The Right to Health in the United States of America: What Does it Mean?
In October 2004, CESR published The Right to Health in the United States of America: What Does it Mean?, a report on how the U.S. health care system falls short of international standards for the right to health.
CESR and US Networks
CESR is working towards building a humanrights culture in the United States. To this end we have instigated andsupported the work of two emerging networks in the U.S. The Poor People???s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC),is a national campaign to raise the issue of poverty as a human rightsviolation. It is led by grassroots organizations of poor and homelesswomen, men and children of all races from across the country, rangingfrom public housing residents in Chicago to welfare recipients inPhiladelphia. CESR has supported a range ofactivities that include developing economic and social rightsfactsheets, organizing capacity building meetings, documentingviolations, and formulating legal strategies.
Sojourner amicus brief - PDF version
Strengthening Human Rights Legal Standards in the US
CESR worksto develop standards and precedents that hold the US accountable tointernational economic and social rights norms and that support localadvocacy. We do this through legal submissions, as well as broadanalysis of the relevance and applicability of human rights law in the US.
The Right to Education in New York City
CESR workswith policy and community groups to integrate a human rightsperspective into education advocacy in New York City public schools.The international human rights framework recognizes that every childhas the human right to a quality education. This right is codified ininternational treaties and declarations such as the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of theChild. The human rights framework requires governments to fulfill thebasic learning needs of every child, providing them with the skillsnecessary to participate fully in society and the knowledge to developas a human being.
The Right to Education Project emphasizes the need tostrengthen parent and community participation in the management andoversight of the school system in order to strengthen governmentaccountability for providing a quality education.
The report Civil Society and School Accountability was produced by the Center for Economic and Social Rights and the New York University Institute for Education and Social Policy.The report argues that parents and communities have a human right toparticipate in the management and oversight of the school system, andthat the effective protection of the right to participation isessential for creating greater accountability at all levels. Itidentifies and critiques the obstacles to participation that currentlyexist in New York City schools and makes recommendations based on humanrights standards for how to better ensure effective civil societyparticipation.
- Full Text of Report [pdf]
- Executive Summary - English version [ms word]
- Executive Summary - Spanish version [ms word]
Our research and documentation is based on a series of interviewswith parents, community organizers and education advocates from acrossthe city. The report draws from international declarations, conventionsand other documents to lay out the human rights framework forparticipation and uses international examples to demonstrate the use ofhuman rights standards in school management and oversight around theworld.
Because Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein have launched anew round of school reform, the Children First initiative, this is aparticularly critical time to discuss the human rights implications ofcivil society participation in school management. While the reformsare, in part, geared towards addressing the question of "parentalinvolvement," they fail to provide parents and communities withadequate information and power to impact educational decision-making.Civil Society and School Accountability offers a broad framework forhow human rights standards for participation can be applied to theChildren First reform processes. It does not address many specificaspects of the reforms, but rather provides the parameters by which anyreform effort must be assessed in relation to human rights obligations.
News Articles about the Report:
Supporting Grassroots Movements for Human Rights
Themost effective strategies for working towards social justice comethrough grassroots activism. We work with grassroots activists tosupport emerging movements for economic and social rights (the right tofood, work, housing, health, social security and education) in theUnited States. Increasingly, grassroots groups are beginning to usethis human rights approach to challenge the poverty and inequality thattheir members face.
New U.S. Training Material on the Right to Education
Five printable flyers prepared by CESR for the Independent Commission on Public Education, New York City Trainings
Human Rights Advocacy: How Can We Use Human Rights in the U.S.?
In the United States, it is hard to use direct legal action to enforce human rights obligations. The U.S. hasnot ratified the several major human rights treaties, including thoseprotecting the right to education. As a result, international treatieshave not become part of our domestic law and do not provide a cause ofaction in court. Even when the U.S. doesratify a treaty, Congress makes what are called ???reservations,??????understandings??? and ???declarations??? that prevent individuals from usingthe treaties in U.S. courts. So, what are other ways that can we use human rights in the U.S.?