Our strategic presence in Geneva sets us apart as the sole NGO exclusively committed to economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights. This permits us to play a pivotal role in promoting and protecting these rights globally.
Individual Complaint Mechanism for Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to Come Into Force
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) welcomes the tenth ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. With this tenth ratification, the Optional Protocol will come into force on 5 May 2013. The ten States Parties to date are Argentina, Spain, Ecuador, Mongolia, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovakia, El Salvador, Portugal and Uruguay. Finland is likely to soon follow. The Optional Protocol creates mechanisms for Individual Complaints as well as State to State complaints and inquiries initiated by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
With the Optional Protocol, the international community comes much closer to treating "human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis" as required by the Vienna Declaration on Human Rights.
The Individual Complaint procedure provides an opportunity for everyone, including those living in poverty and other marginalized groups, to hold States accountable for respecting, protecting and fulfilling economic, social and cultural rights, including the human rights to adequate housing, food, water, sanitation, health care and education. This procedure will also provide further clarity on the content on human rights, resulting in greater guidance for governments that seek to implement the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in good faith.
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a member of the ESCR-Net Working Group on Adjudication and its Strategic Litigation Initiative (SLI). The SLI will work with human rights advocates to build capacity to use these new human rights enforcement mechanisms to their fullest, including working to ensure that resulting jurisprudence is informed by the voices of marginalized individuals, groups and communities and reflects progressive human rights ideals.
For more information on the Optional Protocol, and how to get involved with further advocacy around the Optional Protocol, see HERE.
Human Rights Committee addresses violations of housing, water and sanitation rights under the ICCPR
Human Rights Committee addresses housing rights violations and denial of access to water and sanitation as violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Building upon work initiated by staff from the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) in 2010, the Human Rights Committee has adopted a List of Issues that will define the scope of the next periodic review of Israel. The forthcoming periodic review is an accountability mechanism that addresses compliance with human rights obligations under the ICCPR.
The GI-ESCR submitted a Parallel Report to the Human Rights Committee calling on the Committee to question Israel's compliance with the Concluding Observations issued by the Committee in 2010, with a particular focus on the violations of Palestinians rights to adequate housing as well as rights related to denial of access to water and sanitation. The Report covered both the occupied Palestinian territory as well as the Bedouin community in Israel.
The Report resulted in the Committee requiring Israel to expressly respond to several issues, including forced evictions and housing demolitions as collective punishment; lack of availability of housing construction permits for Palestinians; denial of equal access for Palestinians and Bedouins to adequate housing, agricultural land, water and sanitation; denial of Palestinians ability to construct wells; violations of Bedouin’s rights to ancestral land and access to water and sanitation; denial of access to sufficient and safe drinking water for residents of Gaza; and the detrimental effect of the blockade on Gaza on water, sanitation and livelihood.
Bret Thiele, Co-Executive Director of the GI-ESCR, said that "It is hoped that this List of Issues not only strengthens on-the-ground advocacy in the area Palestinian social rights and lays the foundation for further advocacy during the forthcoming periodic review of Israel, but that it also lays the foundation for social rights advocacy under the ICCPR more generally, including the Individual Complaint procedure."
The 2010 Parallel Report can be found HERE (drafted by GI-ESCR staff while previously at COHRE)
The 2010 Concluding Observations can be found HERE
The 2012 Parallel Report can be found HERE
The 2012 List of Issues can be found HERE (see in particular paragraphs 6, 9 and 13)
New Publication: Women and the Right to Adequate Housing
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released its publication entitled Women and the Right to Adequate Housing. This publication provides an overview of the meaning, intent and implications of the human right to adequate housing, and illustrates de jure and de facto obstacles to women worldwide enjoying this right effectively.
Mayra Gomez, Co-Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provided input into the publication, and hopes that it is used as a tool by women's rights advocates worldwide.
The publication is divided into four substantive sections. Following the introduction, chapter I describes the international legal and policy frameworks for the implementation of women’s right to adequate housing, including human rights treaties, the principles of non-discrimination and equality and the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Chapter II outlines the main underlying causes, ranging from discriminatory statutory laws to customary laws and practices and lack of access to legal and other remedies. Finally, chapter III elaborates on a number of selected issues such as forced evictions, degraded living conditions, and cultural and religious recognition of women’s rights, underlining regional similarities and differences.
There are examples of initiatives by women and women’s groups around the world to address the general and specific issues faced by women in their struggle for social rights, illustrating the strength and creativity of individual women and communities that have responded to violations of women’s rights to adequate housing, land and inheritance. There are also many examples of projects undertaken by communities, sometimes in conjunction with States, to positively address the needs and violations of women’s rights. Some are highlighted in this publication. Its aim is therefore twofold: to shed light on the main obstacles to women’s full enjoyment of the right to adequate housing; and offer guidance about measures to prevent and eradicate discrimination, including violence, against women in housing rights.
