Center for Economic and Social Rights - Letters, Op-Eds, and Presentations

CESR's testimony to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:29:03 -0400

CESR at the American University Roundtable: What are the Legal Claims/Remedies Being Sought by Victims of Development Projects?

Thu, 20 May 2004 11:07:56 -0400

WHAT ARE THE LEGAL CLAIMS/REMEDIES BEING SOUGHT BY VICTIMS OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS?

One of the major problems for victims of development projects is the use of local remedies for dealing with environmental and human rights abuses. From my experience in Honduras the local remedies are almost non existent due to ineffective courts, corruption and lack of knowledge and experience in dealing with mining issues as well as lack of jurisdiction. Local remedies can be good for bringing attention/pressure to bear eg placing complaints/denunciations at the Environmental Ombudsman.

CESR Participation at the Justice 4 Youth Coalition Press Conference

Wed, 18 Feb 2004 10:52:23 -0500

The city, state and federal government have the continual responsibility to respect the human rights of children and young adults. This obligation is heightened in the public school system, where youth are fully dependent on the State to provide a secure and humane environment. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the U.S. formally recognizes, guarantees the right to security for everyone and establishes limits on arrest and detention. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child elaborates the human rights of youth. It has been signed and ratified by every country in the world except for the U.S. and Somalia, but is recognized as legally binding in U.S. courts because of its near universal recognition. This convention includes safety and dignity as human rights in the school environment. The human rights to safety and dignity are not exclusively limited to the relationship between students. They also refer to the school environment, which must be child-friendly and humane, promote non-violence and allow children to develop. Furthermore, schools must respect the right to dignity in administering discipline.

Introductory Remarks by Roger Normand (Executive Director, CESR) at the Arundhati Roy Event

Tue, 13 May 2003 15:08:42 -0400

In May 2003, CESR hosted Arundhati Roy, recipient of the Lannan Award for Cultural Freedom. These introductory remarks were offered by Roger Normand, CESR's Executive Director. For more information on the the event, please click here.

CESR Speech at "It's About Time! Campaign" Hunger Strike and Rally

Wed, 07 May 2003 15:20:15 -0400

CESR Editorial: The Second American Revolution, by Roger Normand and Jan Goodwin

Fri, 21 Mar 2003 15:36:43 -0500

We are in the midst of a new American revolution. The task at hand according to the Pentagon’s own official documents, is nothing less than establishing “full spectrum dominance” of a “unipolar world.”

CESR Speech at Coalition of Immokalee Workers Rally and Hunger Strike

Fri, 28 Feb 2003 14:13:12 -0500

Presentación del CDES en el Acto de la Coalición de Trabajadores Immokalee (en español) [pdf 6.38 kb]

Summary: Declaration of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign on the Full Realization of Human Rights in the U.S.

Sat, 01 Feb 2003 13:48:58 -0500

Human rights are universal and indivisible. Their realization requires guarantees for all persons, regardless of race, gender, class, age, sexual orientation, disability, immigration, language or other status of the complete set of rights: civil, political, economic, social, and cultural.

Sojourner A., Angela B., vs. The New Jersey Department of Human Services

Fri, 13 Dec 2002 11:32:18 -0500

Supplemental Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants

CESR testimony at the Education Committee of the New York City Council

Tue, 12 Nov 2002 13:08:39 -0500

Testimony to the City Council about the Right to Education in New York City

CESR Op Ed: Stifled in the Loya Jirga, by Omar Zakhilwal (The Washington Post)

Sun, 16 Jun 2002 16:11:44 -0400

Kabul, Afghanistan - I am a member of the loya jirga's silent majority -- or rather, silenced majority -- who came here to Afghanistan's capital expecting to shape our nation's future but instead find ourselves being dragged back into the past.

CESR Letter to the Editor (The New York Times)

Mon, 27 May 2002 12:53:38 -0400

To the Editor:

Congratulations on your comprehensive and moving account of the food crisis in Afghanistan ("Now the Battle to Feed the Afghan Nation"). But the article overlooks the dangers of militarizing the humanitarian effort.

Domestic Remedies are Unavailable

Tue, 19 Mar 2002 16:41:00 -0500

Domestic remedies must be exhausted prior to filing claims in the Inter-American Commission, however, that requirement does not apply when no remedy is available. Exhaustion is satisfied by article 37 of the Regulations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights because US law "does not afford due process of law for protection of [the economic and social] rights that have allegedly been violated." Inter-Am. C.H.R. Regulations, supra par. 13, at art. 37. Challenges, constitutional as well as statutory, to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, PRWORA, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, in the courts of the United States would be futile thus exhaustion of domestic remedies requirement does not obstruct this claim in the Inter-American Commission.

Consequences of Future Use of Force Against Iraq

Thu, 24 Jan 2002 11:15:57 -0500

Letter to U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld

Violations of the Right to Food by all Parties to the Conflict in Afghanistan

Mon, 10 Dec 2001 15:23:45 -0500

Letter to the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights