The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) was founded in October 2004 to promote a human rights vision in the United States that ensures dignity and access to the basic resources needed for human development and civic participation. Towards this end, NESRI works with community partners and ally organizations to fuel progressive movements by integrating human rights approaches into domestic campaigns and building human rights advocacy models tailored for the United States. NESRI’s programs are designed to effectively equip community partners with the tools necessary to use human rights strategies to better advocate for public policy changes.

Specifically, NESRI provides:

• Human rights research, analysis, and documentation;
• Training on human rights standards and strategies;
• Networking to build new alliances through human rights concepts;
• Support in developing transnational or international strategies and, where appropriate, access to formal U.N. mechanisms; and
• Advocacy support using human rights approaches.

NESRI’s Programs & Projects:

The Human Right to Education Program works with advocates and organizers to promote policy change in public education using human rights. The Program currently focuses on ensuring the right to dignity and education within disciplinary policies and processes.

The Human Right to Health Program works to develop a human rights approach to preserving public health and ensuring access to adequate health services in the United States. The Program currently focuses on advancing a human rights approach for reforming the systems for financing and administering health services.

The Legal Program seeks to strengthen the use of international human rights law in the domestic legal system and to create and shape human rights mechanisms relevant to U.S. advocacy and organizing.

The Special Project on the Human Rights of Hurricane Survivors supports communities in the Gulf Coast who are struggling with their right to return home, and their rights to adequate housing, health care, transportation and education.

For more information visit: www.nesri.org