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The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Several studies indicate a strong positive correlation between a family's vulnerability to economic shocks and a child's early entry into the labour market and reduced school attendance. A family that experiences a severe shock, for example, may have to remove a child from school in order to send him or her to work. Evidence from Latin America suggests that greater family access to risk management instruments, such as unemployment benefits or disability benefits, directly reduces the prevalence of child labour.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- However, many social insurance and social assistance programmes that are integral parts of the welfare state differ in crucial respects from basic income. A study of 108 countries where child benefit or family benefit schemes were anchored in national legislation found that only 49 of them had non-contributory schemes. And contributory schemes generally only cover those in formal employment. They are therefore not universal, and often impose conditions, such as actively searching for work or undergoing medical tests. Moreover, they often go well beyond a floor, by compensating in part or in full for lost earnings.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Sep 21, 2020
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- In some of these programmes, non-compliance with conditionalities results in the immediate cancellation of benefits, without first assessing the reasons for non compliance. Often, this also means that the family cannot reapply to the programme, notwithstanding its needs and the reasons behind its failure to comply.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Whereas many aspects of existing social protection systems flow to the household, basic income would go directly to each individual. Some proposals do, however, diverge from this principle and envisage reduced payments which take account of the overall family or household situation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The international human rights framework is further complemented by labour standards, in particular International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions such as Convention No. 156 on workers with family responsibilities, Convention No. 183 on maternity protection, and Convention No. 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers. Compliance with all these obligations is essential in removing gender inequalities and discrimination and recognizing and redistributing unpaid care work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Although children have the right to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment, they also have the right not to be separated from their biological parents, unless such separation is in their best interests. The focus of child protection proceedings should always be the best interests of the child, and not the penalization of their parents. Criminalization of parental neglect and abuse, while important, does not provide a meaningful solution to poverty and disadvantage.
- 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
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Families are forced to use their limited income or sell assets to pay for bail, legal assistance, access to goods and services within penal facilities (e.g. food or telephone usage), or travel to visit the detainee. Children's education is also often disrupted when their parents are detained. In this context, detention represents a serious threat to the financial stability of the detainee's whole family and serves to perpetuate the cycle of 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
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Those who are poor and vulnerable are therefore likely to leave detention disproportionately disadvantaged financially, physically and personally. After their release they will have depleted assets, reduced employment opportunities, limited access to social benefits and severed community ties and family relationships, and will be subject to added social stigmatization and exclusion, diminishing even further their prospects of escaping poverty.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- In addition, States must determine whether the way in which a programme channels the transfer causes or perpetuates the unequal distribution of labour between the genders within the household. For example, a programme that increases the amount of time that a mother spends away from home may have a detrimental effect on girls' schooling if girls are then required to carry out the activities usually performed by the mother, such as cooking or collecting water.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Social protection programmes must respect and acknowledge the role played by women as providers of care, without reinforcing patterns of discrimination and negative stereotyping. Measures must be taken to promote the value of care and to combine societal and State responsibilities for care work, encouraging men to participate more actively in supporting and caring for family members.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- While cash transfers enable families to absorb the costs associated with schooling, other programmes, such as school feeding programmes or initiatives that provide fee waivers or subsidies for low-income families with children, also appear to be associated with higher school attendance levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- While fostering sociocultural change is a medium- to long-term objective, ensuring the equal enjoyment of rights of men and women is an immediate obligation for States. Therefore they must take immediate actions to alleviate the intensity of women's unpaid care work and redistribute their disproportionate share, including through the "provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life" (article 11 (2) (c)).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Support for these measures is not based on strong evidence of their effectiveness and economic efficiency, but rather on discriminatory stigmas and stereotypes, perpetuated by the media, that portray recipients of social benefits as lazy, dishonest and untrustworthy. Requirements and conditions are often underpinned by strong paternalistic attitudes; policymakers believe that they are acting in the best interests of persons living in poverty, who cannot be trusted to make decisions for themselves and their families.
