Socio-economic conditions are often difficultto assess due to a lack of reliable data on the complex and multiplecauses of poverty. Governments and other actors exacerbate this problemby justifying and obscuring the negative impacts of deliberatedevelopment policies. As a result, poverty is often perceived as anatural or inevitable phenomenon rather than historical aspect of powerdynamics and economic inequality that results in human rights abuse.
Dr. Michael Van Rooyen (CESR Mission Participant) interviews an Iraqi doctor.
Photo courtesy of Robert Huber
Supporting rights claims under these circumstances requires rigorousscientific research to substantiate the facts underlying socio-economicproblems. This challenge has led CESR tomove beyond the legal fact-finding of traditional human rights work andadopt a strategy of multidisciplinary research in public health,economics, social and environmental sciences, and law. For this work, CESR relieson local experts familiar with the problems as well as prominentspecialists. The research component is essential for establishing thecredibility of subsequent advocacy and education efforts.
CESR???s fact-finding is tailored to the particular needs of each project. In situations where socio-economic data is lacking, CESR conductsprimary research and analysis. We also rely on secondary research andanalysis in situations where reliable data exists but is not being usedto highlight human rights problems.
"By shifting the debate from one that seeks to balance conflictingeconomic strategies to one cast in the vocabulary of human rights, CESR is helping to establish a more proactive context that leads inexorably to political action and legal remedies."
-- Matthew Nimetz, former US Under-Secretary of State