Laws guarantee the recognition of economic, social and cultural rights. Civil society can be a driving force in the elaboration and modification of laws when a legal gap needs to be filled, i.e. when no law is available or if the existing law is incomplete or out-dated. It is, however, a time-consuming approach that cannot be used to answer an emergency. Laws regulate the existence of the whole nation, on a more or less undetermined period.
The action on ESC rights-related laws is about elaborating new laws / modifying existing laws, but may also consist in campaigns on states’ reforms that violate ESC rights.
Several steps may be followed:
1. Setting up a platform
2. Research
3. Drafting
4. Lobbying and advocacy strategy
1. Setting up a platform
It is necessary to set up a platform bringing together the various sectors of society. This will make it clear to policy-makers that the proposal is supported by vast segments of the population and by influential sectors of society.
2. Research
An initial phase of research is required to come up with a rationale to show the relevance of the law proposed in the Parliament. It is also necessary to answer the opposition’s arguments. This research should aim at answering the following questions: What is the situation? What is the legal justification? What is the associated international standard? What are the advantages of availing of this kind of law? Etc.
a) Take stock of legislation in place
The inventory of laws and application decrees aims at assessing their impact, their limitations, legal shortcomings, etc.
The Constitution and international or regional covenants ratified by states (ICESCR, covenants on women, children, ACHPR, etc.) should also reviewed.
Existing laws may be compared with international instruments as well as instruments neighbouring countries avail of.
b) Where and from whom should information be collected?
A rather long list of sources of information is proposed here below, but priorities might sometimes have to be defined according to the means the platform avails of:
- Governmental structures (such as ministries), as well as parliament members, administrative and judicial structures: they elaborate and implement laws and public policies. For example, the reports about interpellations of parliament members or the jurisprudence of the various courts and tribunals may constitute interesting sources of information. Public information is not always easy to obtain. But even if it cannot be obtained from such structures, their consultation allows identifying gaps in organisation or accountability.
- Statistical research structures (planning and statistic cells).
- Official bulletin and Internet sources.
- Studies and research of associative structures acting in favour of the rights concerned.
- National, regional and international research institutes.
- Experts.
- Recommendations of the UN Committee on ESC rights.
- Cooperation organisations.
- Specialised bodies.
- Interregional agencies.
In addition to this search for existing sources of information, fact finding missions can be conducted to identify the more or less serious shortcomings in human rights implementation in practice. They can be carried out with grassroots people, specialised associations and the private sector.
3. Drafting
After collecting information and identifying law elements that need to be modified or laws that need to be enacted, the drafting work may start.
Several steps must then be followed:
- Consultations with stakeholders: grassroots communities, experts
- Elaboration of an exposure rationale
- Drafting of the proposal for the adoption of a new law or the modification of an existing law
A single law proposal should be produced. The coalition must present a proposal based on a gradation between non negotiable minimum standards and desirable provisions. This strategy makes it possible to negotiate with parliament members on the sensible points of the proposal.
4. Lobbying and advocacy strategy
The proposal for a new law or the modification of an existing law, after being drafted, should give rise to a lobbying and advocacy work in order to have it adopted.
Besides the group that drafted the legislative proposal and that promoted it, additional support may be sought: decision makers of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, public opinion, the press, opinion leaders, international organisations with delegations in the concerned country, etc.
Several actions are possible.
Towards decision makers:
- Ally with parliament members sensitive to the issue addressed through the law proposal, maintain a relationship with them by constantly communicating and by regularly providing them with updated information, invite them to events and recognise their efforts.
- Approach the Economic and Social Council, the institutions in charge of taking legislative initiatives or a legislation committee to present our project.
- Raise politicians’ awareness (in particular during election campaigns), conduct actions aimed at influencing parliament members to have them vote for this law (after identifying those who are for the law proposal, against it or undecided)
- Present a law proposal, where citizens are entitled to do so, like in Mexico, if it is supported by at least 5% of the population.
- Raise judges’ awareness.
- Organise a forum of interpellation of ministers or their representatives.
Mobilise the country’s lifeblood and the population as a whole
- Mobilise the media: convince journalists of the relevance of the proposed law. Innovating methods should be used to attract their attention, and press releases and declarations should be documented by strong evidence and research. If they are convinced, they will find the wording required to attract readers’ attention (government or public opinion).
- Organise meetings with opinion leaders, political parties, religious leaders;
- Elaborate a strategy towards technical and financial partners, lobbies, economic operators;
- Elaborate a strategy towards international organisations (specialised UN agencies such as the International Labour Organisation, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, etc.) to gain influence;
- Ensure an ongoing people’s mobilisation to make it clear to policy-makers that a significant part of the population supports the law proposal, through the following actions: petitions, campaign of letters to parliament members, rallies (pacific demonstrations), sit-ins, speeches (in public places, with opinion leaders), forums or events inside the parliaments, press conferences...
Awareness raising must be continuous and progress must be regularly assessed in order to maintain the momentum and to enable citizens to take ownership of the cause being advocated. All this lobbying and advocacy work may take a very long time. The legislative agenda and elections schedule must be taken into account to take advantage of periods when politicians are more sensitive to electors’ opinion.
