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The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 23b
- Paragraph text
- [At the international level, definitional issues continue to be controversial, especially in terms of whether social protection floors should be seen as a matter of human rights and whether they should be universal and unconditional. Before examining those dimensions, it is appropriate to take note of the approach reflected in ILO recommendation No. 202. As the culmination of many initiatives, both within and well beyond the ILO context, it has become the principal benchmark against which social protection floors should be designed, implemented and evaluated. The main elements of recommendation No. 202 are as follows:] Social protection floors are nationally defined, in a participatory manner, and reflect national priorities while respecting principles such as non-discrimination, gender equality and social inclusion;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 23c
- Paragraph text
- [At the international level, definitional issues continue to be controversial, especially in terms of whether social protection floors should be seen as a matter of human rights and whether they should be universal and unconditional. Before examining those dimensions, it is appropriate to take note of the approach reflected in ILO recommendation No. 202. As the culmination of many initiatives, both within and well beyond the ILO context, it has become the principal benchmark against which social protection floors should be designed, implemented and evaluated. The main elements of recommendation No. 202 are as follows:] Protection is to be universal, rather than selective and is to be aimed at "preventing or alleviating poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion";
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- The fact that none of these instruments refers per se to a "right to social protection" raises the question as to whether it should be considered an existing human right, or a new one. In the past, States have understandably been very sensitive about claims that new rights have emerged without requiring specific endorsement by the international community. In this instance, the standard approach of commentators is best summed up in the formulation that: "Social protection is a human right, enshrined in multiple sources of international law." In other words, no claims are needed for novelty, nor is it necessary to argue that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. The right to social protection is thus no more than a combination of the right to social security and the right to an adequate standard of living. Nevertheless, the packaging of those two rights into a single concept is important, both because it highlights the synergy between them and facilitates the development of a package of measures to achieve their shared objectives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Third, the Initiative, as reflected in ILO recommendation No. 202 closely mirrors the view expressed by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its general comment No. 3 (1990) on the nature of States parties' obligations that "a minimum core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights is incumbent upon every State party." While the minimum core concept has been developed primarily at the national level in the context of judicial approaches, the original intention of the Committee was that a minimum core would be set at the national level by the political authorities and its adequacy would subsequently be subjected to political contestation through the exercise of civil and political rights by those affected.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Overall, high tax rates for goods and services and low rates for income, wealth and property bring about inequitable and discriminatory outcomes; indeed, it has been shown that the negative effect of indirect taxes on the income of people living in or on the verge of poverty can be greater than the positive effect of cash transfers. Such regressive tax structures also restrict the redistributive aspect of social programmes, resulting in them effectively being funded by the very persons whom they seek to benefit. Thus, although each country's situation is different, the higher the prevalence of regressive taxes in the mix of revenue-raising sources, the more likely it is that a State will run afoul of the principles of equality and non-discrimination and that the minimum essential enjoyment of rights by the poorest will be threatened.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- States have the duty to protect persons against risks and vulnerabilities in an equal and non-discriminatory manner. Human rights obligations go beyond eliminating discrimination in law, policy and practice, and require States to take special measures to protect the most vulnerable segments of society as a matter of priority, while taking measures to progressively ensure universal protection. In this regard, the human rights approach is fundamental in channelling policies related to the Millennium Development Goals towards those who are most vulnerable and suffer most from direct and indirect forms of discrimination. Such channelling is an element missing from the Millennium Development Goal agenda.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Several developing countries face human, technical and financial constraints in establishing robust social protection systems. They require funds in order to first establish and then scale up such programmes. In this sense, social protection provides an excellent opportunity to forge stronger global partnerships. As addressed in previous reports, legally binding obligations and political commitments such as those set out in the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals highlight the shared international responsibility for poverty reduction. International support for social protection measures becomes even more relevant in the context of the global economic crisis and its severe impact on the least developed countries. Unfortunately, the international community is failing to meet its ODA commitments, with negative consequences for the expansion of social protection systems around the world.