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.
GI-ESCR elected to the Steering Committee of the Extra-Territorial Obligations Consortium
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) was elected by its peers to join the Steering Committee of the Extra-Territorial Obligations Consortium. The GI-ESCR is pleased to join its colleagues and partners who also have been elected to the Steering Committee and looks forward to contributing to guiding the ETO Consortium in the coming years, including following up on the detailed recommendations arrived at during the Consortium's recent meeting in Geneva. The ETO Consortium is a network of leading human rights organizations, university institutes, civil society organizations and institution-based individuals. Its purpose is to address the current shortcomings of human rights interpretation in a globalization context by mainstreaming states’ extraterritorial obligations.
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been a member of the ETO Consortium since the GI-ESCR's founding and provides expertise to the Consortium’s IFI and Development Cooperation Focal Group as well as on strategic litigation.
For more information on the work of the GI-ESCR in this area see HERE.
For detailed information on Extra-Territorial Obligations and human rights see:
Maastricht Principles on Extra-Territorial Obligations and the Commentary to the Maastricht Principles on Extra-Territorial Obligations
GI-ESCR joins Urgent Call to Action on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has joined WASH United and twenty-one other organization to urgently call on States to renew previous commitments to the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation in the outcome document of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
We are deeply concerned that the current draft of the outcome document departs from commitments that virtually all States have already made. In 2010, the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council recognized that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is part of international human rights law. In May 2011, the World Health Assembly, where all UN Member States are represented, adopted by consensus a resolution which included the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.
As the third round of ‘informal-informal’ negotiations of the Rio+20 outcome document is under discussion in New York, we call on all States to demonstrate again the political consensus that has already been achieved. We urgently call upon States to use the following language in the Rio+20 outcome document:
The Paragraph “Water 1” of the outcome document should read as follows:
“We recognize the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights. We commit to the progressive realization of universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation for all. In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation in accordance with our goal to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. We also reaffirm our commitment to the 2005-2015 International Decade for Action “Water for Life”.”
The new proposed paragraph on a target for achieving universal access to water and sanitation should read as follows:
“By 2030, achieve access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all, without discrimination, in sufficient quantities to protect human health and dignity, particularly for the most marginalized.”
The outcome document of the Rio+20 Conference will shape the future direction of development at all levels. It is uncontested that access to safe drinking water and sanitation is a fundamental pre-condition for overall sustainable development. In Rio, States have the opportunity to take a big step towards realizing the vision of safe drinking water and sanitation for all people - particularly the poorest and most marginalized - by integrating the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation into the outcome document. Without this step, international efforts to achieve sustainable development will risk failure.
New ESCR-Net Publication: Seeding Hope? Land in the International Human Rights Agenda
ESCR-Net is pleased to announce the publication of "Seeding Hope? Land in the International Human Rights Agenda: Challenges and Prospects," developed together with the International Council on Human Rights Policy.
This paper was developed in response to a mandate that grew out of a gathering of ESCR-Net’s Social Movements Working Group in Brazil in 2010, where participants called on the Network to explore ways to reinforce and advance efforts to strengthen an international recognition of human rights to lands and territories. It highlights several issues that are currently being explored by the human rights community with regards to land and explores some possible approaches going forward. With a particular focus on the need to understand and elevate the demands of social movements, the paper recommends some principles to guide work toward a collaborative human rights agenda on land.
The findings reflect a broad range of informal consultations with a large number of ESCR-Net members, including in a meeting held in Geneva in September. ESCR-Net is particularly grateful to six members who served as expert readers prior to the paper’s publication: Bret Thiele (The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), Fernando Gallardo Viera Prioste (Terra de Direitos), Jill-Carr Harris (Ekta Parishad), Magdalena Sepulveda (International Council on Human Rights Policy), Sandra Ratjen (International Commission of Jurists) and Sofia Monsalve (FIAN).
The publication will be available in other languages soon at ESCR-Net.
Guatemala: Holding the World Bank Accountable for Human Rights Violations
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) together with Rights Action and the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law has filed a Petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in an attempt to hold the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) accountable for human rights violations that occurred during the construction of the Chixoy hydroelectric dam in Guatemala. In May 2012, the same organizations filed a Supplemental Brief to the Inter-American Commission that addressed various admissibility issues including jurisdiction over the Member States of the World Bank and IDB that have human rights obligations within the inter-American human rights system.
Several Maya Achi villages were forcibly evicted, some through a series of brutal massacres, to make way for the construction of the Chixoy Dam in the 1980s. The case highlights the complicity of international financial institutions (IFIs), in particular the World Bank and the IDB, in the brutal removal of indigenous communities from their lands in Guatemala.
According to Grahame Russell, Co-Executive Director of Rights Action, “Almost 30 years after the so-called completion of the Chixoy Dam project, no reparations or compensation have been provided, whatsoever, to the thousands of Maya Achi families, from 32 communities, whose lives and livelihoods were illegally harmed and destroyed.”
Bret Thiele, Co-Executive Director of the GI-ESCR, said that “Several States that make up the decision-making bodies at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have human rights obligations under the inter-American human rights system, including extra-territorial obligations, and there is sound legal foundation for holding them accountable for their roles in the egregious human rights violations that occurred during their management of the Chixoy dam project.”
While attempting to hold IFIs accountable for human rights violations before regional human rights mechanisms is novel, the case is grounded in the International Law Commission’s Articles on Responsibility of International Organizations as well as the recently adopted Maastricht Principles on Extra-Territorial Obligations. As the Petition argues, the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank are made up of States, all of which have human rights obligations. These States should not be able to ignore, or indeed violate, these obligations simply by organizing themselves into international financial institutions or by using those institutions as agents to carry out policies or practices that violate their respective international human rights obligations.
Grahamme Russell added that the Petition would be supported by a grassroots effort to hold the Banks accountable as well as to ensure that the Inter-American Commission exercises its authority to hold Member States of the OAS that sit on the decision-making bodies of the Banks accountable for human rights violations.
View the Petition (Request for Appeal) to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights HERE.
View the Supplemental Brief to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights HERE.
NOTE: The Petition is an appeal of an earlier case brought before the Inter-American Commission and includes updated factual information and legal analysis.
Threatened forced eviction of the the Dobri Jeliazkov community (Sofia, Bulgaria)
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), along with its Bulgarian partner Equal Opportunities Association (EOA), represent the Dobri Jeliazkov community in Sofia, Bulgaria in their struggle to prevent the forced eviction of their community. The Dobri Jeliazkov community consists of impoverished Roma and has been in existence for over 70 years.
Currently 34 individuals live in the community, 15 of whom are minor children. The Dobri Jeliazkov community faced imminent forced eviction and destruction of their homes in July 2011, when the GI-ESCR and EOA launched a case before the Human Rights Committee that resulted in the first ever Interim Measures by the Committee to prevent a forced eviction. Until last month, those Interim Measures had been effective. That case, Ms. Naidenova et al. v. Republic of Bulgaria, Communication No. 2073/2011, is still pending.
Now, in an attempt to forcibly evict the Dobri Jeliazkov community, on 29 April 2012 the Municipality of Sofia had the water company, Sofiyska voda, cut off the water supply to the Dobri Jeliazkov community. The community now has no access to running water. The GI-ESCR urgently notified the Human Rights Committee of the situation as well as the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, and the Independent Expert on Minority Issues requesting that they intervene with the Republic of Bulgaria and urge it to abide by its obligations to protect and to ensure the human rights of the Dobri Jeliazkov community, including by directing the relevant authorities, including the Municipality of Sofia and the water company, Sofiyska voda, immediately to reconnect access to water for the Dobri Jeliazkov community.
For more information, including relevant case filings, see HERE.
Those who want to protest these latest human right violations can direct letters to:
Sofia Municipality
Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia
Street "Moskovska" No 33
1000 Sofia
Bulgaria
Commission for Protection against Discrimination
Kemal Eub, Chairperson
bul. “Dragan Tsankov “ 35
1125 Sofia
Bulgaria
UPDATE:
On 9 May 2012 the Human Rights Committee intervened with the Government of Bulgaria and reminded it "not to evict Ms. Liliana Naidenova et a.l., and not to demolish their dwellings, while their case is under consideration by the Committee." The Committee also stated that "While Ms. Liliana Naidenova et al. have not been forcibly evicted, cutting off the water supply to the Dobri Jeliazkov community could be considered an indirect means of achieving eviction." The Committee consequently called upon the Government of Bulgaria to ensure that the water supply be re-established to the Dobri Jeliazkov community.
