As the end of 2011 draws near, human rights practitioners are reflecting on the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which came to a close with the 12th Session in October this year. The UPR is a relatively new mechanism, set up in 2006 under the auspices of the Human Rights Council to complement the United Nations??? other human rights bodies by allowing states to review one another???s performance in relation to the full gamut of human rights. CESR has been actively engaged with the UPR in 2011, both through direct advocacy efforts at its hearings in Geneva and by providing training to human rights defenders eager to make use of the new body to protect vulnerable people in their own countries.
With bloody unrest continuing on streets of cities like Damascus and Deir al-Zor, Syria???s appearance before the UPR on 7 October was a politically charged event. Working in collaboration with the Arab NGO Network for Development, CESR presented a joint submission to the Human Rights Council in advance of the session, emphasizing the economic and social rights deprivations underpinning the protests that have been dominating headlines in the global media.
Another country in the grips of a crisis, albeit one of a slightly different nature, is Ireland. The former economic powerhouse was likewise facing the scrutiny of its peers at the 12th Session, just as a series of draconian ???austerity budgets??? implemented in the wake of the country???s economic meltdown were causing severe retrogressions in the provision of economic and social rights. As the only international NGO on hand to highlight the ESCR ramifications of the Irish government???s recovery policies, CESR played an important role in reaffirming the concerns of Irish civil society organizations by circulating an advocacy piece at the event. The document released on October 1 will be complemented by a full briefing paper, providing an in-depth human rights analysis of both the causes and consequences of the Celtic Tiger???s collapse, to be published in the coming days.
CESR???s commitment to working with the UPR isn???t limited to activities in Geneva, however, as we have also provided training to human rights defenders determined to make use of the new mechanism. In September this year we organized a two-day capacity building event for Equatoguinean activists, providing them with the knowledge and skills they need to more effectively engage with the UPR. Keeping in mind the repression of social justice activists by the government of Teodoro Obiang, which seized power in a coup over three decades ago, the event was staged behind closed doors in Madrid. The importance of this work cannot be overstated, however, as ESCR violations remain rife in Equatorial Guinea despite the torrent of revenue flowing from its oil resources. While GDP per capita soared from $7,600 in 2000 to $35,000 in 2008, education and health indicators in the country continue to lag far behind many of its poorer African neighbors.
In 2012 CESR will continue its efforts to ensure effective international accountability for the protection of ESC rights, working with UN human rights mechanisms and providing support and training for activists on the ground. In an age when the significance of economic and social rights - both in terms of their inherent value and with regard to their crucial role in facilitating other human rights - is becoming evermore apparent, the vital importance of the ESCR agenda is clear.