The following are some brief highlights of CESR’s past work:
- In Afghanistan, CESR conducted the first post-war survey of Afghan public opinion regarding international and local human rights priorities. Our report on rights-based development was adopted by the Afghan loya jirga and helped inform international relief and reconstruction programs.
- In Ecuador, with a coalition [link] of environmental and indigenous groups, we conducted the first scientific documentation of water contamination from Texaco’s toxic oil dumping in the Amazon rainforest. Our work led to the establishment of community monitoring system and helped to launch a national human rights campaign [link]. These efforts were central in forcing the Ecuadorian government and the oil companies to address local concerns and reform unlawful policies and practices.
- In Ghana, CESR worked with a coalition of local and international groups to document the human rights impact of World Bank-supported water privatization and lobby for policy change. These ongoing efforts have caused the government to initiate a reevaluation of the water privatization scheme.
- In Honduras, CESR worked with local activists to oppose unregulated gold mining by undertaking scientific research and submitting human rights reports to the UN and local government authorities. The project served as a catalyst for the formation of a national movement to protect the rights to health and a healthy environment, which in turn was instrumental in establishing the Central American branch of the Global Mining Campaign.
- In Iraq, CESR’s groundbreaking reports on the impact of war and sanctions have highlighted social and economic rights violations, received international media coverage, and prompted UN and relief agencies to prioritize humanitarian relief for needy civilians. Our work has also served as a basis for civil society activism worldwide to advocate for the human rights of the Iraqi people for more than ten years.
- In Nigeria [link], jointly with a local human rights group [link], we submitted the first economic and social rights petition [link] to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, resulting in a landmark ruling [link] that condemned the government for violating the Ogoni people’s rights to adequate food, health, and housing.
- In the Occupied Palestinian Territories [link], CESR prepared a series of human rights reports [links] documenting the economic impact of Israeli policies, including a petition [link] to the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights focusing on violations of the right to water due to Israel’s construction of the "separation wall" in the West Bank. Through this work our Palestinian partners developed the first local programs to monitor and promote economic and social rights.
- In the United States, CESR has undertaken a wide range of research and advocacy projects, from defending the rights of sweatshop workers in New York to promoting universal health care.
In addition to these projects, our staff have developed and taught graduate courses on academic journals and popular media; made numerous public presentations at workshops and conferences; appeared frequently as expert commentators for major and alternative media; and advised prominent human rights and development agencies such as Amnesty International, Oxfam, and the UNDP. These efforts have established CESR as a leading authority in the field of economic and social rights.