El Salvador: workshop on access to justice for victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights
With the support of ICJ Commissioner Justice Philippe Texier, the ESCR Programme and the Central America Regional Office organized a two-day workshop in San Salvador on August 16 and 17, 2012.
A group of 25 representatives of human rights and development NGOs as well as trade unions, lawyers and academic experts participated in a first consultation on access to justice for victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights.
The discussions tackled obstacles and advances in the field of access to justice with regard to the legal and institutional frameworks, as well as in the administration of justice and material issues.
Coming from very different backgrounds, the participants valued the opportunity to work together and share their experience related to economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) of a variety of rights-holders and their attempts to seek justice.
This first consultation and workshop will be followed by other activities in the course of the national project.
Background of the workshop
With national projects such as the one in El Salvador, the ICJ programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights aims at contributing to improve accountability for human rights violations and access to justice for all, including for victims of threats against and violations of economic, social and cultural rights.
The ICJ has embarked on research processes at national level to identify obstacles and opportunities for access to justice, as well as on consultation and collaboration processes with national allies to define strategies to address gaps.
Depending on the needs identified, the ICJ will support the implementation of recommendations and steps that includes trainings and legal interventions.
