Socio-Economic Rights Project (SERP)
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The Socio-Economic Rights Project, which focuses on the realization of the socio-economic rights of groups and communities living in poverty.
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Browsing by Author "Chenwi, Lilian"
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Item Advancing the Right to Adequate Housing of Desperately Poor People: City of Johannesburg v. Rand Properties(Human Rights Brief, 2006) Chenwi, LilianInadequate housing, the growth and overcrowding of informal settlements, and the occupation of private land and abandoned buildings are prevalent in South Africa. The result is that many of the country’s most vulnerable — women, children, the elderly, and those living with disabilities — are evicted and left homeless. In the inner city of Johannesburg, thousands of desperately poor people are forced to illegally occupy unsafe buildings (so-called “bad buildings”) because they cannot afford accommodation on the private residential housing market nor access the urban social housing units.Item African Commission reaffirms protection of socio-economic rights in the African Charter(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2010) Chenwi, LilianIn July 2010, the ruling of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission) in relation to communications 279/03 and 296/05 was made public, the decision having been adopted in May 2009. The communications were submitted by the Sudan Human Rights Organisation (SHRO) and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), respectively, against the Sudan government. However, because the applicants in the SHRO case did not appear before the African Commission on the merits, the Commission considered and decided only the COHRE case on the merits.Item An appraisal of international law mechanisms for litigating socio-economic rights, with a particular focus on the optional protocol to the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights and the African Commission and Court(Stellenbosch Law Review, 2011) Chenwi, LilianLitigation of socio-economic rights at international level is a viable option where access to justice at the national level is unattainable. International law mechanisms for litigating these rights are therefore useful for marginalised groups and people living in poverty. This is also based on the important role of these mechanisms in ensuring that States meet the obligations they have committed to in human rights treaties, and provide effective remedies in cases of violations. This article assesses, taking into consideration some broad principles, the international law mechanisms for litigating socio-economic rights at the UN and African regional levels, particularly the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ("OP-ICESCR") and the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights complaints mechanisms. The article illustrates that while these mechanisms have the potential to advance the rights of the poor and marginalised, and in some case have been successful in doing so, they are not without drawbacks that impact on their effectiveness.Item Breaking new ground : the need for a protocol to the African Charter on the abolition of the death penalty in Africa(African Human Rights Law Journal, 2005) Chenwi, LilianThe 1980s saw the drafting and adoption of international treaties on the abolition of the death penalty. In the European and Inter-American human rights systems, steps have been taken to abolish the death penalty by means of the adoption of protocols to their respective human rights treaties. Therefore, the African continent is the only region with a human rights treaty that does not have a protocol on the abolition of the death penalty. Human rights systems need to be constantly adapted to match changing conditions. Accordingly, in view of the international human rights developments and trends towards the abolition of the death penalty, this article addresses the need for a protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the question of the abolition of the death penalty in Africa.Item Celebrating ten years of translating socio-economic rights into reality : The Socio-Economic Rights Project of the Community Law Centre(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2007) Chenwi, LilianSouth Africa’s democracy has all the building blocks in place to facilitate democratic development and the realisation of socio-economic rights. The 1996 Constitution provides a strong institutional framework within which socioeconomic rights can be realised. However, although South Africa has a Constitution hailed as the most progressive in the world and a broad range of institutions, actors, legislation and promising jurisprudence designed to promote human rights, translating these rights into tangible realities for poor and marginalised groups still remains a major challenge.Item Conference “Seeking security: Towards a new vision for tenure relations in farming areas”(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2005) Chenwi, LilianNkuzi Development Association (NDA) in partnership with Social Surveys Africa (SSA) organised a conference on the tenure security of farm dwellers, which was held in Johannesburg from 25–27 October 2005.Item The Constitutional Protection of Those Facing Eviction from “Bad Buildings”(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2008) Chenwi, Lilian; Liebenberg, SandraThe Constitutional Court’s judgment in the Olivia case, handed down on 19 February 2008, represents a victory for the occupiers of “bad-buildings” in the inner city of Johannesburg as well as other poor people facing eviction for health and safety reasons.Item Correcting the historical asymmetry between rights : the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(African Human Rights Law Journal, 2009) Chenwi, LilianOn 10 December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Optional Protocol ensures that, just like victims of civil and political rights violations, victims of economic, social and cultural rights violations have access to remedies at the international level. This article examines the Optional Protocol, starting with the historical background and its content, highlighting some of the main issues of controversy.Item Delineating the content of the right to social security : CESCR general comment(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2008) Chenwi, LilianThe right to social security is of crucial importance in protecting the most vulnerable and marginalised members of society, especially those living in dire poverty. Social assistance is essential in ensuring that persons living in poverty are able to access a minimum level of income that is sufficient to meet basic subsistence needs and prevent them from having to live below minimum acceptable standards.Item The Draft Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2006) Chenwi, Lilian; Mbazira, ChristopherHistorically, economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights) have received less protection through enforcement mechanisms than civil and political rights. Victims of ESC rights violations do not have the opportunity of submitting formal complaints to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), the supervisory body of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Conversely, the 1976 Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allows victims to lodge complaints with the Human Rights Committee (HRC), the supervisory body of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).Item Enforcing housing rights(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2009) Chenwi, LilianOn 27 March 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned a High Court judgment ordering the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (the municipality) to buy land which had been unlawfully occupied by about 76 families (the occupiers). This case illustrates the difficulties that poor people face in accessing housing.Item Engaging meaningfully with government on socio-economic rights : A focus on the right to housing(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2010) Chenwi, Lilian; Tissington, KateTo make sure that service delivery is effective and has a positive impact on people’s quality of life, it is important to have meaningful engagement between communities and the government. South Africa’s Constitution makes provision for individuals and communities to take part in service delivery processes and decisions. This right is important in the fight against poverty, inequality and marginalisation. Some people do not know that their right to participate is protected in the Constitution, in South African legislation and in international law. They also do not know the key principles about meaningful engagement set out by the courts, especially the Constitutional Court. This booklet focuses mainly on the right to housing when it explains the objectives, subject and process of meaningful engagement.Item Fair Trial Rights and Their Relation to the Death Penalty in Africa(International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 2006) Chenwi, LilianA fair trial is a basic element of the notion of the rule of law, and the principles of ‘due process’ and ‘the rule of law’ are fundamental to the protection of human rights. At the centre of any legal system, therefore, must be a means by which legal rights are asserted and breaches remedied through the process of a fair trial in court, as the law is useless without effective remedies. The fairness of the legal process has a particular significance in criminal cases, as it protects against human rights abuses. Hence, constitutional due process and elementary justice require that the judicial functions of trial and sentencing be conducted with fundamental fairness, especially where the irreversible sanction of the death penalty is involved.Item First reading of the draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2007) Chenwi, LilianIn an earlier article in the ESR Review (Chenwi & Mbazira, 2006) we indicated that governments were about to decide on whether to proceed with the drafting of an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which will provide for a complaints procedure. We also set out the historical background and the debate about the need for the optional protocol.Item First reading of the draft optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights : international development(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2007) Chenwi, LilianIn an earlier article in the ESR Review (Chenwi & Mbazira, 2006) we indicated that governments were about to decide on whether to proceed with the drafting of an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which will provide for a complaints procedure. We also set out the historical background and the debate about the need for the optional protocol.Item Giving effect to the right to adequate housing : the need for a coherent (national) policy on special needs housing : legislationtion and policy review(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2006) Chenwi, LilianAccording to the Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions (2006), the right to housing is one of the most widely violated human rights. Over a billion people worldwide have inadequate housingItem Government's obligation to unlawful occupiers and private landowners(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2010) Chenwi, LilianOn 4 February 2010, the South Gauteng High Court ordered the City of Johannesburg (the City) to pay rent to a property owner whose building was occupied by squatters. The Court also found the City's housing policy to be unconstitutional to the extent that it discriminated against people occupying privately owned land. The Court's order will compel the City to reassess its housing programme in accordance with its constitutional obligations.Item Housing rights of "slum" dwellers at stake : case review(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2009) Chenwi, LilianOn 27 January 2009, the High Court (Durban and Coast Local Division) handed down judgment in the Slums Act case. The case concerned a controversial piece of legislation, the KwaZulu-Natal Elimination and Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Act 6 of 2007 (Slums Act), which aims to eliminate slums in KwaZulu-Natal.Item Implementation of Housing Rights in South Africa: Approaches and strategies(Journal of Law and Social Policy, 2015) Chenwi, LilianEnsuring access to adequate housing, especially for the poor and disadvantaged in society, including those faced with evictions and displacement, continues to be a global challenge. The situation remains critical in South Africa, with many poor households living in difficult conditions, facing the risk of eviction and unable to access adequate housing. This is despite the myriad of progressive housing laws, jurisprudence, policies and programs that exist in South Africa. Notwithstanding the challenges that the country faces in ensuring the effective realization of the right to adequate housing, as illustrated in this article, lessons can be learnt from its approaches and strategies to implement this right.Item Implementing and monitoring socioeconomic rights(ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 2009) Chenwi, LilianThe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) recently released a report on the implementation and monitoring of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights (UN doc. E/2009/90).
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