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53d session of the Human Rights Council / Side event

• Thursday 6th July
• 15:00 to 16:00
• Palais des Nations (Room XXV)

Economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) are the backbone of human rights, in the sense that they are essential for respecting human dignity and achieving social justice. Yet violations of these rights are widespread and systematic under the current economic and social system which sacrifices people’s basic needs (such as food, health, housing, education) in the name of the quest for economic growth and profit maximization for a small minority.

This side event will provide an opportunity to discuss these issues by tackling the following questions:

• What role should the UN system play in addressing the situation of regression in respect for ESC rights?
• What kind of initiatives should States, civil society organizations and UN mechanisms andbodies encourage in order to collectively meet the challenges ahead in terms of promoting and implementing existing ESC rights legal instruments?
• What initiatives should be put in place to promote education and training on these rights?

Panel

• Moderation: Eva Wuchold, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
• H.E. Maira Mariela Macdonal, Ambassador of the Plurinational State of Bolivia at the UN in Geneva
• Mr. Melik Özden, Director of CETIM and author of the book “Economic, social and cultural rights: A legal leverage for social justice”
• Mr. Olivier de Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
• Ms. Perla Alvarez, Member of the National Coordination for the Organization of Women Workers, Rural and Indigenous Women and of Peasant Rights Collective of La Via Campesina