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Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- [States should:]
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
- 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. 52
- Paragraph text
- Third, technocratic solutions, no matter how innovative and data-driven, will not work unless they are genuinely empowering of those whom they purport to help. In that regard, extreme poverty is a classic case study in the centrality of human dignity as a guiding principle of human rights. The poor, we have too often been told by our politicians and others, are usually to blame for their own plight, whether because of laziness, incompetence, mendacity, or whatever. Those unjustified stereotypes provide yet another justification for preferring technocratic approaches through which we measure the poor and work out how we are going to make minimal provision for them, at least in the long term. As Keynes reminded us, in the long term we are all dead. Those living in extreme poverty will be dead even more quickly, so that long-term solutions may be little more than an illusion. Short-term empowerment and respect are what is needed. We need to reassert a common humanity, shared responsibilities and the centrality of human dignity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- 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. 53
- Paragraph text
- International civil society groups should mobilize effectively and in coalition with groups in other sectors to advocate and promote the Social Protection Floor Initiative. While the Center for Economic and Social Rights joined with a range of other groups, including Amnesty International, to call for a commitment to social protection floors in the sustainable development goals, the great majority of international human rights groups have said little and done less on the issue. It is essential to acknowledge that extreme poverty, which continues to afflict hundreds of millions of people, is a negation of all human rights. International civil society groups in the human rights field fight valiantly to eliminate torture, to reduce and expose extrajudicial executions, to reduce violence against women, to outlaw discrimination and the oppression of minorities and so on, but if the elimination of extreme poverty is not a central part of the collective human rights vision, it is a highly selective battle that is being fought.
- 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
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- 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. 58
- Paragraph text
- The role of the World Bank in relation to the Social Protection Floor Initiative is crucial. Based on policies pursued to date, it is the single actor most likely to undermine and frustrate the overall Initiative. Unless there is a change of heart on its part, the development community will continue to be pushed to focus on ill-defined social safety nets aimed at a limited number of the extreme poor and as a matter of bureaucratically defined and designed welfare policy, rather than as a matter of human rights. It is therefore indispensable that the human rights community should shine a spotlight on the policies and practices of the Bank in this area and the Human Rights Council should call upon it to embrace the Initiative in all its dimensions.
- 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
- 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. 59
- Paragraph text
- In the realms of human rights and the Initiative, the current draft of the post-2015 agenda is a considerable disappointment. The almost complete omission of substantive references to human rights in the draft is a throwback to the United Nations development decade strategies of the 1960s and 1970s. However, they were drafted at a time when the human rights framework was in its infancy and development was seen largely as a technocratic process. Similarly, the very low standards set in relation to social protection are inconsistent with the high-flown rhetoric of ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. As it stands, the first goal proposed by the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals might be considered to be in violation of deceptive advertising laws designed to protect consumers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- 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. 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
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- One of the most prominent proponents of social protection floors and a principal drafter of ILO recommendation No. 202 has called for the drafting of a "United Nations convention on national floors for social protection," on the grounds that this would "create a much more durable instrument than development goals that have to be revised every few decades". While appealing on the face of it, the proposal will certainly fall foul of the clearly demonstrated leeriness of States about creating new human rights treaties. More importantly, it takes insufficient account of the role currently and potentially played by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the treaty body monitoring its implementation. An alternative therefore would be to propose the drafting of an optional protocol to the Covenant. However, aside from the cost and time involved in such an initiative, there is a strong general argument that new instruments should not risk making optional what is already mandatory - in this case the right to social protection under 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
- 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. 64
- Paragraph text
- International support, especially for low-income countries, seeking to develop social protection floors is essential. In 2012, two special rapporteurs put forward an important proposal for the creation of a global fund for social protection. That is a sophisticated and carefully calibrated proposal, which has garnered significant attention at the international level. It seems clear, however, that further reflection is required in order to ensure that the focus and the proposed modalities of the fund are optimal and acceptable to key actors. The Social Protection Inter-Agency Cooperation Board should consider establishing an expert group to review the proposal and to recommend an initiative designed to achieve the objectives identified.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79e
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Conduct human rights assessments of fiscal policy periodically and with broad public participation, including analysis of the distributional consequences and tax burden borne by different income sectors and disadvantaged groups;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79f
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Review tax structures, codes and instruments for explicit and implicit gender bias and ensure they do not reinforce existing gender inequalities, including through their impact on unpaid care work;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79g
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Ensure that people have access to all relevant data and information on fiscal policy and government revenues, including from the corporate sector, and include such information under right to information laws;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79h
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Take measures to build the capacity of all people to understand fiscal policy options, and establish inclusive mechanisms to ensure that they are actively engaged in devising the most appropriate policy options;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79j
