CESR is pleased to announce the launch of a new online resource for the monitoring of economic and social rights. As coordinator of the ESCR-Net Working Group on Monitoring Methods, CESR has helped develop a new website - www.monitoring.escr-net.org - to support progress in overcoming the unique challenges that arise in assessing compliance with these rights.
Recent years have seen a proliferation of new tools and methods for monitoring economic and social rights, but these advances have largely unfolded in a fragmented and isolated way. In an effort to bring these experiences together and enable much-needed dialogue, the new online space facilitates exchange and mutual learning about methods to strengthen the accountability of states and other actors for their human rights obligations.
Understood broadly, monitoring incorporates a range of investigative activities???from periodic auditing of a country or corporation???s human rights performance, to more in-depth examination of a particular situation. The array of monitoring methods is growing, enabling activists and advocates to more persuasively challenge deprivations that might otherwise remain invisible.
Together with our partners in the ESCR-Net Secretariat, and close collaboration from a specially formed Steering Committee, CESR has designed this resource with the goal of strengthening the capacity of other ESCR-Net members to effectively monitor economic and social rights. The new site, which allows for extensive participation by users, will achieve this by disseminating innovative methodological tools, providing opportunities for mutual learning and sharing experiences, and by fostering collaborations both among members and with other ESCR-Net Working Groups.
The site offers numerous resources and serves as a platform for information-exchange about such tools and techniques. On it, members of the group can:
- Browse materials in the Resource Library according to type (e.g. toolkits, reports, databases), task (e.g. identifying indicators, analyzing data) and topic (e.g. business, gender, health, etc).
- Keep up-to-date with new resources, commentary, events and opportunities in the News Blog.
- Learn about innovative approaches to monitoring profiled in Featured Projects.
- Share innovative ideas in Monthly Discussions about a particular topic related to monitoring.
The website will grow on the basis of suggestions for new research, training materials, or other publications related to monitoring. Subscribe to the Group???s mailing list to stay up to date with the latest content.