Human Rights Committee Prevents Forced Eviction of Roma Community in Bulgaria
In a landmark decision in the case of Liliana Naidenova et al. v. Bulgaria, the Human Rights Committee issued a permanent injunction preventing the forced eviction of the Dobri Jeliazkov community in Sofia, Bulgaria. This case involves a Roma community in Sofia that has existed for over seventy years and faced imminent forced eviction in July 2011 to make way for so-called development. The impoverished community was not consulted and was not provided alternative housing. The Committee ordered the authorities not to evict the community until they have agreed upon alternative housing. Working with its Bulgarian partner, Equal Opportunities Association Initiative, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) launched the case before the Human Rights Committee in 2011. This case was built on a foundation of jurisprudence created through strategic litigation over the previous six years, beginning with a Shadow Report on Kenya in 2005 that resulted for the first time in forced evictions being considered a violation of the ICCPR and a Shadow Report on Israel in 2010 that reaffirmed and strengthened those Concluding Observations as well as addressing denial of access to water.
In 2011, the Human Rights Committee issued its first ever temporary injunction, under its Interim Measures procedure, to prevent a forced eviction. In 2012, it also used the Interim Measures procedure to order the reconnection of water supply which had been disconnected in an attempt to force the community to leave their homes.
According to Bret Thiele, Co-Executive Director of the GI-ESCR, "The use of Interim Measures to not only prevent forced evictions, but also to order positive measures such as the reestablishment of water supply, is a very welcomed development under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."
In its final decision on the merits, the Committee also stated that this decision applied to similar situations, thereby providing broader systemic impact across Bulgaria.
Equal Opportunities Association Initiative said "We consider the decision as a great success and hope that it will prevent any further threats for eviction before securing of alternative housing for the community. "
Community members said they can now feel secure going into the winter that they will not be forcibly evicted.
For further information, including case documents and the Committee's decision, see HERE.
COMMENTS:
"I am a Roma from Bulgaria and a human rights master's student at the University of Essex, UK. I read the press-release on winning the case of 2011 Roma evictions in Sofia before the Human Rights Committee and decided immediately to send you a note. Congratulations to you and your team for wining the case! I hope you will continue working on Roma issues and cooperate with organizations working on Roma rights issues. Thank you for the great efforts and work!"
Human Rights Committee recognizes Extra-Territorial Obligations under the ICCPR
Human Rights Committee recognizes Extra-Territorial Obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
27 November 2012
The Human Rights Committee recently issued its Concluding Observations, or findings, related to the periodic report of Germany. Germany appeared before the Human Rights Committee recently to present its periodic report on implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In April 2012, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) intervened with a Parallel Report to the Human Rights Committee regarding violations of Germany’s extra-territorial obligation to protect human rights by not regulating or holding accountable a German corporation involved in forced evictions in Uganda.
The report covered the forced eviction of the villages of Kitemba, Luwunga, Kijunga and Kirymakole in the Mubende District of Uganda that were carried out in 2001 on behalf of the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe to make way for a coffee plantation. The GI-ESCR Report concluded that Germany violated its extra-territorial obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to protect human rights by failing to regulate Neumann Kaffee Gruppe and for failing adequately to investigate and appropriately sanction Neumann Kaffee Group for its complicity in the forced evictions. To date those evicted continue to live in extreme poverty due to their forced eviction and have been unable to realize their right to a remedy in either Uganda or Germany.
This initial report resulted in the issue of extra-territorial application of the Covenant included in the List of Issues which defined the scope of Germany's periodic review. That List of Issues stated:
"17. Please comment on allegations that families forcibly evicted at gunpoint in August 2001 from their homes and lands in Naluwondwa-Madudu, Mubedne District, Uganda to make way for a large coffee plantation owned by Kaweri Coffee Plantation Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe Hamburg continue to live in extreme poverty and explain what the State party has done to investigate the role and responsibility of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe."
The Global Initiative followed up with another Parallel Report prepared for the October/November 2012 session of the Committee, which resulted in the recent Concluding Observation, which states:
"16. While welcoming measures taken by the State party to provide remedies against German companies acting abroad allegedly in contravention of relevant human rights standards, the Committee is concerned that such remedies may not be sufficient in all cases (art. 2, para. 2).
The State party is encouraged to set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in its territory and/or its jurisdiction respect human rights standards in accordance with the Covenant throughout their operations. It is also encouraged to take appropriate measures to strengthen the remedies provided to protect people who have been victims of activities of such business enterprises operating abroad."
According to Bret Thiele, Co-Executive Director of the GI-ESCR, "With these clear pronouncements, the Human Rights Committee made clear the extra-territorial scope of human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which now lays the foundation for future advocacy before the Committee, including opening up avenues of accountability and remedies under the Individual Complaint procedure."
For more information on Extra-Territorial Obligations and human rights, see ETO Consortium
COMMENTS:
"I just received a forward from Jennie Green about the HRCommittee's extension of extraterritorial obligations to Germany. I just wanted to write to say good work and congratulations! The Human Rights Clinic has also been working to broach extraterritorial obligations with regards to arms, and your work has certainly paved the path for us to push those issues."
- Laura Matson, Human Rights Litigation and International Legal Advocacy Clinic, Student Director, University of Minnesota Law School
"Congratulations! This is great news for all of us. Already thinking about how to use it in Haiti….."
- Brian Concannon Jr., Esq., Director, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
"Great development on both extraterritoriality and business and human rights! Congratulations and thanks!"
Women's Land and Property Rights and the Post-2015 Development Agenda
The Global Initiative on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), along with its partner the Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights, contributed to consultations around the post-2015 Millennium Development Goal agenda. Together, the GI-ESCR and Landesa presented a paper on Women's Land and Property Rights and the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The paper provided detailed information on the current state of women's rights to access, use of, and control over land and other resources. The paper pointed out that just as “discrimination against women and girls impairs progress in all other areas of development,” gender inequality in secure rights to land and property impedes progress in achieving inclusive economic and social development, environmental sustainability, and peace and security – dimensions the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda identified as requiring progress to build an equitable, secure, and sustainable world.
Secure rights to land and property for women are widely regarded as fundamental to ensuring effective and sustainable human development. Rights to land and property include the right to own, use, access, control, transfer, exclude, inherit and otherwise make decisions about land and related resources. Secure rights to land are rights that are clearly defined, long-term, enforceable, appropriately transferable, and legally and socially legitimate. For women, exercising these rights should not require consultation or approval beyond that required of men.
Globally, there is an evident correlation between gender inequality, societal poverty, and the failure to respect, protect and fulfill these rights for women. This failure entrenches gender inequality by reinforcing women’s dependence on men, and prevents poor countries from finding a sustainable and equitable path to development. Strengthening women’s secure rights to land can help empower them to reach their potential as citizens and as economic actors, and enable them to take control over their own lives.
In its recommendations, the paper advocates for the inclusion of targets specifically related to women’s land and property rights in the post-2015 development agenda.
Call for Input: Right to participation of persons living in poverty
Participation of persons living in poverty
At the 23rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (June 2013), the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, will submit a report on the human rights approach to participation of persons living in poverty in decisions that affect their lives.
The right to participate is reflected in numerous international instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 25), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (arts. 13.1 and 15.1), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (art. 7), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 12), the Declaration on the Right to Development (arts. 1.1, 2 and 8.2), the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (art. 5, 18, 19 and 41) and the Millennium Declaration (para. 25).
Poverty has many dimensions, extending far beyond a lack of income to include deprivation of choices, capabilities and power. Persons experiencing extreme poverty live in a vicious cycle of powerlessness, stigmatization, discrimination, exclusion and material deprivation. Lack of participation in decision-making is thus a defining feature and cause of poverty, rather than just its consequence.
Participation is an affirmation of the right of every individual and group to take part in the conduct of public affairs, but also a part of the solution to poverty and social exclusion. Anti-poverty and development policies are more likely to be effective, sustainable, inclusive and equitable if they are the result of participatory processes. Participatory methods are important tools for empowerment, accountability and ending the cycle of deprivation and dependency in favour of the autonomy and social inclusion of persons living in poverty.
The objectives of the report are: 1) to map the obstacles that people living in poverty face in meaningful and effective participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of public policy and development interventions; 2) provide guidelines on how to increase the participation of persons living in poverty in domestic policies as well as in international development.
While participation is considered one of the key principles of a human rights-based approach to development and poverty reduction, little attention has been given to the practical elements required to ensure meaningful and effective participation of persons living in poverty. The report will seek to give more substantive content to normative frameworks and key principles, drawing lessons from existing participatory processes undertaken by States at different levels, including by local governments, in a whole range of areas, including public service delivery, social housing, development interventions, welfare programmes, social protection and budgetary processes.
The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, invites States, United Nations departments and agencies, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, individuals living in poverty and social exclusion and other relevant stakeholders to send contributions to the report.
The questionnaire sent by the Special Rapporteur to States can be accessed here: EFS
Please submit contributions electronically to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at your earliest convenience and no later than 14 December 2012.
GI-ESCR elected to the Steering Committee of the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) has been elected to a two-year term on the Steering Committee of the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights. The Midwest Coalition for Human Rights is a network of 56 organizations, service providers, and university centers, that work together to promote and protect human rights in our Midwest region. Through collaboration in the Heartland, we advocate, educate and take action with a strong regional voice on national and international human rights issues.
The Midwest Coalition uses the standards found in international human rights treaties, declarations, and customary norms to guide its work.
The Midwest Coalition works as a network to share information, to respond collectively to urgent human rights issues, to conduct joint investigations, and to sponsor educational programs.
The Coalition recently decided to address issues ofsocial and economic justice in the United States from a human rights perspective, and sought out the GI-ESCR for its expertise in advocating for economic, social and cultural rights.
GI-ESCR and FIDA-Kenya Advocate for Women's Housing and Land Rights before the Human Rights Committee
In July 2012, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) partnered with the Federation of Women Lawyers - Kenya (FIDA-Kenya) to draft a Parallel Report addressing Kenya's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The report addressed discrimination against women in the areas of housing as well as access to, control over and the use of land and other productive resources.
