The OPERA Framework About CESR The Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) was established in 1993 with the mission to work for the recognition and enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights as a powerful tool for promoting social justice and human dignity. CESR exposes violations of economic, social and cultural rights through an interdisciplinary combination of legal and socio-economic analysis. CESR advocates for changes to economic and social policy at the international, national and local levels so as to ensure these comply with international human rights standards. 162 Montague Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, USA Tel: +1 718 237-9145 Fax: +1 718 237-9147 www.cesr.org Board Members Philip Alston, (Honorary Board Member) Professor of Law, New York University School of Law Geoff Budlender, Constitutional and Human Rights Lawyer Manuel José Cepeda, Jurist, Universidad de los Andes Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Professor of International Affairs, New School, New York Richard Goldstone, Co-chairperson of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association Chris Jochnick, Director, Private Sector Engagement, Oxfam America Irene Khan, Director General, International Development Law Organization (IDLO) Elizabeth McCormack, Adviser, Rockefeller Family & Associates Carin Norberg, Director, Nordic Africa Institute Alicia Ely Yamin, (Chairperson) Director of the Program on the Health Rights of Women and Children at the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University Executive Director: Ignacio Saiz Acknowledgments This paper, prepared by Allison Corkery, Sally-Anne Way and Victoria Wisniewski Otero, was presented for discussion and feedback at the New Horizons in Economic and Social Rights Monitoring meeting hosted by the Center for Economic and Social Rights and Metrics for Human Rights in Development in Madrid in March 2012. The tremendous expertise and collective experience shared during the meeting contributed invaluably to the paper and the Center wishes to thank the meeting participants for their thoughtful comments and inputs. Materials from the New Horizons meeting are available at: http://www.cesr.org/article.php?id=1253 Photographs used in cover montage courtesy of: Allison Corkery, United Nations Photo, and the World Bank Photo Collection. © 2012 Center for Economic and Social Rights. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. 38