GI-ESCR advocates for accountability to extra-territorial human rights obligations
The 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 covers 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 Report concludes 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 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.
New Resource on Women’s Housing, Land, and Property Rights in the Context of HIV
"TOOLS FOR CHANGE: Applying United Nations standards to secure women’s housing, land, and property rights in the context of HIV" seeks to empower advocates working in the context of HIV by making the relevant United Nations standards and interpretations clear and accessible. This new resource provides advocates with a better understanding of international human rights and government obligations, in order to ensure government accountability and advancement of women’s housing, land, and property rights.
The Manual is an easy to use resource of international human rights tools for advocates working on women’s housing, land, and property rights in the context of HIV. It brings together the relevant international human rights documents and highlights core concepts, rights, and means of enforcement, providing examples of successful advocacy from around the world. Moreover, it draws on the voices of women, gathered through a series of focus-group discussions in different countries, to explain these rights and their uses in practical terms.
GI-ESCR joins submission to OHCHR on Business and Human Rights
The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) has joined a submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The submission, jointly sent by members of the World Bank and Human Rights Affinity Group, addresses business and human rights in the context of World Bank activities. The full text of the submission follows below.
March 28, 2012
Lene Wendland Research and Right to Development Division Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland.
Re: Submission for Report on Business and Human Rights and the UN System
Dear Ms. Wendland:
We welcome the opportunity to provide input to the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s report regarding how the UN system can contribute to the advancement of the business and human rights agenda and the implementation of the “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework.” The undersigned organizations encourage the Secretary-General to address in his report the role the World Bank Group (WBG) should play as a specialized agency of the UN, according to agreements concluded in 1948 and 1961, in supporting the implementation of the Guiding Principles and the underlying UN Framework, as one component of broader efforts to advance compliance with human rights standards.
The WBG should recognize the need to act in a manner consistent with the three pillars of the UN’s “Protect, Respect and Remedy” human rights framework, including as elaborated in the Guiding Principles. Governments’ obligations to respect human rights include the obligation to protect against human rights abuses by third parties. This is particularly relevant to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which engage with, and are governed by, sovereign governments. In addition, the corporate responsibility to respect all human rights is of special significance for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which engage the private sector. It is particularly important that the WBG, in its activities, uphold the third pillar of the UN Framework, regarding access to justice for victims of human rights abuses. The WBG should ensure that its response to the findings of its accountability mechanisms provide concrete redress for communities.
The WBG is well positioned to raise awareness about the Guiding Principles and UN Framework and to secure their implementation. It could do this by adopting environmental and human rights policies that are aligned with the international human rights obligations of its member states and clients. Unfortunately, the current policies of the WBG do not meet these standards. There will be an opportunity later this year to address this and effectively integrate the UN Guiding Principles and Framework on Business and Human Rights and relevant international human rights instruments when IBRD and IDA review eight of their safeguard policies, together with its policy on the use of country systems to address environmental and social safeguard issues.
Current IBRD and IDA policies do not ensure a robust due diligence process to identify potential human rights impacts or address them. The nine policies included in the review are: environmental assessment, natural habitats, pest management, Indigenous Peoples, physical cultural resources, involuntary resettlement, forests, dam safety, and use of country systems. Although many of the policies implicate human rights, only two are considered by the World Bank to address “social issues.” The Indigenous Peoples policy is the only one that explicitly mentions human rights. However, this policy does not reflect the full extent of the rights of indigenous peoples, as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The policies of IBRD and IDA presently do not address a range of major human rights issues such as labor rights, non-discrimination, the rights of disabled persons, or women’s rights, and there is no overarching human rights policy, like the environmental assessment policy, which would require clients to conduct a human rights impact assessment.
