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The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Although a report as brief as this can only skim the historical surface, at least five factors ensured that social protection in general, and the right to social security in particular, were of marginal importance for most of the twentieth century. First, the artificial and in some respects arbitrary division of the concept of human rights into two different categories of rights governed by very different assumptions, condemned economic and social rights to second-class status for much of this period. Second, the often proclaimed interdependence and indivisibility of the two sets of rights resolutely failed to address in practice the fact that individuals living in extreme poverty were unable to realize effectively many of their civil and political rights. Third, the mistaken notion that civil and political rights are largely costless, while economic and social rights are inevitably extremely costly, was used to legitimize the assumption that social security was a quintessentially costly right and thus only really of relevance to rich countries. Fourth, where it was officially accepted, social security was largely conceptualized as a tool for protecting workers in the public sector and in the formal sector more generally. Thus only minimal efforts were made to develop a more inclusive notion that built upon both formal and informal structures and processes to ensure that all persons were covered by some type of security arrangement. Fifth, many of those problems were exacerbated by the impact of the cold war on the human rights framework. A sixth factor was the extent to which individual United Nations agencies claimed different issues as their own and sought to develop forms of exclusive jurisdictional competence. Under that scheme, social security "belonged" to ILO. The rest of the United Nations system thus more or less kept away from the issue, except in the most general terms. That also meant that, some official rhetoric notwithstanding, the United Nations human rights system developed in relative isolation from what should have been the closely related work of a number of the specialized agencies.
- 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
- All
- 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. 33
- Paragraph text
- The Social Protection Floor Initiative is not merely relevant to human rights; it is firmly rooted within the rights framework. In its report, the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group described the basic concept as being anchored in shared principles of social justice and in the human rights to social security and to an adequate standard of living. In terms of legal foundations, it added that: "The right of individuals to provision by way of social protection is articulated specifically in a number of international instruments, notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights." ILO recommendation No. 202 is very specific in "reaffirming that the right to social security is a human right" and in underscoring the relevance of articles 22 and 25 of the Declaration and articles 9, 11, and 12 of the Covenant.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 51
- Paragraph text
- Second, an indispensable step is to insist on explicit recognition by key actors that there is a human right to social protection. At present, the right to social security and the right to an adequate standard of living, proclaimed so proudly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequently often reaffirmed in binding treaty obligations, are ignored or even challenged by the policies advocated by many of the key actors involved in addressing the plight of the hundreds of millions of persons living in extreme poverty. Many leading international organizations and financial institutions still avoid recognizing those rights in their policies and programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 60
- Paragraph text
- It is understandable that some of those who have expended great energy on the post-2015 process should consider that only a token reference to human rights and a weak endorsement of social protection are better than nothing and that they will somehow be able over time to put a positive gloss on determinedly lacklustre goals. This is surely not enough. Civil society groups should make clear that a 1960s approach is no longer acceptable in the twenty-first century. Human rights in general should be recognized as both a central goal of sustainable development and a crucial part of the relevant process and a specific right to social protection, as defined in the Social Protection Floor Initiative and ILO recommendation No. 202, should be recognized.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have an immediate core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of all economic, social and cultural rights. These minimum essential levels are entitlements that are crucial to securing an adequate standard of living through basic subsistence, essential primary health care, basic shelter and housing and basic forms of education for all members of society. Even during times of severe resource constraints, States must demonstrate that every effort has been made to use all resources that are at its disposal, including resources that could potentially be collected through taxation, or tackling tax evasion and other illicit financial flows, in an effort to satisfy, as a matter of priority, minimum essential levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The duty to implement social protection policies to expand the protection available to persons living in extreme poverty flows directly from a number of human rights, in particular the right to social security and the right to an adequate standard of living, which are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, several international and regional human rights treaties, conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and national constitutions. Ensuring access to social protection is thus not a policy option, but a State obligation under international human rights law. Understood in this way, human rights can greatly contribute to the building of the political support necessary to establish and expand social protection systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- The establishment of a solid legal and institutional framework for social protection measures at the national level is a fundamental first step towards the realization of human rights as well as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Enshrining social protection within domestic law affirms the duty of States to protect and promote the right to social security and an adequate standard