The report was submitted to the Human Rights Committee in July and the GI-ESCR facilitated FIDA-Kenya's participation at the Human Rights Committee during its 105th session in Geneva. The GI-ESCR and FIDA-Kenya participated in both a formal meeting with the Human Rights Committee as well as an informal follow up meeting, and also were able to meet with individual Committee members. The issues brought to the attention of the Committee by the GI-ESCR and FIDA-Kenya resonated with the Committee and the governments delegation from Kenya was questioned repeatedly about discrimination against women and women's equal protection of the law.
Specific issues included women's equal rights related to access to, control over and use of land; women's equal rights in the area of inheritance; and domestic violence and housing rights.
Responding to our interventions, the Committee voiced its regret that the Law of Succession Act discriminates between the property interests of widows and widowers and that Kenya has yet to pass Matrimonial Property bill which would end that discrimination. Consequently, the Committee recommended that Kenya revise the Law on Succession Act to guarantee equality between men and women in the devolution and succession of property after death of a spouse and that it also enact legislation reforming its matrimonial property law.
The Committee also condemned forced evictions from land used for traditional livelihood purposes and urged Kenya to implement the decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in the case of Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v Kenya.
The Joint Parallel Report can be found HERE.
The Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee are HERE.
See the Press Release from the Civil and Political Rights Centre HERE.
Ana Clara works as a Programme Officer on Public Services with the Global Initiative for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. She holds a master’s degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po in Paris, where she focused on economic, social, and cultural Rights, and Latin American and gender studies. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso in Brazil.
Ana Clara previously worked on litigation claims concerning the right to social security and the right to health at the Public Defender’s Office and Federal Court of Justice in Brazil. She also supported the work of the Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Recently, she worked on strategic litigation before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as part of the team of the Center for Justice and International Law.
Ana Clara, country is Brazil (Based in Paris).
ASHINA MTSUMI
PROGRAMME OFFICER -PUBLIC SERVICES & REPRESENTATIVE FOR AFRICA
Ashina works as the Programme Officer for Public Services and Representative for Africa with the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, with an LL.B degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and an LL.M (with distinction) in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Passionate about social justice, she has worked in the human rights sector for over six years at the intersection of global and national struggles for just systems of public service delivery to ensure everyone can enjoy their socio-economic rights, first at the Economic and Social Rights Centre-Hakijamii in Kenya and then at GI-ESCR. In particular, she has led and supported research and advocacy at local, national and global research and advocacy focused on the human rights legal framework relating to the rights to land, housing, education, health and water, for marginalised communities. Her research interests also include human rights and economic policy and the contribution that human rights obligations can make to the formulation and implementation of economic policy.
Ashina is based in Nairobi, Kenya.
BELÉN QUELLET
SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Belén has a BA in International Relations. She lived in India and the Philippines just after graduating where she volunteered for three years in health and education projects. Upon her return to Argentina, where she is native from, she joined Red Solidaria as volunteer and international aid coordinator. She worked as a journalist and program manager at La Nación newspaper foundation in Buenos Aires, to later become Social Media information specialist at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires. She acted there as Liaison Officer with other sections and became Grant Officer representative. She was selected to become HelpArgentina's Executive Director to help expand fundraising opportunities abroad for NGOs from other Latin American countries, and successfully transitioned the organization into PILAS, Portal for Investment in the Latin American Social Sector. From there she moved on to working at a new media startup, RED/ACCION, as Engagement Editor and Membership coordinator before joining us as Communications Officer.
Belén is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
LORENA ZENTENO
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Lorena Zenteno is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh. Her primary research interests include the human rights dimensions of climate change and environmental impacts, climate change justice, gender, and the judiciary’s role in the climate change crisis. Lorena has worked for several years in Chile, as a judge, as a law clerk, in the Court of Appeal of Concepcion, Santiago and in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Chile. She is a member of the Environment and Human Rights Commission of the National Association of the Chilean Judiciary, dedicated to study and discuss climate change and environmental impacts on human rights. Lorena is the Chilean National Rapporteur on Global Climate Litigation database for the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law of Columbia University.
She was a senior researcher for the former UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, Karima Bennoune, from September 2018 until September 2021. Supported and assisted the UN Special Rapporteur to fulfil his mandate to the UN General Assembly and UN Human Rights Council.
She holds an LL.B. from Universidad de Concepcion, a LL.M. in Environmental Law from the University of Davis, California, and a Master in Business Law from the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. Lorena is a member of the the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment.
Lorena is based in Geneva, Swiss.
ZSUZSANNA NYITRAY
PROGRAMME OFFICER -RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Zsuzsanna works as Right to Education Officer with the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Prior to joining GI-ESCR, she assisted in the drafting process of the Abidjan Principles on the Right to Education and the development and publication process of the Commentary of the Abidjan Principles as a consultant. Previously, she has worked with the Open Society Justice Initiative as an Aryeh Neier Fellow on issues such as equality and non-discrimination, Roma rights, the right to education, economic justice, access to justice and the rule of law. She has also worked as a lawyer with the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union on educational segregation, Roma rights and hate crimes. She holds an LL.M in Public International Law from the University of Edinburgh and a Law Degree from the Eötvös Loránd University Budapest.
Zsuzsanna is based in Budapest, Hungary.
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MAGDALENA ROCHI
PROGRAMME OFFICER - CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Magdalena works as Programme Officer on Climate and Environmental Justice for the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She is an international lawyer working on the intersections between human rights, environmental and economic law. Prior to joining GI-ESCR, she worked dealing with the protection of economic and social rights in Argentina, at an NGO focused on strategic litigation and as a clerk in the judiciary. She holds an LL.B. and a JD from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she specialised in International Law and an LL.M from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Switzerland.
Magdalena is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
ASHINA MTSUMI
OFICIAL DE PROGRAMA - SERVICIOS PÚBLICOS Y REPRESENTANTE PARA ÁFRICA
Ashina es oficial del Programa para los Servicios Públicos y Representante para África de la Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Es abogada de la Corte Suprema de Kenia, egresada (LL.B) de la Universidad de Nairobi, Kenia, y con un máster (LL.M) en derechos humanos y democratización en África, completado con honores, en el Centro para los Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Pretoria en Sudáfrica. Ashina es una apasionada de la justicia social, y ha trabajado en el área de los derechos humanos en el marco de las luchas nacionales y mundiales por sistemas más justos de prestación de servicios públicos, que garanticen a todos el disfrute de sus derechos socioeconómicos. Primero trabajó en el Economic and Social Rights Centre de Hakijamii, Kenia, y luego, en el GI-ESCR. Concretamente, ha dirigido y apoyado la investigación y la defensa, a nivel local, nacional y mundial, del marco legal de derechos humanos para los derechos de las comunidades marginadas a la tierra, la vivienda, la educación, la salud y el agua. Sus intereses en la investigación se orientan también a los derechos humanos y las políticas económicas, así como a la contribución que el cumplimiento de los derechos humanos hace a la formulación y ejecución de las políticas económicas.
Ashina reside en Nairobi, Kenia.
ZSUZSANNA NYITRAY
OFICIAL DE PROGRAMA - DERECHO A LA EDUCACIÓN
Zsuzsanna es oficial del Programa de Derecho a la Educación de la Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Antes de unirse a GI-ESCR, colaboró, como consultora, en la redacción de los Principios de Abiyán sobre el derecho a la educación, así como en la elaboración y publicación del Comentario de los Principios de Abiyán. Previamente, Zsuzsanna trabajó con la Open Society Justice Initiative como becaria de la Aryeh Neier Fellowship, en temas como la igualdad y la no discriminación, los derechos de los romaníes (Roma Rights), el derecho a la educación, la justicia económica, el acceso a la justicia y el estado de derecho. También ha trabajado como abogada con la Hungarian Civil Liberties en la segregación educativa, los derechos de los Romaníes y los crímenes de odio. Tiene un máster (LL.M) en derecho público Internacional por la Universidad de Edimburgo y una licenciatura en Derecho por la Universidad Eötvös Loránd, Budapest.
Zsuzsanna reside en Budapest, Hungría.
BELÉN QUELLET
SENIOR AGENT DE COMMUNICATION
Belén est titulaire d’un BA en relations internationales. Juste après avoir obtenu son diplôme, elle a vécu en Inde et aux Philippines, où elle s'est portée volontaire pendant trois ans pour des projets de santé et d'éducation. À son retour en Argentine, d'où elle est originaire, elle a rejoint Red Solidaria en tant que volontaire et coordinatrice de l'aide internationale. Elle a travaillé comme journaliste et responsable de programme à la fondation du journal La Nación à Buenos Aires, pour devenir ensuite spécialiste de l'information sur les médias sociaux à l'ambassade des États-Unis à Buenos Aires. Elle y a joué le rôle d'agent de liaison avec les autres sections et est devenue représentante des agents de subvention. Elle a été choisie pour devenir la directrice exécutive de HelpArgentina afin d'aider à développer les possibilités de collecte de fonds à l'étranger pour les ONG d'autres pays d'Amérique latine, et a réussi la transition de l'organisation vers PILAS, le portail d'investissement dans le secteur social latino-américain. Elle a ensuite travaillé pour une start-up de nouveaux médias, RED/ACCION, en tant que rédactrice chargée de l'engagement et coordinatrice des membres, avant de nous rejoindre en tant que responsable de la communication.
Belén vit à Buenos Aires, en Argentine.
ANA CLARA CATHALAT
OFICIAL ASOCIADO DE PROGRAMA- SERVICIOS PÚBLICOS
Ana Clara Cathalat colabora como socia en la Global Initiative for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, mientras prosigue con su máster en derechos humanos y acción humanitaria en la Universidad Sciences Po, París. Allí centra su interés en los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales y en estudios de género en América Latina. Tiene una licenciatura en derecho por la Universidad Federal de Mato Grosso, Brasil.
