Take Action

Action Circular in the occasion of December 10th:

The NGOs Coalition for the ratification of the OP-ICESCR calls on all partners to take action this December. We will use December 10th to call for global mobilization for OP ratification. We need to strengthen our pressure on governments around the world and call them to ratify the OP-ICESCR to realize ESC rights now!

The campaign for ratification of the OP-ICESCR continues around the globe.

The OP Coalition has carried out a wide range of actions during 2012, coordinating with partners in all regions, carrying out strategy meetings and building on national level campaigns to try and support ratification in all regions. . As you know, so far we have 8 countries which are party to the OP-ICESCR and 41 as signatories.

Ratification processes are moving ahead in Uruguay and Portugal, where both parliaments are considering this request. We also have news that France, Belgium, Norway and Finland are in various stages of discussion and advancement of this instrument.

December 10th is a key date to remind and pressure your government that this is a key instrument to protect human rights and fight poverty and marginalization. Below are some suggested actions during these days:

1. Use December as the month of Human Rights and schedule a meeting with authorities in your country to explain the importance of the OP ratification. You may want to highlight how the OP is instrumental in the realization of ESC rights and how the country can play a key role in ensuring it enters into force. For suggested talking points, please see our toolkit, booklet 4(pdf).
2. Send a letter to the authorities (President, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Parliamentarians), calling for ratification. You can use our ModelLetter and customize it according to the status of your country regarding signatures or particular contexts.
3. USE TWITTER: Twitter will be our primary tool to push for global mobilization around December 10th. We will launch part of our new Micro-site and will have an open letter to governments and a video calling on them to ratify:

3.1-Use #RATIFY the OP-ICESCR to Realize ESC rights and add a message according to your country status/situation. Please check our Twitter account (@ESCRNet and others coalition members accounts) to re-tweet or take some ideas.

3.2- Re-tweet as much as possible from Dec 10th to Dec 15th.

3.3- Make sure to send tweets to your parliamentarians who have a twitter account.