User:Maria cuse/Sandbox
I am a senior International Relations and Geography major at Syracuse University. [1]
Current Projects
The CESR is currently working on many projects across the world and is operating in 21 countries. One of the major projects taken on by the CESR in Latin America is the case of Guatemala Although Guatemala is a mid-income country it has some of the worst social indicators and uneven distributions of wealth in Latin America. Despite having fairly ore resources than many other countries in the region, progress in the area of economic and social rights has been stunted and successful outcomes have been minimal. Through research and analysis, the CESR determined that it is the state's fiscal policy that has been a driving factor in the denials and violations of economic and social rights in the country. The CESR sought to facilitate and promote changes in Guatemala through exposing the problems with the state's fiscal policy and make human rights an integral part of the debate and reform of the nations' budgets and taxes. As is typical of the CESR, the organization partnered with a local think tank of fiscal policy known as the Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales as well as with other local advocacy groups of a wide range of topics including health, education, human rights, development, etc. [2]
In addition to bringing human rights into fiscal debate and tax reforms and seeking government comitment on social spending in areas such as women's health, child malnourishment and ethnic and rural/urban inequalities, the CESR has also stated its official advocacy goals as the following
- engage donor community
- promote national and local level human rights monitoring capacity
- counter media and business discourses
- urge and pressure for accountability at international human rights and development forums[3]