Civil Society Advocacy

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At issue in this case were restrictions derived from English common law on charities’ engagement in non-partisan political activity to secure changes to laws or policies to further their charitable purpose. In Canada these restrictions had been incorporated into Canada’s Income Tax Act (ITA), which stated that registered charities may only engage in non-partisan political activities to seek changes to any laws or policies if such activities were “ancillary and incidental” to their charitable activities, with the latter constituting “substantially all” of the organization’s resources.

Inter-American Court recognizes the direct enforceability of ESCR

Alfredo Lagos del Campo was fired from his job on July 1, 1989. Mr. Lagos del Campo had previously been a union leader but, at the time of his dismissal, he was the President of the Electoral Committee, an elected representative of the company’s Industrial Community (a type of employee organization in Peru created through law). Mr. Lagos del Campo gave an interview for a magazine in his capacity as President of the Electoral Committee, stating he had publicly denounced actions by his employer who he believed was pressuring workers using extortion and coercive tactics.

Individual ESCR-Net member Rasha Jarhum, alongside fellow Yemeni public figures, co-signed a statement condemning the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s decision to close Yemen’s land, sea and air ports. This decision will lead to increased suffering for the Yemeni people, who have been facing war-torn hardships these last three years, further undermining human rights. The decision was taken in spite of calls made by local and international organizations warning that such a blockade will result in the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis precipitated by war.

The Women’s United Nations Report Network (WUNRN) launched a WUNRN-Shadow Report Learning Module. The document provides guidance on how to write WUNRN shadow reports on the status of women from the viewpoint of religion and traditions. This Module also posits tools and...

The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) published a practical guide on using CEDAW to secure women’s land and property...

Developed by an ESCR-Net Member

The Netherlands Helsinki Committee launched a publication, "The Human Rights Alternative Reporting Cycle". This publication outlines practical tips and tricks to strengthen the quality and impact of human rights alternative reporting to the United Nations. Steps of the Cycle...

The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women launched a toolkit for reporting to CEDAW on trafficking in women and exploitation of migrant women workers. The toolkit explores the main purposes of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published "A tool for gender-sensitive agriculture and rural development policy and programme formulation" which consists of guidelines for ministries of agriculture and the FAO. The publication acknowledges...

The Centre for Civil and Political Rights published guidelines in the context of effective strategies for NGOs wishing to engage with the UN Human Rights Committee. The Centre for Civil and Political Rights has identified improving follow up action to the Concluding...