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Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The most prominent path chosen to date has focused on respect for labour rights. But significant questions arise as to whether the tools used to tackle economic insecurity in that context have been, or are likely to be, effective in responding to the emerging conditions in the global labour market. For example, in its general comment No. 18 (2005) on the right to work, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights calls on States “to reduce to the fullest extent possible the number of workers outside the formal economy”, “to ensure that privatization measures do not undermine workers’ rights”, and to ensure that enhanced labour market flexibility does “not render work less stable or reduce the social protection of the worker”. All of these important objectives are grounded in human rights law, but the question is how best to respond to the reality that the trends in most industries seem to be heading rapidly in the opposite direction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The starting point is to acknowledge that economic insecurity represents a fundamental threat to human rights. It is not only a threat to the enjoyment of economic and social rights, even though they are a principal concern. Extreme inequality, rapidly increasing insecurity, and the domination of politics by economic elites in many countries, all threaten to undermine support for, and ultimately the viability of, the democratic systems of governance upon which the human rights framework depends.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Third, contrary to the orthodoxy promoted by economic institutions and corporate actors in recent years, there needs to be a resurgence of support for the central role of the State, and recognition of the importance of fair and progressive fiscal policies, and of the indispensability of policies to ensure redistributive justice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- There are strong grounds for now issuing an apology and accepting responsibility. First, the element of doubt as to the responsibility of the United Nations for the introduction of cholera has been definitively removed. A series of scientific studies and statements subsequent to the issuance of the report of the independent panel of experts, as well as the experts' own later clarifications, leave no reasonable doubt and the United Nations position must reflect that reality. A policy that might arguably have been justified in years gone by is clearly no longer supported by the scientific facts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- The RIA framework is no magic bullet. There are all too many examples of situations in which clearly recognized economic and social rights, to which meaningful accountability mechanisms attach in principle, have done little or nothing to improve the situation. But this generally reflects a failure of will, competence or capacity, rather than a flawed framework. Nor is the report arguing that these three steps are all that is required or that the many other approaches that are currently being pursued are not potentially very important.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- The legal framework will influence all of these other dimensions and avenues and it is one of the dimensions that can most meaningfully be promoted and monitored through United Nations and related mechanisms. Put succinctly: Contemporary movements for social change cannot avoid working in the legal medium. There are no "law-free" zones in modern societies to which activists can repair so as to avoid entanglement with law and system. … Legal entitlements (including those formulated as "rights") strongly influence the distribution of wealth and power and partially construct identities. Social change movements cannot avoid engagement on this terrain, and it is difficult to see how they can do this effectively without some type of "higher law" discourse of the kind captured in the idiom of fundamental rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- In other words, even when it appears to be marginal and best ignored, the legal framework of recognition or non-recognition will, in practice, wield significant influence in terms of how economic and social rights are perceived and what advocacy opportunities are closed down or opened up. The legal framework can, at least partially, empower or disempower and legitimize or delegitimize those who advocate respect for economic and social rights. Thus, even those who argue that the battle over economic and social rights will inevitably be won or lost in the political arena would be well advised not to neglect the recognition, institutionalization and accountability dimensions. This is not for a moment to suggest that the many other dimensions of economic and social rights-related advocacy are unimportant. The argument is that most, if not all, of them will be less effective if the RIA framework is not in place as a matter of State policy.
- 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
- 2016
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- It is important to recognize that the promotion of economic and social rights as human rights, including a particular emphasis on the elements of the RIA framework, does not imply that there is a universal one-size-fits-all approach that will secure the realization of economic and social rights in countries with very different histories, legal systems, traditions and cultures. Nor does it assume that everything needs to be done at once, or that a maximalist approach is indispensable. Strong arguments in favour of an incremental approach to economic and social rights adjudication in contexts in which the notion is relatively novel holds lessons for moving progressively, and with all appropriate speed, in relation to other elements of the overall package. There is immense space for the processes of "vernacularization", or translation into languages and forms, that are meaningful at the local level and about which various authors have written with great insight.
- 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
- 2016
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- One of the challenges that emerges most clearly from this analysis is that more research is needed in order to generate a better understanding of what works and what does not, in terms of the overall agenda for the promotion of economic and social rights. The focus needs to be less on what governments, civil society groups and scholars think they are best placed to do and more on what objectively needs to be done to ensure the progressive recognition and realization of economic and social rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- No outsider can prescribe an ideal recipe for the Bank to follow in adopting a human rights policy. There are many options and paths that could reasonably be taken. The Bank is a very special organization and it will need a carefully tailored policy that takes adequate account of the many concerns that will undoubtedly be expressed. Most of all, there needs to be a transparent discussion, based on carefully thought-through proposals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Diverse civil society actors also needs to think through in a more systematic and nuanced way what exactly they would like to see from a human rights initiative. In the view of the Special Rapporteur, it is debatable whether some of the roles that the Bank has been called upon to undertake in the past are appropriate. The Bank cannot be expected to carry the burden of the expectations of every human rights demand that might be made in a given situation. There are limits to what can reasonably be expected of it and there are legitimate questions related to its mandate and the respective roles that should be played by different actors. Placing unreasonable demands on the Bank merely reinforces the fears of those who are currently resisting change in that area.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- The Bank should have a due diligence policy that spells out some of the circumstances under which it would be unable to continue providing support for a given project. The United Nations due diligence policy in relation to peacekeeping is of direct relevance here. There is reason to believe that in many cases that subsequently became controversial, the Bank could have promoted relatively minor changes to make some of the projects much less vulnerable to criticism on human rights grounds. As the old aphorism says, a stitch in time saves nine.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- It should be assumed that measures to enforce respect for human rights are the prerogative of the Human Rights Council and of the other appropriate United Nations political organs, and not of the World Bank.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The Bank should adopt a policy addressing economic, social and cultural rights as human rights. Its frequent claims to be almost inadvertently doing this already are not persuasive, but there is much that it could do to promote a basic programme in this area, which would add enormous value to what the international community has so far been able to achieve.
- 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
- 2015
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The leading human rights groups should thus engage actively with the Coalition for a Social Protection Floor, as well as taking their own targeted initiatives.
- 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
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
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
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
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Future advocacy for social protection floors needs to acknowledge the lessons that are to be learned from past experience. First, the reality is that in many states the political will to eliminate poverty is lacking and, in the absence of a major change in priorities, the situation will at best improve only incrementally. Far from being a tragedy about which nothing can be done because of financial constraints, the persistence of extreme poverty is the result of a series of deliberate and conscious decisions by key actors who have chosen to prioritize other goals. Those living in poverty have been largely disempowered and their economic position reflects their political marginality. Extreme poverty remains a scourge which the international community has lamented at great length and with a collective gnashing of teeth, but that same community has all too often refused to take the measures required to eliminate the problem. Embracing the Social Protection Floor Initiative would constitute a compelling change of course and mark a genuinely new beginning in the struggle against extreme poverty.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- In particular, civil society should engage actively in debates over affordability at the national level. In that context, it is pertinent to recall the highly relevant report by the previous Special Rapporteur on the key role played by fiscal and related policies at the national level in terms of generating the resources necessary for poverty reduction and the realization of human rights (A/HRC/26/28).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Government agencies and policymakers must be prepared to give value to the findings of participatory processes, critically examine their own practices and attitudes, and allow the necessary resources and time to enable people living in poverty to participate effectively. Instituting meaningful participation will require the State to relinquish unilateral control over some areas of policy traditionally seen as government prerogative, for example budgets. Similarly, while successful participation is frequently dependent on some form of State engagement, States should not seek to "own" all spaces of participation, and must protect and promote the role of NGOs and civil society.
- 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
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Building on the human rights framework above, this section will give practical guidance to States on how to operationalize the right to participation of people living in poverty. It is neither possible nor desirable to formulate detailed universal guidelines, as participation is always embedded in a specific sociocultural context and set of power dynamics. The appropriate formats and design are thus context-dependent and moreover should emerge from the ground up, in consultation with communities. However, it is important to move towards a common understanding of what an acceptably participatory mechanism or process looks like and the appropriate minimum standards by which to measure the adequacy and quality of participation with regard to people living in poverty. Human rights provide a way to do so.
- 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
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- People living in poverty are entitled to participate in the design, implementation and monitoring of poverty interventions and other policies, programmes and interventions that affect their lives, and to hold duty bearers accountable. Looking at participation through the prism of human rights norms and principles, it is possible to elucidate the approach and actions necessary to ensure the effective and meaningful participation of people 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- States have three levels of obligations with regard to human rights: to respect; to protect; and to fulfil (E/C.12/GC/21, para. 48). In terms of the right to participation, the obligation to respect requires States to refrain from interfering, directly or indirectly, with the enjoyment of the right. For example, States must not close down participatory spaces, impose censorship, repress public deliberation or retaliate against those who speak out (e.g. through violence, confiscation of property or incarceration). The obligation to protect requires States to take steps to prevent third parties (including business enterprises or private individuals) from interfering in the right to participation. This would include safeguarding participatory spaces, protecting freedom of expression through law and policy, and protecting individuals from reprisal from non-State actors. It also requires States to protect social movements, community organizers and human rights defenders. Lastly, the obligation to fulfil requires States to facilitate, promote and provide for the full realization of the right to participation, through appropriate legislative, administrative, judicial, budgetary and other measures. This includes strengthening skills and capacity of the public and officials, presenting meaningful decisions for public deliberation and devoting resources to long-term, sustainable participatory mechanisms to influence national priorities, programmes and decisions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Expand the geographical reach of the justice system (police, prosecutors, courts, legal aid, etc.) in particular in rural and remote areas, by: Considering innovative measures such as mobile courts, one-stop justice shops, street clinics and homeless courts to increase practical access to justice for persons living in poverty, particularly the homeless and those living in rural communities
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Access to justice is essential for tackling poverty and protecting the human rights of persons living in poverty. Even mature democracies with well-functioning State institutions and technically inclusive and fair legal systems struggle to ensure de facto equal access to justice by those living in poverty. When the poor are unable to access justice equally and without discrimination, they are prevented from enjoying and claiming their human rights, and from seeking remedies to violations of their rights. This may exacerbate their situation, or frustrate their efforts to move out of poverty.
- 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
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Take strong measures to eliminate corrupt practices in the justice system and in law enforcement, including the solicitation of bribes; such measures might include legislation criminalizing all forms of corrupt acts, dedicating resources to policing and prosecuting corrupt officials, requiring judges to make declarations of the assets, improving the working conditions and salaries of police and judicial officers, and improving mechanisms to ensure the transparency of judicial processes
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Ensure that civil society and community-based organizations are able and supported to advocate for the rights and inclusion of persons living in poverty, undertake non-formal legal education, disseminate general legal information and serve as independent monitors of judicial 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
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Ensure that laws give due weight and consideration to the interests of persons living in poverty and the abuses which affect them
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Ensure the effective enforcement of judgements and compliance with judicial rulings in favour of persons living in poverty
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- [States should:] Allow and support collective litigation when structural or systemic issues affect the rights of persons living in poverty
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph