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Explore our work with partners, globally and locally, to tackle social and economic injustice using a human rights lens.

Chile's constituent process concludes with important contributions from GI-ESCR

Chile's constituent process concludes with important contributions from GI-ESCR

Chile's constituent process concludes with important contributions from GI-ESCR

 

In November 2019, Chile began a constitutional process that gave an institutional channel to the so-called "social outbreak" that had begun during the previous month. From the initial discussions, this process showed progressive features, being the first in the world to be drafted with parity, seats reserved for indigenous peoples and the participation of lists of independents.

Preparation of the constituent process

In preparation for the process, GI-ESCR developed a series of activities aimed at promoting international standards of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, including:

Cycle of talks "Social law and constituent process: (re)imagining the Chile of the 21st century" (August 6 - September 24, 2020)

Launch of GI-ESCR’s publication “TOPIC 11 | PUBLIC FINANCING OF PUBLIC SERVICES” (November 2020)

Launch of the publication “Living in dignity. Towards the right to housing in the New Constitution” (November 2020)

Launch of publication "Let's set up another Education... A better society is possible" (December 2020)

Launch of the campaign “Commitment to Dwell in Dignity. Guidelines for the debate on the right to adequate housing” (June 2021)

Launch of the platform "The Constitution is Ours" whose objective was to connect the Constitutional Convention with the citizens (August 16, 2021)

Incidence in the Constitutional Convention

Formally installed on 4 July 2021, the Constitutional Convention had a series of mechanisms for citizen participation that were used by GIESCR local team, along with other collective advocacy mechanisms, to promote the incorporation of both economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, as well as their guarantee mechanisms and the gender approach, within the constitutional text that was drafted. Among these activities are:

GI-ESCR public hearing in the transitory human rights commission (August 18, 2021)

Launch of publication "For a feminist regulation" (July 4, 2021)

Launch of the book "Social rights and the constituent moment of Chile: Global and local perspectives for the constitutional debate" (September 2021)

Webinar “Women and ESC rights. Perspectives from intersectionality” (September 9, 2021)

Launch of the publication “Living in Dignity. Constitutional Proposals” (September 23, 2021)

Launch of the Global Manifesto for Public Services (October 25, 2021)

Cycle of dialogues “There are no rights without resources” (October 7 - November 18, 2021)

Creation of the Citizen Network for Fiscal and Tax Justice in Chile (November 2021)

Cabildo "Fiscal Policy and Human Rights" (December 1, 2021)

Launch of the report "Proposals for tax and fiscal justice in the new Constitution of Chile" (December 3, 2021)

Open Cabildo "Public Services" (December 17, 2021)

Launch of publication “More than Juanitas. Guaranteeing economic, social, cultural and environmental rights with a gender approach” (December 17, 2021)

Seminar on the creation and review of the proposed articles and merger in the Popular Initiative for a Joint Standard between fiscal policy and public services (December 22, 2021)

Presentation of the Popular Initiative proposal for Standard No. 18,202 "Universal and quality public services and universal and fair fiscal policy to guarantee social rights" (December 24, 2021)

Campaign to collect signatures for the Popular Initiative for Standard 18.202 (February 2022)

Presentation before the Commission on the Environment and Economic Model of the Constitutional Convention (March 7, 2022)

Presentation before the State Form Commission of the Constitutional Convention (March 14, 2022)

International seminar "Universal and quality public services for the new Chile" (April 26 and 27, 2022)

It is important to note that the Popular Initiative for Standards mechanism allowed GI-ESCR Chile –together with Public Services International and other partners– for the first time to build precise regulatory content based on the Global Manifesto for Public Services and the Principles of Human Rights in Fiscal Policy, and will take it to a decision-making space of constitutional rank for the first time worldwide. This required a strong campaign and public advocacy work to achieve the minimum popular support of 15,000 signatures required by the regulations of the Constitutional Convention. On February 1, 2022, GI-ESCR Chile and its local partners obtained 16,388 signatures of support, allowing the article proposal to enter the discussion of the Environment and Form of State commissions of the Constitutional Convention. Subsequently, the text proposed by the coalition made up of GI-ESCR Chile was expressly accepted, particularly in articles 176 and 185 of the constitutional proposal subsequently presented to the Chilean community.

The text of the constitutional proposal

The constitutional proposal, which has been internationally described as one of the most progressive of the time, appropriately enshrined a general framework of social rights by: (i) incorporating the Social Rule of Law; (ii) introduce provisions on the interdependence of all human rights, the progressivity and non-regressivity of social rights, the principles of substantive equality and non-discrimination, and the generation of affirmative measures; (iii) expand the catalog of social rights, including rights not previously considered (housing, water, energy and care, among others) and adjusting the treatment of those already considered to international human rights standards; (iv) introduce mechanisms to guarantee social rights, such as a fair fiscal policy, universal and quality public services, and the justiciability of these rights; and (v) the recognition and regulation of traditionally excluded groups such as women; children and adolescents, people with disabilities, older adults and indigenous peoples, among others. All of these points are at the heart of the GI-ESCR programmatic agenda.

Precisely because of the significant advances that the proposal represented in terms of social rights, GI-ESCR Chile joined forces with three other civil society organizations (Amnesty International Chile, Citizenship Intelligent and Fundaci?n Avina) to launch a new stage of the project "The Constitution It is Ours” , whose objective was to promote the informed vote of people in Chile, based on the construction of a methodology for the evaluation of the articles of the constitutional proposal by civil society organisations and national and international academia, under a thematic agenda of human rights and nature and democratic strengthening.

The content produced was disseminated through different channels in Chilean society, reaching the digital platform, social networks (Youtube, Instagram and Facebook) and territorial activities with direct contact with groups of people in all regions of the country.

Some of the results of the scope of this project were:

  1. More than 40 civil society organizations participated in the application of the evaluation methodology, giving their opinion on the final text;

  2. 17 international experts were summoned to evaluate norms of the Chilean constitutional proposal;

  3. More than 33,000 constitutions were printed and distributed throughout the country;

  4. More than 41,600 booklets were printed and delivered to the public, which included the evaluations of the 16 most important articles according to the programmatic agenda of the project;

  5. The website received more than 34 thousand unique visits to the content of the evaluations;

  6. The spokespersons for the project had more than 24 appearances in national and regional media;

  7. The informative video of the GI-ESCR’s Director in Chile on the vote in the plebiscite had more than 1,410,276 views;

The team was deployed territorially on more than 16 occasions to facilitate thematic workshops with people belonging to traditionally excluded communities, such as older adults, people in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, people from communities living in poverty and people with mental disabilities, among others. ;

Finally, in alliance with another project called "Once Constituyente", material from the normative evaluations was distributed in workshops developed from Arica to Punta Arenas.

The exit plebiscite

On Sunday 4 September 2022, Chile faced a plebiscite, where citizens had to vote to approve or reject the constitutional proposal prepared by the Constitutional Convention. On the occasion, and in the midst of a complex context of inflation and increased criminal activity in the country, the proposed text was rejected by 61.86% of the votes, being approved only by 38.14% of the electoral roll, which for the first time in Chile's history included automatic registration and compulsory voting.

Without prejudice to the electoral result, GI-ESCR highlights the great success that the work carried out by our team in Chile had in the incidence of international human rights standards, particularly in relation to economic, social, cultural and environmental rights during the constituent process in Chile.

Although there is not yet a clear procedure for continuing the process of building a new constitution for Chile, we ratify the institutional commitment to promote economic, social, cultural and environmental rights in Chile’s future constitution, thus consolidating our mission to transform economic, social and gender inequalities from a human rights lens in the institutional frameworks of the Chilean territory.

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Climate and Environmental Justice

We have advanced rights-based and gender-transformative transition frameworks through research that centres the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities on the frontlines of extractive energy policies, promoting climate and energy frameworks attentive to the social and care-related impacts of transition pathways. We have developed a clear vision for a gender-just transition, firmly rooted in gender and human rights norms, establishing both the legal basis and the direction for the transformative changes our planet and societies urgently need. In particular, the ‘Guiding Principles for Gender Equality and Human Rights in the Energy Transition’, a collective effort built through online consultations, an in-person workshop and multiple rounds of revision with activists, practitioners and experts from around the world, outline a transformative vision for reshaping global energy systems through a human rights and gender equality lens.

Our work recognises that the climate emergency is both an existential threat and an opportunity to reimagine societies built on social, gender, economic and environmental justice. We ground our advocacy in feminist and intersectional principles, prioritising the agency and perspectives of communities in the Global South who have contributed the least to the climate emergency yet face its most devastating consequences. Central to our approach is the understanding that energy is not merely a commodity but a fundamental human right; essential for dignity, health, education, work and the realisation of countless other rights. We challenge approaches to the energy transition that risk replicating the harmful patterns of fossil fuel extraction and, instead, advocate for transformative policies that ensure human rights and gender equality as central to building climate-resilient societies rooted in dignity, justice and planetary well-being.

What's next?

We will continue to challenge approaches that treat energy transition as merely a technical shift, instead positioning it as an opportunity to reimagine economies and societies rooted in dignity for all, with particular attention to communities in the Global South who have contributed least to the climate emergency yet are most exposed to its worst effects.

We will connect community-level evidence and the lived experiences of those on the frontlines of extractive policies to national reform and global norm-setting, breaking down silos between human rights, gender, and climate movements, and advancing a shared vision that recognises just transitions as not only fundamental to achieving climate-resilient and sustainable societies, but as transformative pathways that advance social and gender equality, redistribute power and resources equitably, and ensure that energy systems serve the public good rather than profit.

We will mainstream rights-based and genderjust transition priorities in key multilateral spaces (particularly, within the Just Transition Work Programme and the to-be-developed Just Transition Mechanism, within the UNFCCC) to guarantee that just transitions are advanced at all levels.

We will also translate our work, through strategic advocacy, into at least two concrete policy wins, whether promoted, adopted, implemented, or scaled, in priority countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, or Kenya), ensuring these policies align with human rights standards, centre gender equality, and reflect the needs and views of affected communities.

We will build momentum for the progressive recognition of the right to sustainable energy to shift dominant narratives away from purely extractive solutions that sideline gendered impacts, community participation, and Global South perspectives.

Economic Justice and Climate Finance

Our work has transformed the global discussion on fiscal policy in a more just, emancipatory and sustainable direction. Our approach has combined both high-level, expert contributions within decisionmaking circles, with bold, impactful work on narrative change with the general public.

We have been instrumental in the inclusion of human rights as a guiding principle of the future United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a multilateral instrument with the potential of raising approx. USD 492 billion per year in public revenues currently foregone to global tax abuse. In the process leading to the ‘Compromiso de Sevilla’ decided at FfD4, we proposed and succeeded in creating a specific human rights workstream within the Civil Society Financing for Development Mechanism, which was critical to ensure that explicit commitments on the matter were included in the negotiating outcome. In a context of cutbacks in multilateral institutions, we have amplified the capacities of technical experts, providing rigorous technical support and leveraging our influence to ensure the enactments of groundbreaking standard-setting instruments, such as the 2025 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Statement on Fiscal Policy and Human Rights, and the first ex oficio hearing on the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on Fiscal and Economic Policies to Address Poverty and Structural Inequality, leading to an upcoming thematic resolution on the matter. We have also bridged the silos between multilateral tax discussions and climate finance debates, promoting ambitious financing commitments to increase international and domestic resource mobilisation during COP 28, 29 and 30.

At the regional level, our engagement with fiscal cooperation platforms such as the Platform for Fiscal Cooperation of Latin America and the Caribbean (PTLAC), where we are member of its Civil Society Consultative Council, and the African Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker, for which we participated in the pilot mission in Ivory Coast together with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), have been critical in cementing a growing engagement between tax administrations and ministries of finance with international legal experts, exploring actionable and transformative initiatives, such as the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, beneficial ownership registries and corporate countryby-country reports, to be implemented at the international level.

At the local level, our interventions in fiscal reform debates in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria have contributed to shaping legislative outcomes in a more progressive, rights-compliant direction.

