2022 Annual Conference: ‘Operationalising Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’

The Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) Network (Australia & Aotearoa/New Zealand), established in 2019, aims to:

• raise the profile of economic, social and cultural rights research and, advocacy and activism in Australia and Aoteoroa/New Zealand;

• strengthen collaboration between scholars working on these rights, and engagement with government, advocates and others;

• contribute our economic, social and cultural rights expertise to addressing real world problems; and

• provide a home for economic, social and cultural rights scholarship, discussion, news, and events and other items of interest.

ESCRs place obligations on the Australian government in international law but operationalising them in Australia remains challenging. The majority of these rights have not been incorporated into Australian law although a few are found in the human rights legislation of three of the states and territories. There is often little public debate on key social, economic and cultural issues framed in terms of human rights. What avenues are there for realising these rights? What can we learn from efforts in the region? How, in these conditions, can we litigate key ESC rights claims, advocate for their realisation, or better use the international mechanisms? In what ways can understanding Australia’s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals strengthen the protection of ESCRs and build community awareness and engagement regarding these rights?

The workshop has three aims:

• Developing skills within the Australian (and regional) economic, social and cultural rights community to strengthen the realisation of those rights;

• Fostering the ability to take action across multiple fora (in relation to federal, state and territory policy and laws, at the UN, in advocacy and strategic litigation) to operationalise these rights; and

• Fostering a network of scholars and scholarship to underpin such action.

Conference dates and format

DAY 1: Wednesday 9 November – online

DAY 2: Friday 11 November – hybrid. The hybrid event will be conducted online and in person at the Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney

The conference program can be found here.

Day 1: Wednesday 9 November – Online

9.30: Welcome and introductions

10.00 -11.15 Panel 1: Creative avenues for social and economic rights

Diana Camps (Glasgow): Accountability and Agency: Exploring Justice in the UK Social Rights Landscape

Lynsey Blayden (UNSW): Building (or rebuilding) institutional protections for social and economic rights

Rosalind Dixon (UNSW): Defensive Social Rights

11.15: Tea Break/social breakout room

11.30 – 1.20 Panel 2: Operationalising economic, social and cultural rights in Australia and New Zealand/Aotearoa

Paul Hunt (New Zealand Human Rights Commission): Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in New Zealand

Lida Ayoubi (AUT): The Right to Access to Information for Persons with Disabilities as a Catalyst for Operationalising their ESCRs in New Zealand

Genevieve Wilkinson (UTS): Possibilities for the right to health in Australia

Cristy Clark (U of Canberra) and Beth Goldblatt (UTS): Climate Change and Social and Economic Rights: Operationalising the Right to a Healthy Environment in Australia

1.30 – 2.30: Book lunch

Melanie O’Brien (UWA): The Right to Clothing and Genocide – discussing her forthcoming book From Discrimination to Death: Genocide Process through a Human Rights Lens (Routledge 2022)

The online day will wrap up after lunch, and we will reconvene on Friday 11th November.

Day 2: Friday 11 November – In Person/Hybrid

9.00: Welcome

9.30 -11.00: Panel 3: Linguistic Discrimination and Economic, Social And Cultural Rights

Discussant: Janny Leung (Wilfrid Laurier University)

Laura Smith Khan (UTS): Access to work and English language proficiency requirements for migration agent registration

Kashif Raza (U of Calgary): Linguistic discrimination against multilingual workforce: A case study of English as a language of economy in Pakistan

Jacqui Mowbray (Sydney Uni): Minority languages in education: addressing linguistic barriers to enjoyment of the right to education

11.00 -11.30: Tea

11.30 - 12.15: Keynote Presentation

Malcolm Langford (Oslo) Constitutionalisation of Economic and Social Rights

12.15- 1.15: Lunch

1.15 - 2.15: Panel 4: Indigenous Cultural Rights

Ayla Alves (UNSW): Beyond the Anglosphere in the International Protection of Indigenous Cultural Heritage

Evana Wright (UTS): Operationalising Indigenous rights: Lessons from the Pacific

2.15 - 3.15: Panel 5: Engaging the UN processes

Jessie Hohmann (UTS) – Engaging the Parallel Reporting process under ICESCR

Julia Dehm (La Trobe) – Engaging with UN Special Rapporteurs

3.15 - 3.30: Discussion: The Way Forward for the Network

3.30: Social Event