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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
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- A human rights approach stipulates that legal and policy measures to strengthen the accountability and transparency of financial systems should be taken. In order for States to meet their duty to protect, the banking sector should be regulated to obligate banking institutions to serve the interests of society by, for example, ensuring access to credit without discrimination, especially those struggling under increased economic burdens. States should ensure adequate means of redress for those adversely affected by the actions taken by financial sector institutions, and adopt regulations that discourage harmful practices by providing for accountability mechanisms that penalize risky behaviours and prosecute perpetrators.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
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 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. 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
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
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
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
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Considering that detention, incarceration and institutionalization have such extensive and long-lasting negative effects on persons living in poverty, States must only have recourse to deprivation of liberty insofar as it is necessary to meet a pressing societal need, and in a manner proportionate to that need. The poorest and most vulnerable individuals in detention must have equal access to free, fair and efficient court procedures, and must enjoy the same rights to humane conditions and respectful treatment as more affluent segments of 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
- 2011
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
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
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Job-creation initiatives and improvements in working conditions should be complemented by investments in social protection systems, particularly non-contributory benefits and public services, in order to provide comprehensive support for those most affected by the crises while also promoting long-term recovery. The State must ensure that recovery measures do not discriminate against any segment of society, including those who are unable to work or who face greater barriers in their access to employment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- Quality public service provision should be free at the point of use (for example health services and primary education) or at affordable cost (for example water and sanitation and transport), in order to give unpaid caregivers the option to undertake other pursuits such as paid work, participation in public life, education or self-care, while ensuring a level of care for their dependants. States should therefore preserve and boost investment in public services, especially in times of economic crisis when inequalities become more pronounced. The principles of non-discrimination and equality require States to ensure that public services meet the standards of availability, accessibility, acceptability, adaptability and quality, and to expand coverage in ways that reduce class, gender and regional inequalities, focusing on physical and economic accessibility for the most disadvantaged persons, groups and regions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- 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
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- The human rights framework obliges States to take measures to ensure that individuals under their jurisdiction are protected from infringements of their rights by third parties, and to take all available legal or policy measures to prevent third parties from violating economic, social and cultural rights. Accordingly, States should take immediate steps to regulate the actions of banking and financial sector entities under their control, in order to prevent them from violating or infringing upon human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- While the creation of jobs is an integral part of any economic recovery, it is vital that States direct their efforts at generating opportunities for sustainable, productive and decent work in which individuals can exercise and realize their human rights. Employment policies must respect the human rights framework. This has broad implications: from protecting workers' rights to adopting policies to ensure equal access to employment by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- A human rights-based recovery from the successive crises must be one in which all segments of society play a significant role. The human rights principles of participation, transparency and accountability require States to create and maintain mechanisms by which individuals can meaningfully and effectively contribute to, provide feedback on and claim redress from policy measures that affect their enjoyment of human rights.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- Increasing participation in policymaking allows States to assess more adequately the root causes of deprivation in any given community, the structural challenges to poverty alleviation, the local cultural, ethnic or societal obstacles to successful poverty reduction, and the best means of reaching the most vulnerable. It therefore increases the likelihood that policies will be effective in reaching the poorest members and segments of society and will improve their degree of enjoyment of human 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
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
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 82i (i)
- Paragraph text
- [In this context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to present the following recommendations:] States must only have recourse to detention and incarceration when it is necessary to meet a pressing societal need, and in a manner proportionate to that need. States must ensure that arrest or detention does not disproportionately affect those living in poverty. To this end, States shall: Review all detention and incarceration policies and legislation, in order to identify and remove discriminatory laws and practices which disproportionately disadvantage persons living in poverty. Measures should be put in place to enable police, courts and public officials to adequately assess the potential effects of detention or incarceration in the light of each individual's circumstances;
- 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
- 2011
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
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
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
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 86f (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [In order to comply with their human rights obligations regarding the right to participation, the Special Rapporteur recommends States undertake the following actions:] Empowerment: Take all appropriate steps to enhance the capacity of people living in poverty to participate in public life, including by: a. Improving the accessibility and quality of education services provided to the poorest sectors of the population. b. Ensuring educational programmes transmit the necessary knowledge, including human rights education, to enable everyone to participate fully and on an equal footing at the local and national levels. c. Launching public education campaigns on issues that affect people living in poverty, such as the environment, human rights, development and budgeting processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Labour rights should also be enshrined in law, including regulation of the length of the working day, minimum wage and rights to social security for all workers, including informal workers, domestic workers and community care workers. The right to maternity and parental leave should also be enshrined in legislation. All workers, regardless of gender, employment status, company size or the specific nature of their care relationship, should enjoy a legal right to request flexible working, with recourse to an independent appeal system.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 82f
- Paragraph text
- [In this context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to present the following recommendations:] States must ensure that all criminal and regulatory policies comply with human rights standards, including the principles of equality and non discrimination and the presumption of innocence. Laws which specifically target the particular behaviours and actions of persons living in poverty amount to discrimination on the basis of economic and social status, and shall be repealed;
- 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
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- The rights of carers should be explicitly recognized in legislation, with reference to their right to social security and their right to an adequate standard of living, including through income support where necessary. These rights can be elaborated through the development of national care standards and/or carer recognition legislation with enforceable obligations, based on human rights principles including equality and non-discrimination, self-determination, autonomy and participation.
- 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
- 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
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Social protection systems must also incorporate effective and meaningful participatory mechanisms that ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the programmes and compliance with the fundamental right to participate.
- 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
- 2011
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- The sheer surprise with which the most recent crises took the international community is telling not only of the rapidity of transmission of the crises, but of the inability of States to predict and prepare for shocks and to understand the multiple dimensions of poverty. In order to better inform policy debates on how best to prioritize the human rights of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, States need to be able to identify them more accurately and efficiently and to assess their needs. To this end, States should work towards creating mechanisms that provide better information about the incidence and substance of deprivation and inequality. This includes instituting means of gathering larger quantities of better quality disaggregated data on the impact of the crises and of recovery policies. Data should be disaggregated according to several dimensions, such as gender, age, geographical location, ethnicity and health status. It is also crucial that, in the face of rising food prices, States monitor in a timely manner the development of local food prices in order to ensure prompt and appropriate policy responses.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph