Under this program, CEFROHT uses legal empowerment, legal research, and litigation to advance the right to adequate living by ensuring social justice, climate justice, and economic justice. CEFROHT employs a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA).

The program is double-barreled, as the title suggests, with activities under the Social Justice Program and activities under Strategic Litigation.

Program Objectives

• To use legal empowerment, legal research, and litigation to advance the right to adequate living through social justice, climate justice, and economic justice.
• To publicize the Human Rights Enforcement Act as a legal tool to resolve cases expeditiously.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Legal Empowerment

The Social Justice Program aims to empower marginalized groups (rights holders) by equipping them with knowledge to understand and advocate for their rights through legal mechanisms. The program also empowers duty bearers by educating them on their legal obligations.

This is achieved through trainings and community barazas, where duty bearers (such as local government officials, judicial officers, and other stakeholders) engage with rights holders (the community). These interactions break social and economic barriers, bridge knowledge gaps, and foster holistic solutions.

Each year, CEFROHT conducts over 20 trainings on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, including:

• Access to Justice using the Human Rights Enforcement Act
• The right to adequate food
• Land rights and equity
• Seed sovereignty and agroecology

Legal Research

CEFROHT conducts legal research using a Human Rights-Based Approach to analyze laws and engage stakeholders in policy advocacy. This includes examining issues affecting the right to adequate food and sustainable living, producing position papers and legal briefs, and leveraging these documents to influence policies.

STRATEGIC LITIGATION

Under this program, CEFROHT uses the courts to advance policy objectives. The litigation efforts are divided into two categories:

Public Interest Litigation

This involves non-adversarial litigation as an advocacy tool to influence government and stakeholder policies through court declarations and directives. CEFROHT engages in litigation at both regional and national levels.

Regional-Level Cases

1. The EACOP Case
   CEFROHT sued the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, along with the EAC Secretariat, in the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) for signing agreements permitting the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The case highlights severe environmental risks, threats to biodiversity, the Lake Victoria basin, and livelihoods of affected communities, arguing that the project violates the EAC Treaty.
2. The GMO Case
   CEFROHT represents smallholder farmers in the EACJ against Kenya’s decision to lift the GMO ban. The case argues that porous borders within the EAC make containment impossible, yet other member states lack regulatory frameworks for GMOs. CEFROHT collaborates with Kenyan CSOs opposing GMOs.

National-Level Cases

1. The Breastfeeding Case
   Challenges Uganda’s 60-day maternity leave policy, which contradicts WHO’s recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for six months.
2. The School Feeding Case
   Opposes ministerial guidelines mandating parent-led school feeding in government/UPE schools, given that 21% of schoolchildren are orphans or too vulnerable to afford meals. The case highlights child-led households with no adult support.
3. The Restriction of Marketing/Advertising Case
   Challenges the lack of regulations on unhealthy food and sugar-sweetened beverages marketed to children.

These cases aim to advance the right to food and sustainable living.