Quote of the week
Universal adult suffrage on a common voters roll is one of the foundational values of our entire constitutional order. The achievement of the franchise has historically been important both for the acquisition of the rights of full and effective citizenship by all South Africans regardless of race, and for the accomplishment of an all-embracing nationhood. The universality of the franchise is important not only for nationhood and democracy. The vote of each and every citizen is a badge of dignity and of personhood. Quite literally, it says that everybody counts. In a country of great disparities of wealth and power it declares that whoever we are, whether rich or poor, exalted or disgraced, we all belong to the same democratic South African nation; that our destinies are intertwined in a single interactive polity.
August and Another v Electoral Commission and Others (CCT8/99) [1999] ZACC 3
Toolkit for Action for Optional Protocol to ICESCR
The NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has launched a Toolkit for Action for the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR.
The Toolkit provides practical guidance to NGOs and other civil society groups, as well as States on their work around the Optional Protocol. The Toolkit aims to facilitate international and national advocacy work for the ratification and the entry into force of the Protocol and the national implementation of economic, social and cultural rights.
The Toolkit includes four Booklets:
Booklet 1: Refreshing Your Knowledge about the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – explains:
• The content of the Covenant that the Optional Protocol seeks to enforce.
• States’ obligations under the Covenant, the role of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the body of experts in charge of implementing the Optional Protocol and the challenges related to the implementation and enforcement of ESCR.
Booklet 2: Overview: The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – describes:
• The procedures and mechanisms introduced by the Optional Protocol.
• The adoption and ratification process of the Optional Protocol.
• The competence of the Committee to receive and consider complaints against States Parties.
Booklet 3: Why Should States Ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?
• Outlines some of the key incentives for States to ratify and implement the Optional Protocol.
• Challenges the myths contesting the justiciability of ESCR.
• Offers tools to advocate for ratification and domestic implementation of the Optional Protocol.
Booklet 4: Tools to Lobby Your Country and Advocate for the Ratification and Implementation of the Optional Protocol:
• This final Booklet provides information, resources and templates to assist civil society groups in their lobbying efforts for the ratification and implementation of the Optional Protocol.
The Booklets can be accessed at the following website:
http://www.escr-net.org/resources/resources_show.htm?doc_id=1475393