Previamente, Ana Clara trabajó en reclamaciones judiciales relacionadas con el derecho a la seguridad social y el derecho a la salud en la Oficina del Defensor Público y el Tribunal Federal de Brasil. Asimismo, apoyó la labor del Relator Especial en Derechos Económicos, Sociales, Culturales y Ambientales de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. Recientemente, trabajó en litigios estratégicos ante la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, como miembro del equipo del Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional.
Ana Clara, Brasil. (Reside en París).
LORENA ZENTENO
INVESTIGADORA ASOCIADA
Lorena Zenteno es estudiante de doctorado en la Universidad de Edimburgo. Entre sus principales intereses de investigación se encuentran el impacto del cambio climático y su efecto ambiental sobre los derechos humanos, la justicia ambiental, el género y el papel del sistema de justicia en la crisis por el cambio climático. Trabajó varios años en Chile como jueza y como asistente jurídico en la Corte de Apelaciones de Concepción, Santiago, y en la Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Chile. Es miembro de la Comisión de los Derechos Humanos y Ambientales de la Asociación Nacional de Magistrados y Magistradas de Chile, la cual se dedica a estudiar el impacto del cambio climático y su efecto ambiental sobre los derechos humanos. Lorena es la relatora nacional chilena de la base de datos de los litigios por el cambio climático del Sabin Center for Climate Change Law de la Universidad de Columbia.
Trabajó como investigadora principal para la Relatora Especial sobre los Derechos Culturales de las Naciones Unidas, Karina Bennoune, desde septiembre de 2018 hasta septiembre de 2021. Apoyó y asistió al Relator Especial de las Naciones Unidas en sus labores ante la Asamblea General y el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas.
Tiene una licenciatura en derecho por la Universidad de Concepción, un máster en derecho ambiental por la Universidad de Davis, California, y un máster en derecho empresarial por la Universidad Pompeu Fabra en Barcelona, España. Lorena es miembro de la Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment.
Lorena reside en Ginebra, Suiza.
MAGDALENA ROCHI
PROGRAMME OFFICER - CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Magdalena works as Programme Officer on Climate and Environmental Justice for the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She is an international lawyer working on the intersections between human rights, environmental and economic law. Prior to joining GI-ESCR, she worked dealing with the protection of economic and social rights in Argentina, at an NGO focused on strategic litigation and as a clerk in the judiciary. She holds an LL.B. and a JD from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she specialised in International Law and an LL.M from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Switzerland.
Magdalena is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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OFICIAL DE PROGRAMA - SERVICIOS PÚBLICOS Y REPRESENTANTE PARA ÁFRICA
Ashina es oficial del Programa para los Servicios Públicos y Representante para África de la Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Es abogada de la Corte Suprema de Kenia, egresada (LL.B) de la Universidad de Nairobi, Kenia, y con un máster (LL.M) en derechos humanos y democratización en África, completado con honores, en el Centro para los Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Pretoria en Sudáfrica. Ashina es una apasionada de la justicia social, y ha trabajado en el área de los derechos humanos en el marco de las luchas nacionales y mundiales por sistemas más justos de prestación de servicios públicos, que garanticen a todos el disfrute de sus derechos socioeconómicos. Primero trabajó en el Economic and Social Rights Centre de Hakijamii, Kenia, y luego, en el GI-ESCR. Concretamente, ha dirigido y apoyado la investigación y la defensa, a nivel local, nacional y mundial, del marco legal de derechos humanos para los derechos de las comunidades marginadas a la tierra, la vivienda, la educación, la salud y el agua. Sus intereses en la investigación se orientan también a los derechos humanos y las políticas económicas, así como a la contribución que el cumplimiento de los derechos humanos hace a la formulación y ejecución de las políticas económicas.
Ashina reside en Nairobi, Kenia.
ZSUZSANNA NYITRAY
RESPONSABLE DE PROGRAMME - DROIT À l’ÉDUCATION
Zsuzsanna travaille actuellement en tant que responsable du droit à l'éducation pour l'Initiative mondiale pour les droits économiques, sociaux et culturels. Avant de rejoindre GI-ESCR, elle a participé, en tant que consultante, au processus de rédaction des Principes d'Abidjan sur le droit à l'éducation et au développement et à la publication du Commentaire des Principes d'Abidjan. Auparavant, elle a travaillé avec l'Open Society Justice Initiative en tant que boursière Aryeh Neier sur des questions telles que l'égalité et la non-discrimination, les droits des Roms, le droit à l'éducation, la justice économique, l'accès à la justice et l'État de droit. Elle a également travaillé en tant qu'avocate pour l'Union hongroise des libertés civiles sur la ségrégation scolaire, les droits des Roms et les crimes haineux. Elle est titulaire d'un master en droit international public de l'Université d'Édimbourg et d'un diplôme de droit de l'Université Eötvös Loránd de Budapest.
Zsuzsanna vit à Budapest, en Hongrie.
ANA CLARA CATHALAT
CHARGÉE DE PROGRAMME ASSOCIÉE – SERVICES PUBLICS
Ana Clara Cathalat collabore actuellement, dans le cadre d’une bourse, à l’Initiative mondiale pour les droits économiques, sociaux et culturels, tout en préparant un master en droits de l'Homme et action humanitaire à Sciences Po Paris, où elle se spécialise en droits économiques, sociaux et culturels, ainsi qu’en études de genre et latino-américaines. Elle a une licence de droit de l’Université Fédérale du Mato Grosso au Brésil.
