By ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the government of Nepal is obliged to protect, promote and fulfill the rights realized under the covenant. However, women’s contributions in the agricultural economy and domestic work have been vastly unrecognized. Identifying ESCR as the rights that support for the betterment of women’s livelihood, WOREC Nepal has been advocating and centralizing its activity for ensuring the right to food and livelihood, right to reproductive health of women from women’s perspective. The food insecurity rampant in the country has made severe effect on the life of the people living mostly in the hilly regions of the country. Out of 75 districts 44 districts are identified as food deficit districts. At this alarming situation, women are more often affected. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) campaign of WOREC is thus dedicated towards ensuring human’s economic, social and cultural rights. This campaign also recognizes the fact that when right to food is not ensured in the country, there occurs a massive migration both internal as well as external in search of better livelihood options. Not only men but women too have been migrating; and when migration process is unsafe, women are vulnerable to trafficking, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence both in origin and the destination countries. Realizing this context, this campaign, also focuses on right to work, right to safe migration and right to mobility of women for better opportunities.

Recognizing the fact that migration process should be safer, women should have right to employment or should migrate with information, skill and the knowledge about the destination country. Economically, women do not have access and control over natural resources; culturally women are the one who has to eat last in the family; and socially women are deprived of nutritious food. These social, economic and cultural practices make women vulnerable to different kinds of nutritional and reproductive problems. Thus, this campaign is mainly focused to make the state accountable to its actions/inactions in regard to ESCR from women’s perspective.

WOREC has been conducting various programs under ESCR campaign. 

• Bio-Intensive Farming System and Livelihoods
• Empowerment of Marginalised Communities
• Women Health Right Program
• Community Health Program
• Safe Migration Program
• Early Childhood Development and Child Rights Program