Center for Economic and Social Rights : Work & Labor

The right to work is a fundamental human right that protects a range of labour rights of working men and women. However, despite the formal end of slavery, many men, women and children are forced to work in slavery-like conditions, and are exploited, trafficked and bound by debt. Millions of people, especially women and minorities, are also denied work on the basis of discrimination.

The Center for Economic and Social Rights was one of the first organizations to challenge economic injustice as violation of international human rights law. Through its projects in the U.S. and abroad, CESR aims to use human rights to hold decision-makers - be they governments or corporations - accountable for their policies and actions where these violate the human right to work.

Global: The Women's Economic Equality Project (WEEP)

In today's global economy, gender inequality is growing. This is evidenced by the increasing poverty of women, and the re-emergence of sweatshops and other forms of economic exploitation, including trafficking in women. On the basis of gender, women of all ages are denied access to basic healthcare, housing, education, and work. Even when employed in high-paying jobs, as in the case of industrialized countries, women's wages are only 60-75% of men's wages.

United States: Treated Like Slaves, Donna Karan Inc's Women Workers

This report examines violations of women workers' human rights in the Choe factories, located in the heart of New York City. The contractor, employing Chinese and Latina immigrant women workers, produced garments exclusively for Donna Karan International under extremely abusive and exploitative conditions for an estimated 12 to 13 years.