Launch of the publication "The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR): A Commentary"

Speakers:

• Nuno Cabral, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Portugal in Geneva

• Maria Virgínia Brás Gomes, Chair, UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• Bruce Porter, Co-Editor

  ESCR-Net's Strategic Litigation Working Group (SLWG, formerly Adjudication Working Group) is pleased to announce the publication of The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant for Economic, Social and CulturalRights(OP-ICESCR): ACommentary. Authored and edited by leading academics and litigators, this new commentary addresses the need for scholarly research, consistent interpretation and creative approaches to adjudication under the new OP-ICESCR to ensure that its promise and purpose are fully realized. This event will bring together an editor of the publication, a member of the UN Committee on ESCR (CESCR) and a member of the Group of Friends of ESCR to highlight the significance of this Protocol.

  ESCR-Net—composed of over 280 NGOs, social movements and academics across 75 countries—has advanced the adoption and entry into force of the OP-ICESCR for more than a decade, including via the coordination of the NGO Coalition for the OP-ICESCR and collaboration with the Group of Friends of ESCR. The ESCR-Net SLWG has facilitated ongoing member engagement with the CESCR, including submitting the first third-party intervention under the OP-ICESCR, which drew on the expertise of ESCR-Net members across different regions. The OP-ICESCR—as an international remedy mechanism for violations of ESCR— has reaffirmed the principle of indivisibility of all human rights, expanded access to justice and given advocates a tool to push for improvements in their own judicial systems, laws and policies.