As for our leadership in narrative change, we have a measurable track record in delivering tailored, innovative campaigns which have decisively expanded economic justice constituencies by appealing to a broader tent. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we created the ‘Date Cuenta’ campaign, coordinating over 40 organisations across civil society to deliver plain language, innovative messaging connecting progressive fiscal reforms to the financing of health, education and social protection. ‘Date Cuenta’ generated over 55 original campaign messages that were tailored to the realities of seven priority countries (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras) and disseminated in Spanish, Portuguese and English. In doing so, we convened more than 65 online co-creation workshops with partners, coordinating a unified communications strategy which combined digital outreach, press and media coverage, and collaboration with influencers. Ultimately, ‘Date Cuenta’ resulted in more than 60,000 interactions on social media, coverage in major regional and international media outlets, including El País, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg and France 24, and the participation of at least 63 social media influencers through 58 dedicated publications. In collaboration with Fundación Gabo and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, we also organised a two-day workshop in Bogota with 20 journalists from 13 countries, building a regional network trained in a human rights-based approach to fiscal policy that has since generated published media coverage on outlets such as La Diaria, Ciper, El Diario Ar and Milenio. Through ‘Date Cuenta’ and our regional advocacy, we strengthened civil society engagement in key processes, including the Financing for Development track and FfD4, co-organised highlevel dialogues with states and civil society from Latin America and Africa.

What's next?

We will shape the UN Tax Convention and its Protocols so they embed human rights principles, and we will stay engaged through follow-up processes (including the expected Conference of the Parties) to support effective implementation. We will keep linking tax and climate finance so that new resources mobilised through fiscal cooperation are channelled to adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage, in line with UNFCCC commitments.

Public Services for Care Societies

We have translated participatory research into accountability and policy outcomes.

In Ivory Coast, our work with Mouvement Ivoirien des Droits Humains and affected communities since 2023 exposed how privatisation and lack of accountability restrict access to quality healthcare. It contributed to the closure of 1,022 illegal private health centres, an executive instrument strengthening the regulation of private hospitals across the country, and the creation of a permanent complaints management committee in healthcare through a bylaw issued by the prefect of Gagnoa. Partners engaged through this process also advanced concrete improvements at facility level: members of the Gagnoa Midwives Association who took part in the participatory action research pooled resources to renovate the neonatal unit of the Regional Hospital, and the Director of the Gagnoa General Hospital launched an action plan to expand services and improve patient reception, with the facility receiving the award for best hospital in the country in 2025.

In Kenya, our research with the Mathare Education Taskforce documented the absence of public schools and the expansion of private provision, evidencing impacts on households and caregivers and strengthening demands for free, quality public education. This work contributed to stronger community agency and collective organisation, alongside ongoing strategies ranging from communications to litigation to secure a public school in the area, some involving GI-ESCR and others led independently.

Across Africa, this work is complemented by a multi-country study examining the human rights implications of austerity in education and health, including how regressive fiscal policies, rising debt burdens and persistent underinvestment undermine the financing and delivery of public services.

In Latin America, from 29 November to 2 December 2021, over a thousand representatives from over one hundred countries, from grassroots movements, advocacy, human rights, and development organisations, feminist movements, trade unions, and other civil society organisations, met in Santiago, Chile, and virtually, to discuss the critical role of public services for our future. Following the meeting, the Santiago Declaration on Public Services was adopted to demand universal access to quality, gender-transformative and equitable public services as the foundation of a fair and just society.

We are currently advancing work on care systems, linking public services and fiscal justice through integrated research, advocacy and communications, including a regional campaign framing care as a collective responsibility requiring sustained public investment.

What's next?

In Ivory Coast, we will evaluate and strengthen the complaints management committee and position it as a replicable model for other health facilities. In Kenya, we will support the Mathare community to co-design a model public school for Mabatini and Ngei wards, grounded in human rights standards. Building on our multi-country austerity study, we will drive national advocacy on financing for education and health: advancing reforms in Ghana; launching a fiscal policy and public services financing agenda in Kenya through the CESCR process and targeted coalition work; and, in Nigeria, using the new tax acts in force since 1 January 2026 to catalyse a national accountability campaign for adequately funded, quality public services. In Latin America, we will amplify locally led care pilots across 8 countries and turn lessons into influence—advancing care policies that strengthen care organisations, protect care workers’ rights, support unpaid caregivers, include disability and family networks, and redistribute care more equitably.