An added layer of complexity is that even as the WBG reviews these policies, they apply to fewer of IBRD and IDA’s activities. Increasingly, IBRD and IDA are failing to assume their responsibility to prevent negative impacts from the projects and programs they finance through new approaches to lending, including Development Policy Loans (DPLs). As indicated in the Guiding Principles, host governments have the duty to respect human rights and to protect against violations committed by corporations, but we believe that that should be in addition to, and not a substitution for, the international human rights obligations of the member states of the WBG. As recognized in the Commentary to the Guiding Principles, “States retain their international human rights law obligations when they participate in such [international trade and financial] institutions.” In addition, the Maastricht Principles on Extra-Territorial Obligations provide useful interpretative support to the Guiding Principles, and the ETO Principles clarify that a state must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the relevant organization acts consistently with the international human rights obligations of that state.
The private sector lending arm of the WBG—IFC and MIGA—is bound by a separate set of environmental and social policies, the Policy and Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability. The Policy outlines the responsibilities of the IFC and MIGA, and the eight Performance Standards describe the requirements for their clients.
The IFC recently concluded a multi-year review of the Policy and Performance Standards in January 2012. Although the new framework adopts some human rights language, including a requirement for free, prior and informed consent for projects affecting indigenous peoples, it falls short of what would be required by international human rights norms. For example, the new framework does not require its clients to undertake a human rights impact assessment, stating only that it might be “appropriate” in limited high risk circumstances. Performance Standard 1 admits that due diligence against the other Performance Standards will allow IFC/MIGA’s clients to address many, but not all, human rights issues. By contrast, the Commentary to the Guiding Principles is quite clear on this point: “While processes for assessing human rights impacts can be incorporated within other processes such as risk assessments or environmental and social impact assessments, they should include all internationally recognized human rights as a reference point, since enterprises may potentially impact virtually any of these rights.” The WBG’s failure to require a human rights impact assessment is despite the fact that the IFC has prepared a guide to human rights assessment and management. Similar to IBRD and IDA, IFC is also distancing itself from responsibility for the impacts of the projects it finances through the use of financial intermediaries. The IFC applies a different and less rigorous set of standards to financial intermediaries, which, in turn, finance projects that could have comparable impacts to projects the IFC finances directly.
The WBG has unfulfilled potential to support the human rights obligations of its member states and clients. One significant obstacle in realizing its potential is the reticence on the part of the member states, usually represented by the finance minister, to discuss human rights. Another challenge is to raise awareness among the 10,000 employees of the WBG. Some progress has been made within the institution to educate staff about the potential human rights impacts of the WBG’s operations through the work of the Nordic Trust Fund, but substantially more needs to be done. We urge the Secretary-General, in his report, to call on the WBG to fulfill its potential and ensure that its policies are consistent with the Guiding Principles, the UN Framework and international human rights standards.
If we can provide any additional information, please contact Kris Genovese (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at the Center for International Environmental Law or Leonardo Crippa (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) at the Indian Law Resource Center.
Sincerely,
Amnesty International Bank Information Center, USA Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA), Argentina Center for International Environmental Law, USA Corporate Accountability International, USA Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Human Rights Watch Indian Law Resource Center, USA International Accountability Project, USA International Trade Union Confederation/Global Unions, Belgium Urgewald, Germany International Human Rights Clinic, Western New England University School of Law, USA
International Women’s Day: Defending Women’s Land Rights in Sri Lanka
7 March 2012
This International Women’s Day, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights joined with ActionAid, CARE International, Estate Community Development Mission, Law & Society Trust, Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum, Oxfam Australia, Praja Abhilaasha Network and Women & Media Collective, issuing a public appeal for women’s land rights in Sri Lanka. The following ad appeared in 9 newspapers across Sri Lanka, in English, Sinhala and Tamil.
The recent review (2011) of Sri Lanka by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women highlighted the importance of these issues, and provided important recommendations which now need to be followed up on by civil society actors and implemented by State authorities. There, the CEDAW Committee urged Sri Lanka to:
(a) Abolish the concept of "head of household" in administrative practice and recognize joint or co-ownership of land; and
(b) Speedily amend the Land Development Ordinance in order to ensure that joint or co-ownership be granted to both spouses when the State allocates land to married couples.
While these Concluding Observations are very important and useful from an advocacy perspective, little awareness exists among civil society, the donor community and others working in development initiatives on the CEDAW process and the Concluding Observations that are issued by the CEDAW Committee at the culmination of the State review, a situation which must be remedied. We hope that this International Women’s Day you will join us in our call to let gender equality take root in Sri Lanka!
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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Si vous aimez notre travail, pensez à faire un don !
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.