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Integrating ageing populations in policymaking is not just a question of financing welfare policies. It requires a change of vision of the relations between generations and the roles of different age groups. States should not rely on the traditional vision that families will take care of older persons that have become dependent, especially as traditional family care structures are under increased pressure as a result of, inter alia, migration and urbanization. States have a duty towards older persons that must not be reduced to a question of affordability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Human rights treaties apply to all members of society and as such older persons are clearly entitled to the full range of rights established by them. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights mentions the particular vulnerability of older persons in article 25, which stipulates that "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including … medical care and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Research indicates a possible relationship between social protection and declines in child mortality (Goal 4). For example, by eliminating financial disincentives, cash transfer programmes directed at families with small children have demonstrably increased the number of regular medical check-ups for such children, thus reducing the risk of child mortality. Such programmes have also been effective in increasing the child immunization rates, reducing the incidence of illness and, in extreme cases, premature death. Similarly, food transfers have demonstrably reduced malnutrition among children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- For the purposes of the present report, "social protection" refers to policies and programmes aimed at enabling people to respond to various circumstances and manage levels of risk or deprivation deemed unacceptable by society. The objectives of these schemes are to offset deprivation and ensure protection from, inter alia, the absence or substantial reduction of income from work; insufficient support for families with children or adult dependents; lack of access to health care; general poverty; and social exclusion.
- 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
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Another famous example is the Bolsa Família in Brazil — Latin America’s largest conditional cash transfer programme — which was introduced in 2004, building on earlier, smaller, cash transfer programmes. Indigent and poor families wanting to receive the cash benefit are required to visit health clinics regularly and/or to meet minimum school attendance requirements. Brazil also has unconditional cash transfer programmes, such as the Benefício de Prestação Continuada, which is disbursed to the elderly and to individuals with disabilities living in low-income households. The Bolsa Família was enacted the day after another law that established a citizen’s income for every Brazilian citizen or foreigner residing in the country for more than five years, regardless of their socioeconomic condition. But the latter law was never implemented and is often confused by the public with other existing minimum income programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- All developed societies have welfare states in one or other of the three principal forms. First, welfare for the poor in the form of non-contributory means-tested programmes. Second, social insurance, social rights and social services, which include a wide array of institutions from contributory pension and unemployment schemes to public education and health insurance. Third, and the least familiar, is the role of the government in the economy, through regulatory, fiscal, monetary and labour-market policies and “in shaping markets, promoting growth, providing employment, and ensuring the welfare of firms and families”. While some see these three conceptions as competing, David Garland argues that none “of these three sectors can exist in that form without the others as structural supports”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- As for similarities, some existing non-contributory programmes in developed countries are already close to the concept of basic income. Many European countries, for example, have universal child-benefit systems that transfer cash to parents with few, if any, conditions attached and that are paid from public funds to all parents with children of a certain age, even if benefit levels might vary according to the number of children or the income of the parents. The main difference between basic income and such programmes appears to be that the latter restrict payments to specific groups such as children or the elderly.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Social protection programmes often increase demand for education, therefore contributing to the realization of the right to education. Empirical evidence shows a close link between family income and the education of children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- It is difficult to accept that a State that has no basic social protection floor in place, whether so called or not, is meeting its most basic obligations in relation to the economic, social and cultural rights of its citizens and others. Social protection schemes can have a dramatic impact on reducing inequalities. In Brazil, for example, two programmes, the Continuous Benefit Programme and the Family Allowance, jointly contributed to a significant fall in Gini inequality between 1995 and 2004. The Human Rights Council should thus 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 (see A/69/297, para. 51).
