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Training on ESC Rights

 

Training course on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights




UPDATE: Applications for the 2010 session of the Training Course are now closed! We thank the over 300 applicants for their interest in our Course!



Geneva, 10-14 May 2010 (conducted in English)


In recent years, monitoring economic, social and cultural rights has become the modality to mainstream the realization of these rights as equally important to that of civil and political rights and thus rightly acknowledge their status as integral part of human rights law. This five-day training course answers to the increasing need of organizations to acquire know-how and enhance their capacity and knowledge in order to effectively pursue the monitoring of economic, social and cultural rights.

 

Course Aim and Objectives


The course will provide staff from small and medium organisations with the know-how to get started in monitoring economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights), and the in-depth knowledge to enhance their ESC rights monitoring work. 
At the end of the training, the participants will be:

  • Familiar with the content of economic, social and cultural rights;
  • Able to devise realistic strategies for monitoring ESC rights and documenting the violation/realisation of an ESC right of particular concern to them or their organization;
  • Able to present findings effectively, and devise an advocacy strategy which makes use of the international human rights mechanisms.

Program


The course program will cover the following topics:

  • History of ESC rights; Content and scope; Justiciability; Progressive realisation.
  • Human rights monitoring; Using indicators and benchmarks to monitor progressive realization; monitoring government policy-making; documenting violations; budget monitoring.
  • Making data talk: presenting findings in an engaging and appealing way; sourcing data.
  • Defining an advocacy strategy; Overview of the UN human rights mechanisms relevant to ESC rights and how to interact with them, including the Treaty Bodies, Special Procedures and the Human Rights Council.
  • Substantive case studies on: the right to food, the right to housing, the right to education; the right to health; the right to water, and other ESC rights.
  • Discussions with experts, including UN Treaty Body members; visit to a session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Training methods


A dynamic combination of lectures with hands-on practical work on real country situations, facilitated by experts experienced in ESC rights work at both UN and grassroots level.

 

Who should apply?


This course aims to suit the needs of staff of human rights organisations, including NGOs, who want to start monitoring economic, social and cultural rights or enhance the work they are currently doing on monitoring and advocating for ESC rights. The professional groups targeted are: advocacy/human rights/legal officers, managers, researchers, documentalists.

 

Practical information

The third annual session of this five-day intensive training course will be held at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, from 10 to 14 May 2010.
There will be a maximum of 25 participants accepted.
The course will be held in parallel with the May session of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which will also be held in Geneva. This will allow course participants to observe the Committee in session, to the extent time permits.

The course will be conducted in English.

 

Course Organizers


 

Certification


Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate of participation from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.

 

Applications


Applicants should complete the application form, and include a CV. All non-EU, non-Swiss applicants requiring a visa to enter Switzerland, or those seeking a scholarship, should send their application to escrtraining@adh-geneva.ch no later than 24 February 2010. For self-funded, EU/Swiss applicants, please submit your application before 15 March 2010 (applications submitted earlier will be preferred). UPDATE: Applications are now closed for the 2010 session of the course!

Fees


The course fee for this 5-day intensive program is 1500 Swiss Francs.  The course fee of 1500 Swiss Francs includes: tuition costs, course materials, 5 lunches, and coffee breaks. The fee is payable once confirmation of participation has been issued.

Participants have to pay for their own travel to Geneva and accommodation in Geneva, as well as other expenses related to their stay (including a visa to enter Switzerland if needed). Practical advice will be given to assist this process, however the costs must be borne by each participant. If required, the organizers can provide a letter of invitation for your visa application and help with providing information about accommodation.

No fee waivers are possible, however a very limited number of scholarships may be made available by external funders. These are intended for participants from developing countries who are unable to exhaust their own organisation's funding opportunities. In this sense we encourage the applicants to firstly look for sources of funding with their own organization, other foundations or embassies.  For those who wish to apply for a scholarship, please complete the application form above and note your need for financial assistance on this form.

 

Contact information


E-mail: escrtraining@adh-geneva.ch.

Download the course information flyer.

 

What previous participants have said about the course



“The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies / HURIDOCS course provided an opportunity to explore new developments in ESC rights, identify new resources, and reflect on how NGOs in the area can shape their work to best capture these developments. Above all it provided a space to share learning with others in development and human rights fields, and discover the wealth of work that has already been done and that can be easily accessed.”

Rosalind McKenna

Coordinator, Human Rights Based Approaches (HRBA) Project

Amnesty International (Irish section)

“The course generally was a very strong learning experience … Course contents were relevant and well illustrated by practical examples.  I can absolutely justify the expense and time out from the office to follow this course – well done all involved!”

 

Anonymous feedback from a course participant, 2008 program

 

Thank you very much – It was a very exciting and motivating week and very good in terms of networking and discovering new sources of info and deepening my knowledge on ESC rights.”

 

Anonymous feedback from a course participant, 2008 program

 


“As a campaigner, I don’t often need to get into monitoring but it was great to get a better and deeper understanding of ESCR and it definitely satisfied my intellectual curiosity at many levels!”

 

Anonymous feedback from a course participant, 2008 program

 

This is a useful course on the overview of the theoretical and practical aspects of economic, social and cultural rights, and [the Geneva Academy] is the pioneer in offering such a course among all tertiary institutes. The teachers have extensive experience in actual work and consultation in ESCR and therefore are able to share valuable experience with course participants. Thank you for offering the course.

 

Karen Kong, Research Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law

University of Hong Kong, participant in 2009 program

 

The course improved my appreciation and understanding of ESC rights, and the UN mechanisms on human rights. It will help me in better doing my tasks in the field of ESCR promotion, advocacy and seeking redress for violations.

 

Minerva G. Gonzales, Member, Board of Trustees

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Asia, participant in 2009 program

 

This training has been one of the most relevant training opportunities in my life and career as a human rights practitioner. This is because it has exposed me to several approaches to monitoring economic social and cultural rights and particularly special procedures on specific economic, social and cultural rights and the use of benchmarks and indicators in monitoring ESC rights.

 

Patricia Achan-Okiria

Uganda Human Rights Commission, participant in 2009 program

 

 

 

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