ABOUT EVENT

Background

Violations of economic and social rights can be both a cause and consequence of conflict. A poor standard of living and a lack of access to work, education, adequate housing and social protection, coupled with ongoing discrimination, can lead to public unrest.

Conflict, especially when involving armed hostilities, often deprives people of their dignity, a situation that may last for years. In these circumstances, monitoring, documenting and reporting on economic and social rights becomes an important way for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to influence change in the short- and long-terms.

About the workshop

This workshop will address strategic approaches for NHRIs to working with economic and social rights in (post-)conflict contexts. It will take place in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a city whose history often left its communities no other choice but to live through the horrors of war.

Representatives of NHRIs, NGOs and intergovernmental organisations will discuss the importance of NHRIs’ monitoring of states’ compliance with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil economic and social rights, especially in relation to conflict.

Participants will share their challenges and methods of work, highlighting effective practices. This includes the example of community-led monitoring in Northern Ireland developed by the NGO Participation and the Practice of Rights Project. Participants will learn how communities in Northern Ireland influence change in the areas of housing, health, work using economic and social rights standards, principles and mechanisms.

The workshop will provide NHRIs with new tools to address economic and social rights in a strategic way, increasing the level of rights enjoyment by their respective communities.

To find out more about the workshop, contact Nina Pániková from the ENNHRI Secretariat.

This event is organised within the framework of ENNHRI’s project to enhance the effectiveness of NHRIs to promote and protect human rights in situations of (post-)conflict in wider Europe. » Learn more