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Discuss the role of civil society in uplifting of the social economic condition of the marginalized people in society 200 words

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The role of civil society in keeping vigil over the human rights implications of states’ social protection policies, programmes and activities



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25 Aug 2014

Author(s): Letlhokwa George Mpedi

This contribution is published as part of the UNRISD resource platform for practitioners and policy makers Linking Social Protection and Human Rights. This part of the platform is a collection of expert contributions and commentary from advocates, practitioners, policy makers and academics sharing practical guidance and thought-provoking commentary on their experiences with a human rights approach to social protection. Please share your thoughts on this article in the comments space below.

Letlhokwa George Mpedi is Professor in the Department of Mercantile Law, Vice Dean and Director at the Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Johannesburg.

Keeping vigil over the human rights implications of states’ social protection activities

One of the fundamental roles that civil society organizations play is to ensure that states, particularly in emerging economies where social insecurity is rife, respect and promote the fundamental right to social protection (Samad 2009) and provide for vulnerable and marginalized members of society. This requires civil society organizations to fulfil two primary functions. Firstly, they must actively monitor the social protection provisioning of the relevant state actors. This is necessary to ensure that social protection policies, programmes and implementation thereof resonate well with the principles, rights and obligations outlined in, for example, binding international conventions, national legislation and jurisprudence. Secondly, civil society organizations have the important function of holding state actors accountable through activities such as exerting pressure on political decision makers and court action if their efforts do not comply with expected standards.

Easier said than done

This is easier said than done. The point is that the degree and the effectiveness to which civil society organizations can monitor and hold state actors accountable depends largely on the political and legislative milieu within which they operate. Non-democratic states tend to have a hostile attitude toward civil society organizations. They have a tendency to view civil society and its activities as antagonistic and predisposed to undermining their efforts in providing social protection and the way they wish to honour their social contract with their citizenry. Therefore, they enthusiastically use the law as a tool to quell and erode civil society organizations and their programmes. This creates an atmosphere that is not favourable for civil society organizations to pressurize the state and its organs to fulfil their social protection obligations. Civil society organizations are, under these circumstances, compelled to struggle for their legitimacy and recognition. This is done by soliciting society’s support. 

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