On 18 February 2021, GI-ESCR’s Programe Officer on Women’s ESC Rights and Gender Equality, Alejandra Lozano participated in the event “SDGs and the Twin Covenants” convened by the Women’s Major Group to share key reflections on the importance of engaging with international human rights mechanisms and, in particular, the ESCR framework to advance women’s rights and substantive gender equality.

This meeting was attended by over 40 representatives of women’s rights organizations working in different part of the world to advance gender equality providing a space to learn, strategize and exchange lessons learned in the struggle for the realization of women’s rights.

The event was the occasion for civil society organisations working with the two main human rights treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to explain how these two twin legal instruments can be used to frame and structure advocacy strategies at international and domestic levels.

Lazarie Eeckeloo form the Center for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) and Kseniya Kirichenko from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) provided a brief explanation of the ecosystem of UN human rights mechanisms and the diverse avenues that these bodies envisage for civil society engagement and its links to the SDGs framework.

Valentine Sébile, the Coordinator of the Working Group on Women’s ESCR at ESCR-Net, Charlene May form the Women’s Legal Centre and Alejandra Lozano from GI-ESCR also shared some key examples of advocacy work and strategic litigation using international ESC rights standards and recommendations to advance gender equality. Some of the following key messages were shared with the participants:

• It is essential to amplify the voices of women and foster women’s meaningful participation in international human rights mechanisms in order to influence their work, including in norm development, to ensure it reflects and is responsive to the experiences and demands of women rights defenders and feminist local struggles.

• Using the ICESCR and engaging with human rights treaty bodies, such as the CESCR reporting procedure, allow for developing a common rights narrative. Parallel reporting, for instance, is an effective mean to build networks, share key information and advance collaborative work to break organizational silos.

• It is essential to strive to advance new frontiers in ESC rights at the domestic and international level. There are many ways in which the connections between ESC rights and gender equality can be further strengthened using the treaty in relation to questions of gender justice and tax policy, climate change, just transitions to low carbon economies, unfair care systems.

• In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot lose sight that there is a risk that civil society engagement with key human rights mechanisms will be sacrificed in the move to virtual meetings. It is important to ensure modalities for virtual meetings are inclusive and as accessible as possible for civil society.

The event created a space for GI-ESCR’s to share its experience and lessons learned from its work with international human rights mechanims on gender equality and contribute to build strong networks of partners and cross—constituency movemnts for the realization of ESCR.

The Women’s Major Group was created in 1992 after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to facilitate women’s civil society engagement and meaningful participation into policy spaces on United Nations sustainable development mechanims and fora.