South Africa’s ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 2015 meant that the South African government had to submit a first progress report on implementing the Covenant, which it did in April 2017. This provides the opportunity for a Civil Society Shadow Report in which civil society can provide to the United Nations Committee overseeing the Convention a civil society view on the extent to which socio-economic rights are being realised in South Africa, and an additional perspective when the Committee considers the Government’s report at its October meeting in 2018.
The South African government report is available at
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2fZAF%2f1&Lang=en.
The ICESCR Campaign, which comprises a number of civil society organisations (CSOs) driving the process, including the People’s Health Movement South Africa (PHM-SA), is coordinating civil society input to the process. There will be work taking place in a number of provinces, including some community consultations, to get input for the civil society submission. PHM-SA has set up a working group from its members to help coordinate PHM-SA and Health inputs to the joint report.
This is an important and critical intervention that PHM-SA is driving – an opportunity to hold government accountable for the delivery of the Right to Health. The PHM-SA working group will engage with other CSOs taking this very important process forward – and we invite you to participate.
To join the ICESCR working group, please contact Anneleen de Keukelaere at secretariat@phm-sa.org.