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The explicit inclusion of human rights norms, such as the right to social security, in domestic legislation places social protection within a framework of legally binding and enforceable rights and obligations. For example, various State constitutions unambiguously provide for the right to social security. Under such a framework, beneficiaries of social protection become "rights-holders" who can make claims against the State. Similarly, States and development partners become "duty-bearers", responsible for allocating resources to social protection in a manner that reflects human rights principles.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- This principle is supported by a number of specific human rights, including the right to freedom of expression and association. Participation must go beyond simple consultation. States should create an enabling environment for the effective participation of all vulnerable and disempowered groups, taking into account their constraints as well as asymmetries of power. Participation is also essential to ensure that interventions aimed at the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals are empowering and transformative, rather than the result of technocratic, top-down State policies. There are several programmes into which participatory mechanisms have been incorporated, with varying degrees of success. Brazil's "Bolsa Familia" programme, for example, requires municipal Governments to establish supervisory bodies composed of representatives of both local government and civil society, who jointly make decisions on how best to implement the programme within their community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- Despite these obligations and commitments, most Governments are consistently failing to honour their longstanding commitments to reach a target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance. Moreover, States have only recently started considering international assistance in relation to social security. Donor countries need to change this approach. Their responsibilities under international human rights law also require them to support and strengthen social security systems, including social pensions worldwide. This will substantially help reduce poverty and ensure compliance with human rights norms over the long term.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Non-discrimination and equality are core elements of the international human rights normative framework. These principles require that those in equal circumstances be treated equally in law and practice. Under human rights law, not every distinction or difference in treatment will amount to discrimination. A distinction is compatible with the principle of equality when it has an objective and reasonable justification; it must pursue a legitimate aim, and there must be a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means employed and the aim sought. Thus, differential treatment (distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference) of persons living in poverty must comply with the criteria mentioned above in order to be justified under human rights law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 82c (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [In this context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to present the following recommendations:] States shall take special measures to protect those living in poverty from the violation of their rights by third parties. To this end, States shall: Encourage the media to avoid biased reports and sensationalist coverage that perpetuates discriminatory stereotypes against persons living in poverty. To this end, States should promote ethical journalism and encourage the adoption of codes of conduct to end the negative portrayal of persons living in poverty, homeless persons, unemployed persons and social benefit recipients;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Reductions in public expenditure are likely to take the form of decreased spending on social services, which has the potential to significantly undermine the effective and efficient functioning of basic health and education services and social protection systems. These services are crucial for providing minimum essential levels of enjoyment of human rights and to protect the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. While the human rights framework does not exclude the possibility of States adopting austerity measures, it is clear that, in many instances, these reductions in expenditure could have grave consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, particularly for those living in poverty who continue to suffer from the cumulative effects of the crises.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Cuts to social protection systems may violate the prohibition of retrogressive measures and seriously compromise the ability of States to ensure minimum essential levels of human rights for all, particularly the most vulnerable. By further targeting social protection mechanisms, States run a much higher risk of excluding those most in need of support, which would violate human rights principles regarding non-discrimination and equality and undermine the obligation to prioritize the most vulnerable. If targeting is adopted, Governments must comply with human rights principles that require, inter alia, minimizing exclusion errors and ensuring that targeting mechanisms are objective, transparent, open to scrutiny and do not stigmatize the beneficiaries. Targeted mechanisms should also be adopted within a long-term strategy of universal protection.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Through a human rights-based recovery, States have the chance to embrace new and ambitious approaches to reducing inequality, eliminating poverty and creating stable societies and economies that will withstand future shocks. A human rights approach is the best way for States to rectify the persistent inequalities, exacerbated by successive crises, which have diminished social cohesion and increased feelings of insecurity and exclusion. Should these inequalities persevere, the result could be increasing social unrest and conflict, a reality that has been vividly illustrated across North Africa and the Middle East in recent months.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- While the impact of the crises has differed markedly in each country, all States must take into account their international human rights obligations when designing policy responses. Before implementing any policy measure, States must assess its social impact, including from a gender perspective, and should only adopt policies that are compatible with their international human rights obligations. Cuts in funding to social services that have the greatest impact on the lives of those living in poverty should be a measure of last resort, and should be taken only after serious consideration of all alternative policy options, including how funding to other areas not directly linked with the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights might be otherwise reduced.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- As care is relational, in many ways the rights of caregivers are symbiotically intertwined with the rights of care receivers: overburdening caregivers with unpaid care work has an impact on the quality of the care they are able to provide. Therefore, when unpaid care work is not adequately recognized, supported or valued by the State, the rights of those who rely on care provision for their health, life and well-being may also be violated, particularly in low-income households. For the rights of both caregivers and care receivers to be realized, the cost of care must be assumed by society more broadly.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In addition, the principles of equality and non-discrimination require that participatory processes and mechanisms meet the standards of availability, accessibility, adaptability and acceptability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- While the existing legal framework does not refer specifically to how to ensure and support the participation of people living in poverty, a systematic and teleological interpretation of several human rights norms, standards and principles can provide guidance. In the present section, several key human rights principles will be examined with the aim of determining how the right to participation of people living in poverty should be understood and realized from a human rights perspective. The subsequent section then provides concrete recommendations to States on how to operationalize these principles.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- While NGOs, especially grass-roots organizations, have an important role to play in supporting and facilitating the participation of people living in poverty, they are not a proxy. Staff or volunteers of NGOs or civil society organizations should not automatically be seen as "representatives" or "spokespersons" for people living in poverty, but rather serve as facilitators and advocates, with the ultimate goal of allowing them to express themselves and influence decision-making on their own terms. They can also play a role in helping the community organize and empowering people living in poverty with skills and knowledge that facilitate their more active participation and free expression.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 86d (i)
- Paragraph text
- [In order to comply with their human rights obligations regarding the right to participation, the Special Rapporteur recommends States undertake the following actions:] Access to information: Enact a comprehensive right to information law, ensuring that the department designated to deal with requests is properly resourced, Promote effective and widespread use of the law including by: a. Adopting policies, programmes and proactive measures that promote its use by people living in poverty. b. Training public officials on the importance of access to information and the need to protect information solicitors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 86f (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [In order to comply with their human rights obligations regarding the right to participation, the Special Rapporteur recommends States undertake the following actions:] Empowerment: Take all appropriate steps to enhance the capacity of people living in poverty to participate in public life, including by: a. Improving the accessibility and quality of education services provided to the poorest sectors of the population. b. Ensuring educational programmes transmit the necessary knowledge, including human rights education, to enable everyone to participate fully and on an equal footing at the local and national levels. c. Launching public education campaigns on issues that affect people living in poverty, such as the environment, human rights, development and budgeting processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- A State that does not take strong measures to tackle tax abuse cannot be said to be devoting the maximum available resources to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Moreover, high levels of tax abuse undermine the principles of equality and non-discrimination, given that evaders end up paying less than taxpayers with the same - or less - capacity to pay. High net-worth individuals and large corporations also have a far greater ability to evade taxes as they are able to pay tax advisers, lawyers and accountants (who may sometimes provide inappropriate advice and assistance) and to open undeclared foreign bank accounts in low-tax jurisdictions. Tax abuse by corporations and high net-worth individuals forces Governments to raise revenue from other sources: often regressive taxes, the burden of which falls hardest on the poor. Therefore, if States do not tackle tax abuse, they are likely to be disproportionately benefiting wealthy individuals to the detriment of the most disadvantaged. Monitoring, preventing and punishing abuse is therefore essential in order to comply with human rights principles and improve the distributive effects of tax systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Ironically, given the widespread perception that the Bank is dominated by Western interests and values, the argument is often heard that the Bank needs to avoid human rights discourse because it may be perceived as imposing Western values on non-Western countries. Thus, the authors of a report on gender and human rights-based approaches in development felt the need to address such concerns in a separate annex. While the debate over cultural relativism is a very vibrant one in both political and scholarly circles, the justifiable issue of concern is not the basic universality of the standards, which has long been reaffirmed, but the degree of cultural appropriateness shown in their application. For the Bank to invoke a relativist justification to refuse all engagement with the universal standards is contrary to international law. Particular interpretations of human rights will always be contested, but so too will definitions of poverty, the rule of law, corruption and a great many other notions which lie at the heart of its work. Avoidance is no substitute for sophisticated and nuanced engagement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The two most common responses heard from Bank officials in reply to suggestions that it adopt a human rights policy are in direct contradiction to one another. The first takes various forms, suggesting that such a reform would transform the nature of the Bank's role, open up a Pandora's box, create political havoc or be generally unmanageable. The second is that the Bank already does so much to promote the realization of human rights that a change in policy would make little difference and is thus unnecessary. The argument tends to go something like this: by improving access to goods and services such as health care, education and water and by lifting people out of poverty, the Bank enhances the enjoyment of human rights in many countries. Its focus on governance improves human rights, its emphasis on consultation enhances people's right to participate and its publications often acknowledge the importance of human rights. At the end of the day, the Bank might use different language from that of human rights law, but its goals are the same.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Economic inequality can be used to refer to a range of inequalities relating to the distribution of income (from labour or capital) or wealth (such as financial assets or land) between individuals in a society. Economic inequalities are often expressed using the Gini coefficient of inequality, which varies between 0 (expressing perfect equality) and 1 (expressing perfect inequality: for instance when one individual owns all the wealth in a society), but there are a multitude of other ways to measure and present economic inequalities. The magnitude of the problem of economic inequalities is dependent on what exactly is being measured and how. An indicator measuring only labour income inequality may be ineffectual if those in the upper quintile or decile derive their income from wealth instead of labour. Measuring wealth inequality by looking at domestic tax data may lead to different results than if wealth distribution is measured by taking only household surveys into account.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Vertical and horizontal inequalities, including economic inequalities, are often closely related to discrimination. In many countries, the poorest sector of the population coincides with social and ethnic groups that experience discrimination. It is therefore possible that levels of economic inequality in many countries would be lower today in the absence of discrimination. When dealing with economic inequalities, we should therefore pay specific attention to the overlap between economic inequalities and group-based inequalities (horizontal inequalities), because they can indicate discrimination as an important cause of inequality. As Mr. Stiglitz has written: "One of the most invidious - and hardest to eradicate - sources of inequality is discrimination, both ongoing discrimination and the legacy of past discrimination."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Economic inequalities, especially when extreme, can also be closely linked to social unrest and conflict. The Secretary-General has noted that when people perceive inequality to be unfair and excessive, protests and social unrest can result, such as those seen around the world in recent years (see A/67/394, para. 26). A study on poverty and inequality found that "high levels of interlocking inequalities may undermine the realization of civil, political and social rights; they may raise the level of crime and plunge societies into conflict". ILO, in its World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2015, stated that "rising inequalities have undermined trust in government, with a few exceptions" and that significant falls in trust "in particular if they accompany stagnant or declining incomes, can contribute to social unrest, as several countries in the Middle East have demonstrated, with knock-on effects on social conditions, growth and employment dynamics". Even in ancient times, Plato argued that "if a state is to avoid … civil disintegration … extreme poverty and wealth must not be allowed to rise in any section of the citizen-body, because both lead to disasters".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Economic inequalities also have an impact on the realization of the right to water. In a 2012 report, the Secretary-General cited an analysis of data from 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that found that access to improved sources of water varied from 94 per cent among the richest 20 per cent in urban areas to 34 per cent among the poorest 20 per cent in rural areas (see A/67/394, para. 29). In another study, it was found that the "rate of progress in access to water and sanitation is very uneven among wealth quintiles in many countries, with the poorest two quintiles frequently experiencing lack of improvement while other quintiles experience significant advances".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- In 1999, the authors of a major study concluded that while global inequality was a major problem, it had been largely neglected by traditional investigations into world order. They argued that processes of globalization were exacerbating inequalities both within and among States and eroding the capacity of traditional institutions to manage the resulting threats. But it took well over another decade for the challenge of inequalities to appear high on the list of the international community's priority concerns. In the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled "The future we want", world leaders reaffirmed the need to achieve sustainable development by reducing inequalities. They considered that it was essential to generate decent jobs and incomes that decreased disparities in standards of living (see General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex, paras. 4 and 30).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph