Optional Protocol for UN Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights-Appeal for Strength of Text on Violations of Rights

Dear Friends,

We are circulating this letter as part of the NGO Coalition on the OPICESCR and we encourage you to sign on to this letter encouraging the working group to adopt the best possible draft of the Optional Protocol so that it is an effective mechanism for claiming rights and to provide remedies.

One of the most critical issues is that we encourage states not to ask for the "a la carte" version, and not to be able to pick and choose which human rights they are willing to commit to. Please read the appeal letter to understand all the key issues at stake and to act now to ensure we get the best version of the draft of the OP ICESCR.

regards,

IWRAW Asia Pacific

Member of the Steering Committee to the NGO Coalition on the OP

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Dear All,

We are approaching one of the most important moments in our fight for a strong Optional Protocol. The UN Open-Ended Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR is meeting for its final session from 31 March to 4 April 2008. We are hoping that the Working Group can conclude its negotiations and submit a final version of the Protocol to the Human Rights Council for adoption. After being approved by the Council, the text of the Optional Protocol will be sent to the UN General Assembly for adoption and opened up for ratification by states.

The Optional Protocol will make it possible for individual, groups or organizations acting on their behalf to seek justice at the international level for violations of economic, social and cultural rights by submitting complaints to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The adoption of the Optional Protocol will also provide support to efforts to get greater recognition of economic, social and cultural rights in domestic law and before courts, and will strengthen our monitoring role, as civil society organizations.

Some states however are continuing to push for the adoption of a so called ‘à la carte’ Optional Protocol, under which states would be able to treat the ICESCR as a menu of rights and specify which rights they would be willing to accept complaints on. As the majority of states support a comprehensive instrument that covers all levels of rights and obligations in the ICESCR, the few states who are not willing to accept such an instrument have to be lobbied to change or reserve their position. Some states are also pushing for the inclusion of additional admissibility criteria such as the requirement that a complainant demonstrates that he/she has suffered “significant disadvantage” and to set a very high threshold for the Committee to find a violation. There is a risk that this small group of states may be able to prevent the Working Group from completing its work at this session or that a much weaker text will be adopted, which would make it harder for victims to access remedies.

The NGO Coalition for the Optional Protocol on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has prepared an appeal (attached with this e-mail) that will be sent to Austria, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to lobby them to change or reserve their position. It is essential for the success of our lobbying that we can demonstrate that this appeal and the Optional Protocol have wide support. We would therefore request you to sign on to this appeal either as an individual or an organisation.

If you are willing to sign it, please send an email back to dikawa@escr-net.org, indicating your support by March 13, 2008. The next session will start at the end of the month and we must convince governments to change their positions before that.

We hope you will seriously consider being part of this initiative as well as taking further action in the next and crucial steps for the adoption of the Optional Protocol.

We look forward to hearing from you,

The NGO Coalition for the Optional Protocol Steering Committee

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UN International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm

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OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP ON AN OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Fifth session

4-8 February (first part) and 31 March–4 April 2008 (second part)