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Prior to finalizing the present report, a draft was submitted to the Secretary-General and other relevant officials for comment. To the Special Rapporteur's surprise, that draft was leaked to the press and appeared in full in the New York Times. Subsequently, the Deputy Secretary-General replied to the Special Rapporteur on 19 August 2016. The reply contained several elements that are novel and very welcome. In particular, the United Nations committed to the adoption of a "new approach" which "will address many of the concerns raised in [the present] report". That approach will include, as "a central focus", a package to provide "material assistance and support" to the victims and their families, over and above existing programmes. The support package and delivery mechanism will be elaborated through "a transparent process" involving consultation with the Haitian authorities, Member States and victims. The Organization also committed to intensify its efforts in response to the epidemic. Each of these undertakings is important. The implications are that there will be an approach which goes well beyond the existing one, will be transparent, will mobilize additional resources and will compensate victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- In principle, economic inequalities that begin at birth can be corrected during one's lifetime. But research has shown that starting life at an economic disadvantage makes it much more likely that one also ends life at an economic disadvantage. A study based on data from a subset of OECD countries found that intergenerational mobility differs strikingly between countries: In countries like Finland, Norway, and Denmark the tie between parental economic status and the adult earnings of children is weakest: less than one fifth of any economic advantage or disadvantage that a father may have had in his time is passed on to a son in adulthood. In Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States roughly 50 percent of any advantage or disadvantage is passed on. The implications of this phenomenon for a country with relatively low levels of intergenerational mobility, such as the United States, was explained in intuitive terms in 2012 by a leading economist: "The chance of a person who was born to a family in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution rising to the top 10 percent as an adult is about the same as the chance that a dad who is 5'6" tall having a son who grows up to be over 6'1" tall. It happens, but not often."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Economic inequalities not only impair civil and political rights but also negatively affect the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. A good example is the right to health. According to the World Bank, "infants from poorer families and children from rural areas are more likely to die than their peers from richer families and urban areas" and the poor are "considerably less likely than the non-poor to have access to high-impact health services, such as skilled delivery care, antenatal care, and complementary feeding." The Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission found that "people from lower occupational classes who have less education and income tend to die at younger ages and to suffer, within their shorter lifetimes, a higher prevalence of various health problems" and that "these differences in health conditions do not merely reflect worse outcomes for people at the very bottom of the socio-economic scale but extend to people throughout the socio-economic hierarchy, i.e. they display a 'social gradient'". The World Health Assembly, in its resolution WHA62.14, has also affirmed the recommendation of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health on the need "to tackle the inequitable distribution of power, money and resources".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Infants
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The international human rights framework affirms the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs and the right of those affected by key decisions to participate in the relevant decision-making processes. The right to participation is enshrined in numerous international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (arts. 21 and 27), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 25), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (arts. 13.1 and 15.1), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (arts. 7, 8, 13(c) and 14.2), the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (art. 5(e)(vi)), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (arts. 12 and 31), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (arts. 3(c), 4.3, 9, 29 and 30), the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (arts. 41 and 42.2), the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development (arts. 1.1, 2 and 8.2) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (arts. 5, 18, 19 and 41).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Many States with high rates of HIV/AIDS rely on home-based care undertaken by family or community members, essentially shifting the responsibility for care from public institutions to women living in poverty. The long-term social and economic costs of this strategy have been greatly underestimated. Women may have to give up or lose their jobs involuntarily and are likely to find it difficult to return to work, while women who are self-employed may lose earning opportunities. Eighty per cent of family caregivers in South Africa have reported reduced income levels. States' failure to provide meaningful support or alternatives to home-based care impedes greater gender equality, intensifies the poverty and insecurity of whole households, and also threatens the rights, health and well-being of those requiring care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- International labour standards also address equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women workers with family responsibilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- States' actions or inactions define who has access to quality care and who bears the costs of its provision. For example, where public services are unavailable, of low quality or not sufficiently adapted to the needs of carers - for example, school hours that do not correspond with parents' working hours - the unpaid care work of families and communities is intensified. When the State fails to adequately regulate, fund or provide care, the burden shifts to families who have to make their own arrangements. Owing to gender stereotypes related to family and work, such as "male breadwinners", "women as carers/nurturers", this generally means that women assume the bulk of the work, to the detriment of their human rights enjoyment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Addressing care as a human rights issue is particularly imperative at this time when, owing to several factors and trends, caregiving arrangements are under great pressure. Rising levels of female education and workforce participation, and changes in the organization of labour and production - for example increased job turnover and decreased social security coverage - has squeezed the time that families can allocate to care. Simultaneously, water, fuel and food shortages, climate change, major health crises and migration have intensified care needs and responsibilities, particularly in developing countries. Through all of this, the stereotypical view of gender roles in the household has not changed significantly. Disastrously, many States have failed to respond to these challenges in a rights-based and inclusive manner, instead cutting back on social investment and in particular failing to provide accessible and quality public services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph