The Eastern Africa Coalition on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (EACOR) is a coalition of church based and non church based development actors in Eastern Africa region. The coalition was set up following a series of consultations which begun way back in 2001 initiated by 3 members [Forest Action Network (FAN), Building Eastern Africa Community Network (BEACON) and HUNDEE] who had attended an Economic Social and Cultural rights workshop in July 2001 in South Africa. In that workshop, they observed that the Southern African countries had adopted the rights based approach to their programming development initiatives and that it was evident transformations on the peoples lives were occurring, particularly the poor. In great resolve the three representatives undertook an evangelical journey towards replicating this process of transformation in the Eastern African region.

The first consultation took place in a regional meeting held in July 2002. In the workshop, discussions around the need to situate the Economic Social and Cultural rights discourse within East Africa was initiated by three agencies namely, InterChurch Organisation for Development Co-operation (ICCO), The Forest Action Network (FAN) and Building East Africa Community Network (BEACON). The nexus between poverty and rights abuse was seen as integral in sustaining and promoting the dignity of peoples around the region. These members initiated an “evangelical” process through wide consultations that resulted into an agreement that shifting the development paradigm through a rights based approach was the most viable response. In April 2003. EACOR was established at this third workshop which resolved that in moving forward, there was a need to create a focal point to secure organised and structured networking. And establishment of country ESCR chapters to spearhead the coalition work.