Ana Clara a auparavant travaillé sur des actions en justice relatives au droit à la sécurité sociale et au droit à la santé auprès du Bureau de l’aide juridictionnelle et de la Cour de justice fédérale du Brésil. Elle a également appuyé les travaux de la Rapporteuse spéciale sur les droits économiques, sociaux, culturels et environnementaux de la Commission interaméricaine des droits de l'Homme. Elle a récemment travaillé sur des actions en justice dans des cas stratégiques auprès de la Cour interaméricaine des droits de l'Homme, au sein de l’équipe du Centre pour la Justice et le Droit International (CEJIL).
Ana Clara, le pays est le Brésil (Basée à Paris).
LORENA ZENTENO
ASSOCIÉE DE RECHERCHE
Lorena Zenteno est doctorante à l’Université d’Édimbourg. Ses principaux thèmes de recherche sont les dimensions du changement climatique et des problèmes écologiques relatives aux droits de l'Homme, la justice climatique, le genre, et le rôle de la Justice dans la crise du changement climatique. Lorena a travaillé pendant plusieurs années au Chili, comme juge et comme légiste, auprès des Cours d’appel de Concepción et Santiago et de la Chambre constitutionnelle de la Cour suprême du Chili. Elle fait partie de la Commission de l’environnement et des droits de l'Homme de l’Association nationale de la magistrature chilienne, dont la mission est d’étudier et de débattre des conséquences du changement climatique et des problèmes écologiques sur les droits de l'Homme. Lorena est la Rapporteuse nationale chilienne sur la base mondiale des actions en justice climatiques pour le Centre Sabin pour le droit du changement climatique de l’Université de Columbia.
Elle a occupé le rôle de chercheuse principale pour l’ancienne Rapporteuse spéciale sur les droits culturels de l’ONU, Karima Bennoune, entre septembre 2018 et septembre 2021. Elle a appuyé et soutenu la Rapporteuse spéciale de l’ONU dans l’accomplissement de son mandat conféré par l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU et le Conseil des droits de l'Homme de l’ONU.
Elle a une licence de droit de l’Université de Concepción, un master en droit de l’environnement de l’Université de Davis (California) et un master en droit des affaires de l’Université Pompeu Fabra de Barcelone (Espagne). Lorena fait partie du Réseau mondiale pour l’étude des droits de l'Homme et de l’environnement.
Lorena vit à le Chili, basé à Genève.
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Aucun montant n'est trop petit. Votre contribution nous aidera à lutter pour un changement transformateur afin de mettre fin aux problèmes endémiques d'injustice sociale et économique.
L'Initiative mondiale pour les droits économiques, sociaux et culturels est une organisation à but non lucratif 501(c)(3). Les dons sont déductibles des impôts dans de nombreux pays, y compris aux États-Unis.
BELÉN QUELLET
SENIOR OFICIAL DE COMUNICACIONES
Belén es licenciada en Relaciones Internacionales. Apenas se graduó, vivió en la India y en Filipinas, donde fue voluntaria durante tres años en proyectos de salud y educación. Al regresar a su nativa Argentina se incorporó a la Red Solidaria como voluntaria y coordinadora de ayuda internacional. Trabajó como periodista y gestora de programas de la fundación del diario La Nación en Buenos Aires, para luego convertirse en especialista en información de medios sociales en la Embajada de Estados Unidos en Buenos Aires. Allí actuó como oficial de enlace con otras secciones y se convirtió en oficial representante de los programas de subvenciones. Fue seleccionada como Directora Ejecutiva de HelpArgentina con la función de ampliar las oportunidades de recaudación de fondos internacionales de las ONG de otros países latinoamericanos, y logró la transición exitosa de la organización hacia PILAS, Portal para la Inversión Social en Latinoamérica. De allí pasó a trabajar en una nueva empresa de medios de comunicación, RED/ACCION, como editora y coordinadora de membresías, antes de unirse al equipo de la GI-ESCR como oficial de comunicaciones.
Belén reside en Buenos Aires, Argentina.
CAMILA BARRETTO MAIA
DIRECTORA EJECUTIVA
Camila cuenta con más de 14 años de experiencia en abogacía a niveles nacional, regional y multilateral, especializándose en la supervisión de investigaciones y litigios sobre diversos temas de derechos humanos. Ha residido en Buenos Aires, donde trabajó en el Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), coordinando esfuerzos internacionales durante cuatro años. Camila posee una maestría en Administración Pública y Política Pública de la Fundación Getulio Vargas en San Pablo y una licenciatura en Relaciones Internacionales de la Universidad de Brasilia.
Camila reside en Brasilia, Brasil. .
ANA DI FILIPPO
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Ana Emilia Di Filippo is currently pursuing the qualifying Master’s to become a lawyer in Spain at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. She also holds two undergraduate degrees, having graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from IE University and with a Bachelor of Science in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics (Major in Comparative Law) from the University of Amsterdam. During her studies, she specialised her research on International Tax Law, particularly focusing on its transformative power and its potential to achieve social justice worldwide. In this framework, her latest research assessed the potential of the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to advance procedural and substantive justice in the international tax regime.
Ana is based in Madrid, Spain.
ANA DI FILIPPO
INVESTIGADORA ASOCIADA
Ana Emilia Di Filippo está cursando actualmente el Máster habilitante para ejercer como abogada en España en la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. También posee dos títulos de grado, habiéndose graduado con un Grado en Derecho de IE University y con un Grado en Ciencias en Política, Psicología, Derecho y Economía (con especialización en Derecho Comparado) de la Universidad de Ámsterdam. Durante sus estudios, se especializó en investigación sobre Derecho Fiscal Internacional, enfocándose particularmente en su poder transformador y su potencial para lograr justicia social a nivel mundial. En este marco, su investigación más reciente evaluó el potencial de la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre Cooperación Fiscal Internacional para promover la justicia procedimental y sustantiva en el régimen fiscal internacional.
Ana reside en Madrid, España.
ANA CAROLINA GONZÁLEZ ESPINOSA
BOARD MEMBER
Ana Carolina is the Senior Director for Programs at NRGI. She works closely with thematic and regional program staff to advance strategic priorities, specially on just transitions and fair and sustainable economic and energy transition pathways in fossil fuel producing countries. She oversights strategy and implementation in the engagement with women, youth and communities around social and environmental governance, as well as in approaches to capacity development and influencing. Ana Carolina has more than 20 years of academic and professional experience in development, especially in relation to resource governance, communities’ participation, climate change and the energy transition.
She has been a visiting researcher at Columbia University in New York and at the Universidad Católica in Peru. She is currently an associate researcher at the Universidad Externado de Colombia. She has worked as a research and project consultant with the United Nations Development Programme, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, Transparency International—Colombia, NRGI and the Stockholm Environment Institute. She was a member of the international board of directors of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the national EITI committee in Colombia, and she co-founded a coalition of civil society organizations and a non-governmental organisation in the field of governance. Most recently, Ana Carolina worked as a senior program officer of the natural resource and climate change program of the Ford Foundation, where she managed grantmaking monitoring and convening activities for the global initiative. She actively contributed to donor collaborative platforms working on climate change, communities’ land rights, transparency, accountability and energy.
Ana Carolina is from Colombia. She holds a Ph.D. in political science and two master’s degrees—in development and in comparative politics—from the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) in Paris, France, as well as a bachelor’s degree in government and international relations from Universidad Externado de Colombia. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
SARA ALESSI
INTERN
Sara is currently working with the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as an intern. She holds a master's degree in law from the University of Turin in Italy, where she specialised in International Law and her thesis was entitled 'Rape as a War Crime: the Case of the Conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina', focusing on the legal and humanitarian dimensions of armed conflict and accountability mechanisms. Additionally, Sara is an LL.M. candidate from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Prior to joining GIESCR, she volunteered with an Ugandan NGO to contribute to the educational and emotional well-being of children by valuing the importance of the right to education.
Sara is based in Geneva.
ANGÉLICA ZAMORA
BOARD MEMBER
Angélica Zamora is a social justice expert with more than a decade of experience in political philanthropy supporting human rights, feminist, racial and intersectional justice movements globally. She served as a manager at the Open Society Foundations (OSF), where she led regional and global programs advancing human rights and democratic values across diverse political contexts. She has designed and directed initiatives in areas such as citizen security and violence reduction, human rights and democratic resilience, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to her tenure at OSF, Angélica was a researcher and activist supporting Colombia’s peace process and served in the country’s reparations and humanitarian assistance agency, where she engaged with communities affected by historical inequality and violence to co-design and implement programs focused on victims’ rights and access to state services in conflict-affected territories.
Angélica is from Colombia. She obtained her law degree from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, her LL.M. from American University's Washington College of Law and a degree in Transparency, Corruption and Accountability from the Centro de Derechos Humanos at the Universidad de Chile.
BENEDETTA PANAGIA
INTERN
Benedetta is currently an intern at the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She holds a master’s degree in law from Roma Tre University in Italy, where she specialised in international law. Her thesis, “International Sanctions and Humanitarian Action in Light of UNSC Resolution 2664”, focused on the impact of sanctions on economic, social and cultural rights and on the humanitarian dimension of sanctioning regimes. Benedetta is also an LL.M. candidate at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.
Benedetta is based in Geneva.
TATIANA ZINN
INTERN
Tatiana is a human rights researcher from the United States pursuing an M.A. in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University. Her work focuses on gender-based violence, conflict-related sexual violence, and international human rights law. Her current research examines ISIS’s use of sexual violence in Iraq and the role of gender-based violence in armed conflict.
Tatiana graduated with honors from UCLA with a B.A. in Global Studies. She has experience in survivor advocacy, human rights education, and research on issues related to gender, conflict, and international justice.
