Enforcement/Implementation of ESCR

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John Doe I, et al., v. UNOCAL Corp., et al., 395 F.3d 932 (9 Cir. 2002)

During Unocal's construction of an oil pipeline in Myanmar, it hired Myanmar's military for security while the pipeline was built. The villagers in the area where the pipeline was being constructed alleged the military forcefully evicted them, forced them to work on the project and raped, murdered and tortured them.

K.H. and Others v. Slovakia, European Court of Human Rights, (Application no. 32881/04)

Eight women, all members of the Roma community in Slovakia, received gynaecological and obstetric treatment in eastern Slovakia. After this treatment, all eight women were unsuccessful in conceiving again. The women recalled being asked to sign documents prior to discharge from the hospital, but they were unable to identify the contents of the documents they signed.

Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of New Delhi and Others, WP(C) No. 7455/2001

The Naz Foundation India, a non-governmental organization committed to HIV/AIDS intervention and prevention, filed a public interest litigation in the Delhi High Court challenging the constitutionality of Section 377 of the India Penal Code, which makes it illegal to engage in any "unnatural" sexual act, defined as sex other than heterosexual intercourse. The Delhi High Court dismissed the original writ of petition in 2004 for lack of a cause of action.

Decision T-760 of 2008

The Colombian Constitutional Court has among its functions the review of tutela actions. The Court annually reviews a small proportion of the more than 300,000 tutela actions resolved by lower judges; 36% of which are related to the right to health according to data of the Colombian Ombudsman's Office for 2005. Decision T-760 of 2008 accumulated 22 of these cases. However, the Court did not limit itself to reviewing and resolving these individual cases.

ESCR Cases In Progress

The Cases in Progress page offers information on ESCR cases that are emerging or are in the appeals process.

Azad Rickshaw Pullers Union (regd.) Ch. Town Hall, Amritsar V. State of Punjab & Ors 1981 AIR 14 1981 SCR (1) 366

The state of Punjab enacted a law to prevent rickshaw pullers from being exploited by middlemen. It created a program whereby rickshaw pullers would be given an interest-free loan to buy their own rickshaws, and the state issued licenses to the owners to make sure the law was enforced. Only the owners could pull the newly purchased rickshaws, and licenses would not be issued or would be revoked if the state learned that someone else was pulling the rickshaw.

Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township and 197 Main Street, Johannesburg v. City of Johannesburg and others, CCT 24/07

The City of Johannesburg sought to evict men, women and children from two buildings in Berea, in the inner city. This was part of an overall clearance policy under the Johannesburg Inner City Regeneration Strategy, in which evictions have been carried out in the middle of the night and without notice, under Apartheid-era laws and regulations. The city alleged that the living conditions are unhygienic and constitute a fire hazard, but had refused to offer the occupiers alternative accommodation.

Programa Venezolano de Educacion Accion en Derechos Humanos (PROVEA)

Country:

Venezuela

Working Group(s) / Area(s) of Work:

Economic Policy

OP-ICESCR

Terra de Direitos

Country:

Brazil

Working Group(s) / Area(s) of Work:

Corporate Accountability

Strategic Litigation

OP-ICESCR

Soobramoney v. Minister of Health (Kwazulu-Natal)

The claimant, Thiagraj Soobramoney, suffered from chronic renal failure (among other diseases) and was in dire need of renal dialysis in order to stave off death. When he ran out of personal funds with which to pay private providers, he sought service in Addington Hospital, a state-funded hospital in Durban. The hospital refused Soobramoney treatment because his general physical condition did not qualify him for treatment under the criteria or guidelines used by the hospital to determine eligibility for such treatments.