Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 49
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- It is becoming increasingly common for States to impose strict requirements and conditions on access to public services and social benefits. To justify these measures, States point to the need to make efficient use of public resources, improve the accuracy of targeting, avoid dependency, eliminate disincentives to work and deter abuse of the system. While these may be valid concerns, the impact of these measures is often completely disproportionate to the aim they seek to achieve. By imposing excessive requirements and conditions on access to services and benefits, and severe sanctions for non-compliance, States punish, humiliate and undermine the autonomy of persons living in poverty, exacerbating the challenges they face in overcoming their situation. Moreover, beneficiaries are kept in a state of uncertainty about their future and are unable to plan for the long term.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Paragraph type
- Other
- Paragraph number
- 49
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