ESCR-Net (International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Rights) is a New York City-based nonprofit that works on economic, social, and cultural issues. In November 2023, the group called for the International Criminal Court to arrest Israeli leaders during that nation’s war against the terrorist group Hamas, alleging that Israel was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. ¹

In December 2023, the group criticized the COP28 climate change conference for accepting “false solutions” such as carbon capture and storage and nuclear. ²

Background

ESCR-Net was founded in 2003. ³ The group claims a membership of 280 nonprofits in 75 countries. ⁴

The group supports replacing the dominant socio-economic model with one that promotes left-of-center principles on human rights and environmental justice. The group also embraces the far-left view of “intersectionality,” which judges people based on overlapping identities that are arguably more oppressed, exploited, and dispossessed. ⁵

Advocacy

Treaty On Business and Human Rights

In January 2015, ESCR-Net’s Corporate Accountability Working Group and the International Federation for Human Rights announced plans to draft a proposed treaty on business and human rights. The goal of the treaty was to address alleged human rights violations by corporations. ⁶

Agriculture

In October 2021, ESCR- published an article denouncing the financing of modern agriculture by public development banks. The group urged agriculture to move away from “corporate-led and profit-driven industrial agriculture” and towards agriculture that embraced “food sovereignty, protection of ecosystems, and human rights.”  ⁷

Corporate Taxes

In December 2021, ESCR-Net published an article calling for higher corporate taxes and the elimination of so-called tax havens. The group criticized the corporate minimum tax agreement reached between OECD and G20 members claiming that the 15 percent minimum corporate tax rate was too low. The group demanded minimum tax rates between 25 percent and 30 percent. The group also claimed the current capitalist economic order was a failure and denounced tax minimization strategies such as wealth and asset management as “tax abuse.”  ⁸

Israel-Hamas War

In October 2023, ESCR-Net  published a statement that accused Israel of conducting “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip. The group also denounced Israel’s “settler-colonialism, apartheid, and illegal occupation” and denounced United States aid to Israel, claiming it enriched the American military-industrial complex. ⁹

In November 2023, the group called for the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. The group accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. ¹

Nuclear Energy

In December 2023, ESCR-Net  published an article attacking the results of the COP28 climate change conference. The group attacked the conference for only committing to spend $770.6 million to address the effects of climate change. The group instead demanded a $400 billion commitment. The group also denounced the conference’s support of nuclear and carbon capture and storage technology as “false solutions.” The group also attacked the conference for not allowing attacks on Israel. ²

Leadership

ESCR-Net’s executive director is Chris Grove. Before becoming executive director in 2012, he worked as a program officer for the group from 2004 through 2007. ¹⁰

Finances

According to ESCR-Net’s 2022 tax filings, the group reported $2,013,545 in revenue, $2,041,012 in expenses, and $4,304,797 in assets. ¹¹

The group has received $492,590 in grants from the Ford Foundation between 2016 and 2018. ^{12 13}

The group also received £985,000 (approximately $1.26 million) in grants from the Sigrid Rausing Trust between 2013 and 2023. ³

1. “Take Action to Stop the Genocide in Palestine: Demand the ICC Arrest Netanyahu, Herzog, Gallant Immediately!” ESCR, November 29, 2023. https://www.escr-net.org/news/2023/take-action-stop-genocide-palestine-demand-icc-arrest-netanyahu-herzog-gallant-immediately.
2. “COP28: Lost and Damaged, Swallowed by Corporate Capture and False Climate Solutions.” ESCR, December 13, 2023. https://www.escr-net.org/news/2023/cop28-lost-and-damaged-swallowed-corporate-capture-and-false-climate-solutions.
3. “International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net).” The Sigrid Rausing Trust. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.sigrid-rausing-trust.org/grantee/international-network-for-economic-social-and-cultural-rights-escr-net/.
4.  “ESCR-Net (International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Rights).” ESCR. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.escr-net.org/.
5. “What We Do.” ESCR. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.escr-net.org/about/what-we-do.
6. “FIDH and ESCR-Net Launch New Joint Treaty Initiative.” International Federation for Human Rights, January 30, 2015. https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/business-human-rights-environment/business-and-human-rights/16868-fidh-and-escr-net-new-joint-treaty-initiative.
7. “NET Members Join over 280 Organizations Worldwide in Denouncing Financing of Industrial Agriculture by Public Development Banks.” ESCR, November 11, 2021. https://www.escr-net.org/news/2021/escr-net-members-join-over-280-organizations-worldwide-denouncing-financing-industrial.
8. Kibowa, Ausi, Wesam Ahmad, and Sakshi Rai. “Opinion: Decolonizing the Global Tax System to Realize Human Rights.” ESCR, December 10, 2021. https://www.escr-net.org/news/2021/opinion-decolonizing-global-tax-system-realize-human-rights.
9. “Statement: Israel and UN Member States Must Respect and Protect Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.” ESCR, October 17, 2023. https://www.escr-net.org/news/2023/statement-israel-and-un-member-states-must-respect-and-protect-human-rights-and.
10. “Net Secretariat.” ESCR. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.escr-net.org/about/who-we-are/secretariat.
11. “ESCR Net International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Inc, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/364818453/202313199349321296/full.
12. “126849 – ESCR-Net-International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, Inc..” Ford Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/escr-net-international-network-for-economic-social-and-cultural-rights-inc-126849/.
13. “129013 – ESCR-Net-International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, Inc..” Ford Foundation. Accessed July 29, 2024. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/escr-net-international-network-for-economic-social-and-cultural-rights-inc-129013/.