of living. It solidifies States' long-term commitment to poverty reduction, placing social protection firmly on the political agenda. The independent expert has repeatedly emphasized the significance of legal and institutional frameworks in ensuring the long-term success of social protection programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- A human rights framework also demands accountability and redress mechanisms. Policymakers and others whose decisions and actions have a negative impact on the right to social security or the right to an adequate standard of living must be held accountable. Independent and effective judicial and quasi-judicial (such as human rights commissions and ombudspersons) mechanisms must be put in place to monitor the formulation and implementation of social policies. As has already been emphasized, in order to ensure that the more disadvantaged and disempowered can gain access to accountability mechanisms, such mechanisms must meet certain technical requirements, such as guaranteeing confidentiality, allowing for individual and collective complaints, being sufficiently resourced, being independent from political interference, and being culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Ensuring that everyone has a channel to complain can be a critical element to ensuring that power imbalances - often prevalent at local levels - are not perpetuated. For complaints mechanisms to play a meaningful role, they need to meet certain technical standards, such as: guaranteeing anonymity; allowing for individual and collective complaints; as well as being sufficiently resourced and culturally appropriate. Additionally, there must be independent and effective judicial and quasi-judicial (e.g. ombudsperson) mechanisms in place to monitor the general formulation and implementation of social policies.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- States have long recognized that poverty is a complex human condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other economic, civil, cultural, political and social rights. Poverty is not an autonomous choice, but rather a multifaceted situation from which it may be difficult, if not impossible, to escape without assistance. Persons living in poverty are not to blame for their situation; accordingly, States must not punish or penalize them for it. Rather, States must adopt wide-reaching measures and policies designed to eliminate the conditions that cause, exacerbate or perpetuate poverty, and ensure the realization of all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of those living in poverty.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Penalization policies reflect a serious misunderstanding of the realities of the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable and ignorance of the pervasive discrimination and mutually reinforcing disadvantages that they suffer.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- States often draw on the enumerated permissible limitations to justify the adoption of penalization measures. However, in practice, penalization measures are motivated by a combination of factors. Some measures aim to remove any image of poverty, such as the removal of homeless persons and beggars from urban centres, in order to beautify the city and attract investment and development. Other measures are justified as necessary to reach the "deserving poor", or to satisfy critics of "lenient" social policies and therefore gain political support for an initiative. From a human rights perspective, these justifications require cautious analysis to assess whether or not the penalization measure pursues a legitimate aim under human rights law and is proportionate to that aim. States must not impose more restrictive measures than are required for the achievement of the purpose of the limitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Increasingly, States are implementing laws, regulations and practices limiting the behaviour, actions and movements of people in public space, which greatly impede the lives and livelihoods of those living in poverty. These measures vary considerably across and within States, with the common denominator being the penalization of actions and behaviours which are considered "undesirable" or a "nuisance" in public spaces. States justify these measures by classifying the prohibited behaviours as dangerous, conflicting with the demands of public safety or order, disturbing the normal activities for which public spaces are intended, or contrary to the images and preconceptions that authorities want to associate with such places.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- As a means of making cities more "secure" and attractive to investors, developers and more affluent segments of societies, States are increasingly using zoning laws to preference land use which excludes the poorest and most vulnerable, such as gated communities, luxury or high-cost housing, and large sports infrastructure. Authorities are carrying out demolitions of entire neighbourhoods and removing residents for the purpose of "rehabilitating", "renewing" and "preserving" the "historical and cultural heritage" of the city, or to make room for development and infrastructure projects. As a result, these areas become too costly for persons living in poverty to return to, and they are relegated to housing in cheaper, less accessible, badly serviced and geographically remote neighbourhoods. In many cases, persons living in poverty are forcibly evicted without notice, are subject to violence and have their belongings damaged or destroyed. Persons living in poverty are rarely able to access redress and remedies after having been evicted, and are deprived of compensation, restitution and resettlement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Social benefit fraud and non-compliance are strongly condemned by the public and rigorously pursued by authorities. Where fraud is established, it can result in the reduction of the individual's benefit to cover repayment of the defrauded amount, and the commencement of criminal proceedings against the individual. When a beneficiary is convicted of fraud he or she may face a lifetime ban from the social benefit system. If beneficiaries have outstanding warrants they may have their social benefit cut off until the warrant is resolved or they are granted an exemption. These measures are extremely harsh and will have grave consequences for people already struggling with poverty and exclusion, perpetrating the disadvantage which induces them to rely on social benefits to begin with.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The human rights obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of all economic, social and cultural rights implies a responsibility to secure an adequate standard of living through basic subsistence, including by providing essential primary health care, basic shelter and housing and basic forms of education. Instead of dedicating scarce resources to costly penalization measures, States must direct the maximum available resources towards ensuring that persons living in poverty are able to enjoy all economic, political, social, civil and cultural rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Urban transformation, privatization, gentrification, beautification and redevelopment can seriously undermine several rights of those living in poverty and contribute to exclusion and stigmatization. As persons living in poverty are gradually pushed to the fringes of urban centres by these phenomena, their ability to access employment and public services and enjoy the right to participate in cultural life is threatened. The concept of adequacy in relation to the right to housing requires, among other elements, that factors such as the availability of services and infrastructure, affordability and accessibility be taken into account. It also requires States to refrain from forced evictions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Public services and social benefits play an integral role in the lives of persons living in poverty, offering important support and assistance, particularly during times of economic and social hardship. While often these benefits are not sufficient to cover the needs of the beneficiaries and their families, they do provide an important form of support to which they are entitled, and without which they would not survive. States must refrain from imposing requirements and conditionalities that stigmatize, stereotype and penalize beneficiaries. Such measures only undermine the essential support that social benefits provide and create further obstacles for persons living in poverty.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 82g
- Paragraph text
- [In this context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to present the following recommendations:] States shall recall their obligations to ensure that everyone has the right to adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living. This right requires States to ensure the affordability of housing and its accessibility to social services and infrastructure. They must also refrain from carrying out forced evictions. Where evictions are unavoidable, States shall ensure that they are conducted in a manner which respects the dignity and rights to life and security of those affected;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 18
- Paragraph text
- There is a strong presumption that deliberately retrogressive measures that affect the level of enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights are in violation of human rights standards. Examples of retrogressive measures might include the adoption of policy or legislation with a direct or collateral negative effect on the enjoyment of rights by individuals, or unjustified reductions in expenditures devoted to implementing public services that are critical for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, such as those which guarantee basic health care, ensure access to primary education, or make available assistance for food and shelter.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 47
- Paragraph text
- The above measures will have a disproportionate impact on people living in poverty, particularly those in rural areas and the most disadvantaged, who already face numerous barriers in gaining access to health care and education services. By adopting policies that threaten to reduce the wages of those essential to the provision of such services, States would also jeopardize their ability to provide for the widest possible enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. These measures run a real risk of constituting unjustified retrogressive measures if they impede the State's ability to maintain minimum essential levels of enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 65
- Paragraph text
- The recovery from the crises presents an opportunity for States to ensure a social protection floor for everyone under their jurisdiction. This concept refers to a minimum level of social protection that everyone should enjoy. A national social protection floor is a basic set of rights and transfers that enables and empowers all members of a society to have access to essential services (such as adequate nutrition, health, education, housing, water and sanitation) and income security (through social transfers). The term "social floor" can correspond to the existing notion of "core obligations", to ensure the realization of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 69
- Paragraph text
- A rights-based approach also requires policymakers to ensure that all persons are protected in an equal and non-discriminatory manner. This principle implies a preference for social protection systems that are universal. While policies should prioritize the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in line with human rights standards, they must also form part of longer-term strategies to progressively ensure universal coverage. States must carefully screen policy choices to avoid the unfair exclusion of disadvantaged and disempowered groups and actively seek out ways to ensure that they are reached. In this regard, social protection programmes must be physically and culturally accessible to all.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Persons living in poverty have a right to access justice without discrimination of any kind, and a right to due process, understood as the right to be treated fairly, efficiently and effectively throughout the justice chain. States have assumed obligations in that regard, by committing themselves to respect, protect and fulfil several rights such as the right to an effective remedy (e.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 8; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 2.3; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 6; Convention against Torture, arts. 13 and 14); the right to equality before the courts and tribunals (e.g., International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 14.1); the right to a fair trial (e.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 10; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts. 14-15); the right to legal assistance (e.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 11.1; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 14.3 (b)-(d)); and the right to equality and equal protection of the law (e.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 7; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 26).
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The right to an effective remedy is a key element of human rights protection and serves as a procedural means to ensure that individuals can enforce their rights and obtain redress. The lack of effective remedies for violations of human rights such as discrimination is still a pressing reality in many jurisdictions, as is the lack of judicial protection for economic, social and cultural rights. However, this concept entails more than improving access to judicial and adjudicatory mechanisms. It also implies that remedies must be effective and legal, and that judicial outcomes must be just and equitable. The right to an effective remedy also includes reparation, restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The principle of equality and non-discrimination obliges States to take measures to ensure that all individuals are entitled to equal access to judicial and adjudicatory mechanisms without distinction on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, and that all parties in judicial or legal proceedings are treated without any discrimination. The principle of equality and non-discrimination extends to prevent discrimination on the basis of social and economic status, as implied in the phrase "other status".
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- For example, in many legal systems, economic, social and cultural rights are not sufficiently protected, and discrimination on the grounds of socioeconomic situation is not recognized. Similarly, issues such as abuses in the informal employment sector or the exploitation of tenants by landlords, all of which disproportionately affect persons living in poverty, are often not legislated against in an effective manner. Meanwhile, actions which are undertaken by persons living in poverty out of necessity, such as sleeping in public spaces or street vending, are criminalized. Hence, reforms aimed at improving access to justice by the poor must not neglect the need to modify or repeal certain laws or strengthen others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The lack of judicial review or complaints mechanisms for social policy, compounded by a lack of justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights at the domestic level, creates the perception that social policy is a charitable measure rather than part of an obligation to ensure the enjoyment of human rights. The recognition of rights imposes the obligation to establish judicial or other remedies that enable rights holders to invoke their protection in courts, or before other similarly independent bodies, when they are infringed. The lack of adequate and effective remedies for violations of economic, social and cultural rights is thus an infringement of international human rights instruments.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The right to be recognized as a person before the law is a fundamental human right (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 16, and Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 7), and is at the core of the right to access justice. Many persons living in poverty are de facto deprived of accessing courts and other public services as they lack legal identity. With more than 50 million births going unregistered every year, the lack of formal registration is a considerable barrier to legal recognition before the law, which has a disproportionate impact on the poorest and most marginalized. Without recognition, individuals are unable to access social services or to access courts to seek remedies for violations of their human rights.
- 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
- All
- Children
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Material deprivation and disempowerment create a vicious circle: the greater the inequality, the less the participation; the less the participation, the greater the inequality. When the participation of people living in poverty is not actively sought and facilitated, they are not able to participate in decision-making and their needs and interests are not taken into account when policy is designed and implemented. This exacerbates their exclusion and often perpetuates the privilege of elites who are able to influence policy directly, or of groups such as the middle class who have a considerable voice in the media or other public spaces. Lack of participation in decision-making and in civil, social and cultural life is thus recognized by the international community as a defining feature and cause of poverty, rather than just its consequence.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph