Promoting and claiming social and economic rights through an inclusive human rights practice
 

Looking for?

The Toussaint case on right to life of irregular migrants and healthcare

The Tanudjaja Charter challenge to the failure to address homelessness

The National Housing Strategy Act and the right to housing in Canada

The 2019 Toronto Housing Charter and its Implementation Plan

Charter Committee on Poverty Issues Interventions

Social Rights In Canada Community-University Research Project

Publications

What's New

CCPI/CHC/FCJRC and AI/ESCR-Net file facta in Toussaint v Canada

Presentations to Dept of Justice and OGD on National Housing Strategy Act with NRHN and WNHHN

The progressive realization of the right to housing: Paper prepared for the National Housing Council

Three papers on implementing the right to housing under the National Housing Strategy Act

Co-ordinated Legal Action to challenge Canada and other States obstructing #TRIPS Waiver at the #WTO! Letter to Minister NG

CERA and National Right to Housing Network Make first SUBMISSION under the National Housing Strategy Act.

Charities liberated to engage in public policy after groundbreaking decn of Justice Ed Morgan in Canada Without Poverty v Canada

New Publications

Bruce Porter, La interdependencia de · los derechos humanos in Derechos sociales y el momento constituyente de Chile: Perspectivas globales y locales para el debate constitucional (Distrito Global, 2021)

Jackie Dugard, Franziska Sucker & Bruce Porter & Jamie Burton, Supporting the TRIPS COVID-19 waiver is an essential step to support international human rights (Open Global Rights, 2021)

Bruce Porter, Implementing the Right to Adequate Housing Under the National Housing Strategy Act: The International Human Rights Framework (2021) (en francais)

Jackie Dugard, Bruce Porter, Daniela Ikawa and Lilian Chenwi (eds) Research Handbook on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as Human Rights

Elizabeth McIsaac and Bruce Porter "Housing Rights: Ottawa takes an historic step forward"Literary Review of Canada,(November, 2019)

Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter "Social and Economic Rights" in P. Oliver, P. Macklem and N. Des Rosiers, The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution (New York, Oxford Univesity Press, 2017) at pp 843-866.

Martha Jackman and Bruce Porter (eds)  Advancing Social Rights in Canada (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014)

From the Archives

1992 Alternative Social Charter 

See Further publications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advocating for the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR

SRAC played an active role in the negotiations of the text of the OP-ICESCR through the Steering Committee of a global coalition of NGOs - the Coalition for the OP-ICESCR. 

Despite considerable resistance and skepticism from a number of states at the outset of this process, the Coalition celebrated an historic success on December 10, 2008 when the UN Human Rights Council adopted by consensus an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR providing for a complaints mechanism, as well as an inquiries procedure.  

The following is the text of the historic OP-ICESCR adopted by the UN General Assembly December 10, 2008

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

Justice Now: Ratify to Protect All Human Rights

States that have signed and ratified the OP-ICESCR

One of the key ares of negotiation in the OP-ICESCR related to the standard of review. For a description of the negotiations around this see: 

See: Bruce Porter,  The Reasonableness Of Article 8(4 ) – Adjudicating Claims From The Margins,’ Nordic Journal of Human Rights (NJHR), Vol. 27, No.1:2009.

and Bruce Porter, "Reasonableness and Article 8(4)", in M Langford, B. Porter, R Brown and J Rossi (eds), The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Commentary (Capetown: Pretoria University Law Press, 2016).

What was at stake in the debates about the OP-ICESCR: Read

The Optional Protocol to the ICESCR - What's at stake?  an earlier article by Bruce Porter of SRAC on the need for a complaints procedure under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Rules of Procedure for the OP-ICESCR

SRAC assisted the NGO Coalition for the OP-ICESCR in engaging with the CESCR regarding the rules of procedure.  An initial paper entitled: Considerations of the International NGO Coalition for an OP- ICESCR in relation to the OP-ICESCR and its Rules of Procedure was circulated amongst members of the Coalition and groups with relevant ESCR expertise, and further revised and focused for presentation to the CESCR in Geneva.

Bruce Porter of SRAC represented the Steering Committee of the Coalition in making an oral presentation to the CESCR and presenting the substantive paper outlining developments in international law and drafting history of the OP.  He also chaired a luncheon meeting to which Committee members were invited to discuss issues such as interim measures, friendly settlements, reasonableness, amicus curiae and standing.

Additional submissions were made in 2021 to the CESCR regarding a proposed amendments dealing with pilot complaints and other issues.

See Comments regarding the draft rules of procedure of the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (CESCR) under the Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (OP-ICESCR) (August, 2021)