Paper/Proposal Title

Achieving Social Justice through Social Economic Rights Litigation

Presenter/Author Information

Michael Gyan Nyarko, University of PretoriaFollow
Svati Shah, University of Massachusetts AmherstFollow
Adrian Jjuuko, Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum- UgandaFollow
Kerigo Odada, University of PretoriaFollow

Location

Virtual

Start Date

11-3-2023 8:30 AM

End Date

11-3-2023 9:45 AM

Keywords

socio-economic rights litigation, Africa, Latin America, India

Abstract

Human rights defenders are increasingly using to seek social justice. However, opponents have always expressed some disquiet on the suitability of courts in the adjudication of socio-economic rights, which have been deemed as disputes involving the distribution of socio-economic goods and services and, therefore, a prerogative of the political arms of government. Courts and other (quasi)judicial institutions have been said not to have sufficient expertise, information, nor the democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions relating to the policy choices that have to be made in the fulfilment of socio-economic rights.

Advocates for the (quasi)judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights have, on the other hand, been convinced. This has been instrumental in several jurisdictions, including South Africa, Colombia, India and the United States, to advance constitutionally guaranteed rights, including the right to health, education, water, and housing. Increasingly, international and regional human rights adjudicative bodies have also become involved in the adjudication of socio-economic rights and have made significant contributions to the normative development of socio-economic rights as well as providing substantive redress to victims.

Whereas socio-economic rights litigation is an attractive avenue for social transformation, critics are doubtful of the extent to which litigation can contribute to social change and achieve social justice. With this background in mind, this round table brings together scholars, activists, researchers, and lawyers from Africa, Latin America and India to discuss whether socio-economic rights litigation is a pragmatic strategy for safeguarding the right of every human person to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all persons can freely and fully realize their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The discussion shall examine socio-economic rights litigation and its potential to contribute to a new future of changing political, economic, feminist, and cultural engagement around Africa and people of African descent in the US and globally

Author/Speaker Biographical Statement(s)

Michael is the Manager of the Litigation and Implementation Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, where he also serves on the Editorial Committee of the African Human Rights Yearbook and edits the Centre’s blog, AfricLaw.com. He is the author of several book chapters and journal articles on human rights and democratisation in Africa and the co-editor of three books on governance and human rights in Africa. His research interests broadly revolve around international human rights law and in particular the African human rights system, socio-economic rights, business and human rights, human rights of vulnerable groups, the legitimacy of international human rights adjudicative bodies and the impact/implementation of international human rights law in national legal systems. He is currently completing his LLD in Human Rights at the University of Pretoria and MSc International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford.

Svati is a feminist anthropologist who works on questions of sexuality, gender, migration and caste capitalism in India. They hold adjunct appointments in the Departments of Anthropology and Afro-American Studies at UMass-Amherst. Dr Shah’s ethnographic monograph, Street Corner Secrets: Sex, Work and Migration in the City of Mumbai, discussed sex work as an aspect of labour migration that is mediated by the politics of space, urbanization and caste. They are currently researching the rise of authoritarianism and the histories of new left social movements, queer feminist critique, and anthropology in South Asia.

Adrian is a Ugandan human rights lawyer, researcher and activist, with over 15 years experience. He is the founder and Executive Director of Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), an organisation that operates a specialised legal aid clinic for LGBTI persons in Uganda, and advocates for legal change in favour of criminalised minorities in Uganda. He is currently coordinating the legal efforts to challenge Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, just as he did for the 2014 version. Adrian holds an LLD from the University of Pretoria. His latest book is titled ‘Strategic litigation and the struggle for lesbian, gay and bisexual equality in Africa’ (2020).

Kerigo is a human rights lawyer and researcher with a special focus on sexual and reproductive rights, public health policy, global health equity, and gender equality. She is currently a PhD researcher at the University of Pretoria, Centre for Human Rights, where her research focuses on obstetric violence and the legal mobilisation for respectful maternity care in South Africa. In her capacity as a PhD researcher, she also serves as an academic associate for the Sexual and Reproductive Rights program and also provides research support to Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng. Kerigo also serves as a mentor at the Global Surgery Advocacy Fellowship by Operation Smile, Nkafu Policy Institute and the University of Global Health Equity.