Movement Working Group then joined the International Strategy Meeting on ESCR and General Assembly. Groups participated actively in the different thematic Working Sessions. Social Movements also led a three-hour Plenary entitled Building a Bottom-Up Network of Mutual Support and Collective Action (see above). This plenary allowed all participants to identify concrete steps to strengthen collaboration among members, including through human rights trainings, social movement exchanges, communications materials, and support for local campaigns. During the General Assembly, three social movement representatives were elected to the ESCR-Net Board, one example of the strong leadership role movements in the Network took up in Kenya.
On the seventh day, the Social Movement Working Group together with the Secretariat organized a final strategy session, which consisted of an evaluation of the Strategy Meeting, discussion on next steps, formation of new structures for leadership in the Network, and new issues for the WG to consider together. A Steering Committee was developed, and individuals volunteered to be focal points for each of ESCR-Net’s areas of work to share information and fully represent grassroots concerns throughout the Network. Participants identified three areas of focus for future collaboration. Communication was first, so that groups can remain closely in contact, distribute relevant information and build an effective network of emergency support. Communication techniques would potentially incorporate the use of video, multimedia, newsletters, new listerves, and SMS text messaging. The second area of focus was training and exchanges, directed to communities and/or potential trainers, and finally the launch of a global campaign was the third area of focus for the future.
VI. GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND ELECTION OF THE NEW ESCR-NET BOARD
While in Nairobi, the General Assembly of ESCR-Net elected a new Board and discussed important governance issues with the goal of strengthening ESCR-Net’s institutional capacity to influence decision-making processes regarding state and non-state accountability for the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights. This General Assembly provided a unique opportunity for the members to meet in person and discuss the strategic development of the Network. members discussed ways in which the Network can sharpen its focus, increase its capacity, and enhance its relevance to groups on the ground.
In the first Governance Session, members debated the functions and strategic direction that they envisioned for ESCR-Net. There was a strong consensus that ESCR-Net is an excellent venue for exchange of ideas, resources, strategies, and capacity-building. It was agreed as well that ESCR-Net’s strength is its position at the interface of work occurring at the national level and at the international level. At the same time, it was highlighted that the role of ESCR-Net in offering a platform for groups to undertake collective action and develop a collective voice on different issues continued to be important. People referred to new topics for collective work such as the financial crisis, climate change, and other methodological areas such as indicators or ESCR monitoring methodologies. One challenges voiced regarded the capacity, or the desirability of ESCR-Net as a whole operating with one unified voice. Many people discussed how this could be addressed, for example the extent to which ESCR-Net should mobilize around one specific campaign. Some people referred to the need to undertake collective campaigns, such as a campaign for the ratification of the OP or a campaign on the global economic crisis. In the end, it was left open for ESCR-Net members to choose or not one or two topics as overarching themes for a single campaign. At the same time, this would not restrain by any means members to decide to participate in the areas of work already underway or even start new areas of work, as they see fit. This multifaceted nature of the Network was stressed as an important strength. A third important function that was highlighted relates to the creation of channels and synergies with other organizations, groups and thematic and regional networks, so as to achieve greater diversity, greater geographic representation and include more language groups.
In the second Governance Session, members gave a specific mandate to the Secretariat to undertake urgent actions. Since its inception, ESCR-Net members have periodically requested the Network to undertake various ad hoc urgent actions to stand in solidarity with and support them in times of threat. Yet, the Secretariat had not yet been given a formal mandate guiding the urgent action process, which occurred in Kenya. Members discussed specific criteria and procedures in order to guides the process and thus, enhance the effectiveness of the Network to assist when members are under threat. A proposed set of criteria and procedures was presented to the General Assembly by a number of participating ESCR defenders on the frontline. Various amendments were presented to the original text, further written amendments solicited, and a Drafting Committee was formed to integrate these suggestions, and finalize these guidelines.
In the third Governance Session, the General Assembly of ESCR-Net decided to give a mandate to the Board and Secretariat to initiate a process for exploring alternative locations for the ESCR-Net Secretariat, and to make any necessary and timely decisions to ensure the healthy functioning of the Secretariat in this context, including relocation. It was also decided that the Board shall work with the Secretariat to advance this process with all deliberate speed and shall keep its membership informed of key decisions. Based on a discussion memo, members discussed criteria that should guide the Board and Secretariat in this decision.
Members also decided that the Board should consider taking leadership in the ratification campaign for the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR. Finally, the Nairobi Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly. In the context of the unprecedented challenges to humanity posed by the inter-linked social, economic and climate crises, the Declaration asserts that the basic foundations for peoples’ survival, livelihoods and well-being are under severe threat from a global economic system and trade regime which promotes exaggerated consumerism. The Declaration denounces the growing imbalances in social, economic, and political structures which perpetuate current levels of inequality, insecurity and vulnerability – particularly for the Indigenous, women, Afro-descendants, Pastoralists, small farmers, fisher-folks, workers, and children. The Declaration calls for the establishment of the primacy of human rights over the economic and financial regimes as well as for the enhancement of the vision of ESC rights to encompass environmental and climate justice. In solidarity with Kenyan social movements and communities under threat, the Nairobi Declaration moreover demands that the Kenyan state monitor and regulate the allocation and use of land, halt evictions, and enact participatory processes and meaningful remedies for each victim of displacement. The Declaration further insists that the Kenyan authorities create employment opportunities for youth, establish programs which curb harm to women and girls and ensure the provision, accessibility and affordability of basic social services for all. In conclusion, the Declaration called on ESCR-Net members to continue to ensure active participation and leadership of social movements in the Network, establish a system of emergency support for ESCR defenders, and support the various joint actions conceptualized in Kenya.
In other developments, the new Board of ESCR-Net was elected for a period of three years during the ESCR-Net General Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. It is comprised of:
Mr. Hossam Bahgat
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (Egypt)
Ms. Julie Cavanaugh-Bill
Western Shoshone Defense Project—WSDP (Newe Sogobia/USA)
Ms. Shanthi Dairiam
International Women's Rights Action Watch -Asia Pacific (Malaysia)
Mr. Renji George Joseph
Alliance for Holistic and Sustainable Development of Communities (India)
Mr. Legborsi Saro Pyagbara
Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People—MOSOP (Nigeria)
Mr. Wilder Sánchez Chávez
Confederación Campesina del Perú—CCP (Perú)
Ms. Aye Aye Win
Dignity International (France)
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VII. COMMUNITY VISITS
Community visits in Nairobi were organized by local groups to allow participants to exchange views and experiences with community members, celebrate grassroots–led advocacy efforts, highlight achievements and challenges and explore possibilities of future joint actions and networking.
The first visit was to the Dagoretti Constituency and was hosted by KARIKA, who fights for issues relating to the right to health especially for the poor and vulnerable with a focus on those affected by HIV for whom there is a home-based care service. The main issues in these settlements are security of tenure, lack of adequate housing, poverty and youth unemployment, lack of access to adequate health facilities and HIV/ AIDS, inadequate provision of water and sanitation services, environmental degradation and inadequate educational facilities, especially for the vulnerable.
The second visit was to the Westlands Constituency, hosted by Kibagare Haki Zetu, who was formed to help the residents of these informal settlements to unite to resist forced evictions and to engage in daily savings to uplift their livelihood. The main economic and social rights issues in these slums include lack of security of tenure, constant evictions, lack of adequate water and sanitation services, lack of adequate health, sanitation and educational facilities and environmental neglect.
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VIII. OPEN SPACES
Open Spaces sessions were organized to allow participants to highlight issues that were not covered in the meeting or to create space for strategizing and collaboration. There were 12 sessions on the following topics organized by the following organizations:
• Tools for State Accountability for Economic and Social Rights: the CESR Monitoring Tool and an Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment Index
Eitan Felner, Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) & Alicia Yamin, Harvard Law School, USA (Index created by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, author of UN Human Development Index 1996-2004; Terra Lawson-Remer and Susan Randolph)
• Rights First : A Tool for Evaluating Step-by-Step, the Impact of Foreign Investment on Human Rights
Caroline Brodeur, Rights & Democracy, Canada
• Video for Change – How to Effectively Use Video for Human Rights Advocacy
Bukeni Waruzi, WITNESS, USA
• “Rightful Place” Video on minority issues in Kenya
Munini Mutuku, Centre For Minority Rights Development, Kenya
• Integrating Macro Economic Strategies and Human Rights
Radhika Balakrishnan, Marymount Manhattan College, USA
• A Human Rights Response to Globalization: the Added Value of Working with Extra Territorial Obligations (ETO)
Sandra Ratjen, Katrin Geenan, FIAN, Germany
• Budgeting for Human Rights: An exchange for organizations interested in participating and contributing to the Budgeting for Human Rights pilot phase 2009-2010
Cornelieke Keizer, Equalinrights and Erica Wortel, APRODEV, Switzerland
• Why and How to Get Involved in Intellectual Property Advocacy: An Urgent Appeal to Human Rights Activists
Zoë Goodman, 3D→Trade, Human Rights and Equitable Economy, Switzerland
• Assessing the Health Rights of Women
Grace Maingi-Kimani, Federation of Women Lawyers, Kenya
• Rights and Anti-Corruption: Providing tools for civil society mobilization on access to and enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights
International Council on Human Rights Policy (ICHRP), Switzerland and Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Argentina
• Indigenous Rights, the Environment and Grassroots Activism: Western Shoshone Film Showing and Discussion
Larson Bill, Western Shoshone Defense Project, USA
• The Right to Social Security
Priti Darooka, Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), India and Malcolm Langford, Norwegian Human Rights Centre, Norway
IX. AFRICAN DELEGATES AND KENYAN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS MEETINGS
Thirty-six African delegates met on the December 3rd 2008. The goal of this gathering was to discuss how to ensure that the regional agenda on economic, social and cultural rights would be kept alive, beyond the conference, within the African region. In attendance were the newly elected ESCR-Net board members from Africa, namely, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, MOSOP, Nigeria, and Hossam Baghat, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Egypt, both of whom were very supportive of the idea. The participants were unanimous on the urgent need to ensure that the African activists establish a framework of communication that would enable them to exchange information, experiences, and when possible, support each other in times of need. Hakijamii was temporarily authorized to create an interactive forum before a more structured process is worked out. The forum would also enable African activists to more effectively communicate with the entire ESCR-Network and especially the board representatives from the region. Pursuant to that resolution, the forum is in the process of being activated. The forum is currently modeled along the discussion and working groups of ESCR-Net with the possibility of adjustments in consultation with the ESCR-Net Secretariat. This was a significant outcome, as often participants go back to their countries without any effective follow up. Moderators will be agreed upon for each group to ensure sustainability. The two board members will provide feedback from the Board so that the regional process moves in harmony with the entire Network.
In addition, a group of social movements from Kenya also had a meeting on the 29th of December, 2008 as part of the ESCR-Net event. The meeting, for the first time, brought grassroots organizations from all regions of Kenya to deliberate on their issues. The agenda included how to effectively use the human rights based approach in economic, social and cultural rights advocacy at the grassroots level and within the national context. Representatives of NGOs working on ESCR facilitated it as resource persons. At the end of the meeting, it was resolved to form a Kenya National Social Movement with nodal points at each region. It was further resolved that each region would hold sessions, and where appropriate, set out effective modalities to consolidate the movement at the grassroots level. Regional representatives were elected to spearhead this process. Indeed this is yet another milestone of the International Strategy Meeting and ESCR-Net General Assembly as it provided a springboard for the strengthening of a nascent national Kenyan social movement. In January 2009, a follow up meeting was held by members of the Kenyan ESCR Coalition during which it was resolved that there was need to consolidate the national ESCR network.
Both these two processes present challenges and prospects. The greatest challenge is obviously how to sustain them and in this regard it is hoped that well wishers will come on board to provide support. The greatest prospect is that they provide a strong basis for consolidating regional networks and campaigns beyond mere attending of conferences, which is the normal tendency whenever participants attend such international conferences.