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Institute fully transparent public oversight over the granting and monitoring of tax incentives, and conduct periodic assessments of social benefits and human rights compliance, informed by broad public participation, especially by individuals who will be most affected; and refrain from granting fixed-term tax holidays and tax stability agreements that may undermine accountability for evolving impact on human rights;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79k
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Ensure accessible channels for accountability and remedy for any negative human rights impact of fiscal policy, including by strengthening the capacity of the judicial system and national human rights institutions to address fiscal policy;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79l
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Ensure that extractive industries are subject to appropriate tax rates and export duties, and that the human rights of affected communities and future generations are protected in the exploitation of natural resources;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79m
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Proactively disclose information on contracts, concessions and licensing agreements in the extractive sector and related information, including expected tax revenues and export royalty rates;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 79n
- Paragraph text
- [States must realize the full potential of tax collection as a tool to generate revenue for the fulfilment of human rights obligations and to redress discrimination and inequality. Human rights principles regarding participation, transparency, accountability and non-discrimination should be followed throughout the whole revenue-raising cycle. For this purpose, States should:] Ensure the public revenue raised from the financial sector is commensurate to the sector's profitability and the risks it generates; implement a financial transaction tax, and consider allocating the revenues specifically to expenditure that can contribute to the realization of human rights;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- 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. 98
- Paragraph text
- It is widely recognized that social protection interventions do not work in isolation; they must be developed within a broader policy framework, integrating various protective initiatives and ensuring access to essential social services and a favourable economic environment. The present report provides concrete recommendations regarding the core elements of a rights-based social protection system. The adoption of a human rights approach to social protection not only responds to international obligations and commitments, but also improves the effectiveness of such strategies and aligns them with the holistic perspective required to tackle the various dimensions of poverty.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- The Millennium Development Goal review process is an opportunity to build and expand social protection systems, translating statements of commitment to the elimination of extreme poverty into reality. Raising awareness of human rights and how individuals can claim them would further contribute to poverty reduction. Human rights, such as the right to social security, an adequate standard of living and decent working conditions, and equality between women and men, are enshrined in numerous international human rights treaties, under which States are obligated to take concrete measures.
- 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
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- The review process is also an important opportunity to strengthen the international environment supporting gender equality in a broad sense and women's own voice and agency. Improvements in gender equality achieved through social protection and other, more comprehensive measures are strongly linked to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (Millennium Development Goal 1). Calls for the achievement of Millennium Development Goals must be complemented by a renewed commitment to the existing gender-related framework within human rights law, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Over the next five years, in order to ensure compliance with the Goals as well as with the commitments after 2015, gender-specific issues should be made much more visible.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Poverty is not gender-neutral, and any approach to social protection that is aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals while respecting human rights must take account of the fact that women and men experience poverty differently. Numerous studies have shown a positive link between improvement in terms of women's access to health care, education and other social benefits, and economic growth, the reduction of income poverty and overall progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Gender equality is a development objective to which gender-aware social protection can contribute.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- Non-contributory pensions are the only means by which universal pension coverage can be achieved and gender imbalances redressed. However, social pensions must not be regarded as the sole response to old-age poverty. To be effective in the promotion of an adequate standard of living, social pensions can only be one component of a comprehensive social protection strategy that addresses the impact of extreme poverty throughout one person's life cycle and includes measures to ensure older persons access to adequate social services, in particular access to health care.
- 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
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Often, States invoke grounds of public safety, health or security in an attempt to justify the restriction of human rights through penalization measures. However, human rights law establishes strict requirements for the imposition of limitations on individual rights. Any restriction on the enjoyment of human rights by those living in poverty must comply with several safeguards, including requirements that they be legally established, non discriminatory and proportionate, and have a legitimate aim. The burden falls upon States to prove that a limitation imposed upon the enjoyment of rights by those living in poverty is in conformity with international 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
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Penalization measures are often motivated by prejudices and negative stereotypes that ignore the realities of disadvantage and exclusion and fail to recognize the daily struggle of persons living in poverty to overcome the multiple obstacles they face. Poverty is not a lifestyle choice. Homeless persons would prefer safe, affordable, adequate housing to public parks and bus stations. Those struggling to survive on social benefits would rather have secure, regular, well-paying, productive employment than be subject to discrimination and live in constant fear that their entitlements will be taken away. One does not choose to live in poverty, and therefore should not be punished for that situation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- 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. 82a
- Paragraph text
- [In this context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to present the following recommendations:] States shall take all necessary measures to eliminate all direct and indirect discrimination against persons living in poverty. States must refrain from adopting any law, regulation or practice denying or limiting the access of persons living in poverty to the enjoyment of all their rights, including economic, social and cultural rights. States must review national legislation in order to assess the existence of any discriminatory impact on those living in poverty and shall repeal or amend legislation that has the purpose or effect of impairing the equal enjoyment of rights by those living in poverty;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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