A/HRC/14/33
them in undertaking concrete initiatives to promote the right to adequate housing in their
respective countries. Grant projects focus on provision of free legal aid, advocacy for
ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, raising awareness about the relevant national legislation on housing rights and
international standards as well as advocacy through creation of video reels and films.
55.
OHCHR Regional Office for Central America in Panama led the establishment of a
regional inter-agency human rights group. One of the initiatives of the group was to
organize, in April 2009, training for trainers on the right to food, especially regarding
indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant population, with various United Nations agencies
and the support of the Regional Directors Team. In September 2009 the Regional Office
and WFP organized a technical consultation on the right to food with special focus on
children under 2 years of age. The consultation brought together experts, representatives of
United Nations agencies and programmes, international cooperation agencies and NGOs.
The outcome document calls on OHCHR and WFP, in cooperation with other agencies, to
further promote the analysis and action to strengthen the enjoyment of the right to food by
children under 2 in the region.
56.
OHCHR Regional Office in Chile sponsored and participated in the teaching of two
diploma courses on economic, social and cultural rights organized by the Henry Dunant
Institute for NGOs, public officials and other stakeholders from the Latin American Region
in Santiago.
57.
OHCHR Regional Office in Bangkok provided support to capacity-building in the
area of economic, social and cultural rights notably through training workshops and worked
to raise awareness about economic, social and cultural rights among various stakeholders
and has been supporting the establishment of an ASEAN human rights system.
58.
Field presences have also worked to raise awareness about economic, social and
cultural rights among various stakeholders. For example, to further raise awareness on
United Nations standards on resettlement, OHCHR-Cambodia published a bilingual booklet
containing frequently asked questions on the right to housing and protection against
eviction, general comment No. 7 on forced evictions and the Basic Principles and
Guidelines on Eviction and Displacement by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing.
The latter was also published by OHCHR-Mexico. OHCHR-Nepal has engaged in
awareness-raising about the human rights of haliyas (bonded labourers working as land
tillers) and other socially marginalized and discriminated groups through the medium of
forum theatre combined with workshops for local advocacy and capacity-building
activities. OHCHR Regional Office in Bangkok contributed to increasing awareness among
persons with disabilities by publishing and distributing leaflets about their rights and
producing an advocacy documentary dedicated to issues of employment opportunities and
accessibility of buildings for persons with disabilities.
59.
The MDGs and the right to development also provided field presences with
opportunities to approach development and poverty reduction from a human rights
perspective. In 2009, OHCHR set a strategic goal to strengthen national accountability in
MDG-based development processes and poverty reduction strategies from human rights
perspectives. Consultations with OHCHR field presences and assessment missions to Haiti
and Liberia during the first half of 2009 helped developing a draft operational framework
on the practical use of existing human rights monitoring tools in assessing and monitoring
the specific human rights standards and principles most relevant to policies, particularly in
the poverty reduction context. The framework provided an analytical mapping of key
research initiatives, to be further complemented with country case studies and good
experiences.
12
GE.10-12597
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