[hr-education] Manual on ESC rights in the Inter-American System

PUBLICATION -- NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH

Protecting Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Inter-American
Human Rights System: A Manual on Presenting Claims, by Tara Melish (473
pages).

"Rarely have I seen a human rights manual which is so timely, so
well-conceived and so well-executed." -- Human Rights Quarterly

The Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights at Yale
Law School and the Centro de Derechos Econ=F3micos y Sociales (CDES) have
jointly published, in English and Spanish editions, the first
comprehensive guide to bringing economic, social and cultural rights
(ESCR) claims in the inter-American human rights system.  Protecting
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Inter-American Human Rights
System: A Manual on Presenting Claims is a practical, hands-on guide to
the procedures and substantive case law of the inter-American human rights
system.

The Manual is an essential resource for a wide range of human rights
advocates from the legal practitioner with extensive experience working in
the inter-American system to the practitioner or social justice advocate
with little or no experience.  The Manual describes the inter-American
treaty system, examines the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Commission
and Court of Human Rights, walks through the steps for bringing a claim
before these bodies, describes the elements of effective petitions, and
provides legal arguments based on four approaches for asserting ESCR
claims.

The Manual is an indispensable guide to the jurisprudence of the
inter-American human rights bodies.  It contains full citations to
reported cases and incorporates the relevant case law into the suggested
ESCR arguments, which practitioners may borrow and easily incorporate into
individual petitions. "If NGOs and advocates in the field do take full
advantage of the well-developed and richly-documented arguments and
analysis in this Manual, it will undoubtedly greatly advance ESCR
litigation and, in turn, jurisprudence in the Inter-American System." --
Human Rights Quarterly

The Manual's structure enables users to select the sections most useful to
them.

    * Chapters 1 and 2 provide background and framework information,
describing the purpose, structure, and governing instruments of the
inter-American system, analyzing the system's treatment of ESCR to date,
and explaining the procedural requirements for bringing an initial
petition before the Commission.
    * Chapter 3 introduces the arguments advocated in the Manual,
stressing the importance of establishing a case that the inter-American
human rights bodies can accept for consideration.
    * Chapter 4 discusses rules of treaty interpretation that advocates
should draw upon to urge an expansive reading of the protections of the
American Convention on Human Rights, while Chapter 5 details States'
international obligations under the Convention.
    * Chapters 6-9 elaborate arguments for presenting ESCR claims to the
Commission and Court and suggest ways to frame issues to provide the
strongest legal support.
    * Chapter 10 examines additional evidentiary and procedural
considerations.
    * Appendices A and B include a standard petition form prepared by the
Commission and a "Model ESCR Petition." Appendices C and D are the
American Convention and the Protocol of San Salvador, the two documents
most important to ESCR claims in the inter-American system.

To cover the costs of printing, shipping and handling, a charge of US
$20.00 per copy is necessary (for foreign shipments from the Schell
Center, there will be an additional charge of US $5.00).

To order copies in English and/or Spanish, contact:
Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for Int'l. Human Rights

Yale Law School
P.O. Box 208215
New Haven, CT
06520-8215  USA
Tel: (203) 432-7480
schell.law@yale.edu

For orders from South and Central America:
Centro de Derechos Economicos y Sociales (CDES)
Lizardo Garcia 512 y Diego de Almagro, 6 Piso
P.O. Box 17-07-8808
Quito, Ecuador
Tel: (593-2) 252-9125 / 256-0449
cdes@cdes.org.mailto:cdes@cdes.org.ec



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