The Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) was established in 1993 to promote social justice through human rights. CESR works with social scientists and local partners in affected communities to document rights violations, advocate for changes in policies that impoverish and exploit people, and mobilize grassroots pressure for social change. As one of the first organizations to challenge economic injustice as a violation of international human rights law, CESR holds the view that economic and social rights — binding on all nations — can provide a universally accepted framework for strengthening social justice activism.
Over the past nine years, CESR has developed active international programs in the Middle East and Latin America and has expanded our program work in the United States. Through its projects, CESR has developed a strategy that combines research, advocacy, collaboration, and education. The basic aim and methodology of CESR’s work is to mobilize people to confront the policies that keep them poor, and they believe real change is possible when disenfranchised communities use human rights to hold decision-makers – be they governments or corporations – accountable for their actions.