Taking stock

Leading figures of the economic and social rights and development fields reflect on the progress made in the economic and social rights field over the past 20 years and the contribution of CESR to social justice struggles and field development.

The Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Magdalena Sepulveda, explores the main advances since the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action was signed in 1993, and looks to the key challenges for the years ahead

 

United Nations Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and former High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson talks to CESR about the anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and the post-2015 development agenda.

 

Gaston Chillier, Director of The Center for Legal and Social Studies in Argentina, discusses progress in the field of economic, social and cultural rights, and gives his incorporation into public policy.

 

CESR co-founder Roger Normand reflects on the Center’s beginnings back in 1993. He also discusses how he and his fellow founders Chris Jochnick and Sarah Zaidi tackled the organization’s first projects in Iraq and Ecuador.

 

IDLO Director General and CESR board member Irene Khan discusses the importance bridging gaps between the economic and social rights sphere and the broader social justice movement.

 

the importance of the Center’s work in a rapidly changing and increasingly interlinked world.

 

Constitutional lawyer and CESR board member Manuel José Cepeda discusses the Center’s contribution to advancing economic and social rights in both conceptual and instrumental terms.

 

Chris Jochnick, CESR co-founder and Director of Private Sector Engagement at Oxfam America, discusses the Center’s early days and its major achievements since being set up in 1993.

 

Pregs Govender, Deputy Chairperson at the South African Human Rights Commission, reflects on progress towards the standards set out in the Vienna Declaration in her country.

 

South African High Court Judge and CESR board member Geoff Budlender SC explains the importance of the Center’s achievements with special reference to the African setting.

 

CESR board member Sakiko Fukuda-Parr reflects on advances in incorporating the language of human rights into development debates and emphasizes the critical importance of addressing equality in the post-2015 development agenda.

 

Bruce Porter, Director of the Social Rights Advocacy Center in Canada, explores the significance of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and examines key challenges for the years ahead

 

Richard Goldstone, Co-chairperson of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association, explains advances in the field of ESCR jurisprudence, and the particular experience of South Africa.

 

CESR chairperson Alicia Yamin explores progress in the field of economic and social rights over the past 20 years, reflecting on CESR’s contribution to these advances and the challenges that must be faced in the years ahead.