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The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Important initiatives include Bolsa Familia and Brasil Sem Miséria in Brazil, Oportunidades in Mexico, Asignación Universal por Hijo para protección social in Argentina, a social transfer scheme in Zambia, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India, the Productive Safety Nets programme in Ethiopia, a universal pension scheme in Namibia and the provision of universal access to basic health services in Thailand. The programme in Brazil has grown from covering 3.6 million families in 2003 to 13.8 million in 2012, while a solidarity-based pension system in Chile went from 560,000 beneficiaries in 2008 to 1.1 million in 2012. In China, the Di bao reforms aim to create social insurance and assistance programmes to protect the entire population against economic insecurity and physical infirmity. Overall, there has, as the World Bank observes, been "an exponential growth in social safety nets, especially cash-based programs".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- 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. 31
- Paragraph text
- It must also be acknowledged that even within the United Nations family, there are significant differences in approach. A recent report on social protection floors by the United Nations Development Group explicitly acknowledged such differences and sought to downplay the consequences. It began by acknowledging that social protection occupies different positions within United Nations organizations' mandates and agendas, resulting in "different working definitions and components" being used. But it went on to note, reassuringly and in terms similar to those used by the World Bank, that United Nations organizations nevertheless "have much in common in terms of the desired objectives, principles, and approaches to social protection".
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Compliance with those principles is particularly important in the implementation of social protection systems. This stems from the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, which prohibits any form of discrimination in the fulfilment of all economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to social security, and ensures the equal rights of men and women. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, inter alia, obliges States parties to eliminate or amend policies and practices resulting in unequal access for women to public services such as health care and family benefits. It also highlights the unique challenges faced by working women during pregnancy and maternity and it encourages States to ensure that women have access to various social services that support them as they balance their work and family obligations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, several kinds of social protection programmes contribute to income generation and enable recipients to accumulate and protect assets, building their resilience in the face of shocks and increasing their chances of escaping extreme poverty. The additional income that social protection provides through various types of cash or in kind transfers and microcredit schemes enables families and individuals to accumulate savings, engage in long-term planning and invest in productive assets. Increasingly, social protection programmes are also designed to enable households to invest in human capital development, thus preventing poverty from being passed on from one generation to the next.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, while social protection interventions such as cash transfers free up financial resources that families can use to improve their health, such gains risk becoming meaningless in the absence of measures to guarantee universal enjoyment of the right to health, such as ensuring the adequacy of health-care infrastructure. The positive interaction among social protection, human rights and the Millennium Development Goals is strongest when it forms part of a supporting network of social policies (for example, quality standards for teachers and health-care professionals, infrastructure development and public awareness campaigns related to health and education).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Evidence shows that participatory strategies are often not meaningful as they are often reduced to mere consultation that does not allow for real input from participants into decision-making. Frequently, participation processes are incorporated to social programmes without serious thought being given to the factors that limit older persons' possibilities to take part in public life and influence decisions affecting them, such as physical impairments and sensory losses, local power structures and family relations. Relying on family members or community leaders as the only communication channel with older persons limits their ability to voice personal views and can reinforce their dependency on others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- In some countries, structural discrimination against women and increased competition for family resources from younger members often means older women lose control of assets once owned by their husbands and are left without a source of income. In extreme cases, they are subjected to accusations of witchcraft. The context in which accusations of witchcraft are made is complex, resulting from deep-seated cultural beliefs, and the need to apportion blame and seek redress for a negative event, such as a death in the family or crop failure and poverty. Nevertheless, the low status of women and their inability to defend themselves makes them the primary targets of such violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- These laws are being implemented in a context in which the economic and financial crises have resulted in an unprecedented increase in foreclosures and evictions, forcing a growing number of families to live on the streets. Instead of using public funds to assist these families, States are instead carrying out costly operations to penalize them for their behaviour. Where there is insufficient public infrastructure and services to provide families with alternative places to perform such behaviours, persons living in poverty and homelessness are left with no viable place to sleep, sit, eat or drink. These measures can thus have serious adverse physical and psychological effects on persons living in poverty, undermining their right to an adequate standard of physical and mental health and even amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Of particular concern are penalization measures that target those who seek to gain a living through street vending. In many States, street vending is severely restricted or illegal, as is buying from a street vendor. Research shows that street vendors turn to vending because they have no other form of income, have low levels of education and lack employment opportunities. Street vending is a means for the poorest and most vulnerable to earn money to support their families and their livelihoods. When States impose bans, onerous licences or strict restrictions on street vendors, they severely undermine the rights of persons living in poverty to gain a living.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Another condition that is increasingly being adopted by States is the requirement that those who receive unemployment, single parent or disability benefits participate in employment or training programmes. While transferring skills and knowledge required for reintegration into the workforce may be an important objective, often these programmes are implemented in the absence of enabling conditions, such as the provision of childcare facilities, or without consideration of structural barriers such as the realities of the current labour market, characterized by high unemployment and rapidly modernizing industries. Programmes place a heavy emphasis on "graduation" from benefits to employment, without giving due consideration to the actual needs of the beneficiaries and often without providing them with the assistance they need to obtain sustainable, productive and decent work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Women are also exposed to State interference in their private and family lives in other respects. In particular, States' ever-increasing preference for child protection interventions overwhelmingly affects poor women specifically, and persons living in poverty more generally. Research shows a clear and consistent link between child protection intervention and the disadvantage and marginalization of the families involved. Poverty must not be mistaken for child neglect. Often States disproportionately target children in poor families for child protection proceedings instead of channelling their efforts towards addressing the root causes of child poverty.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Persons living in poverty will often struggle to navigate the child protection process, which in many countries is an extremely intrusive, adversarial process. Child protection interventions often fail to provide families with sufficient information about the process, and in many countries there is no mandated free legal aid in child protection proceedings. As a result, there is a serious power imbalance between the State and families living in poverty, and a real risk that the judicial process may lead to unnecessary termination or limitation of parental rights or to other results detrimental to the child's best interests.
- 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
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 82h
- Paragraph text
- [In this context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to present the following recommendations:] The design and implementation of social benefit systems must comply with human rights norms, including the rights of persons living in poverty to privacy and family life and to take part in the decisions that affect them. Surveillance policies, conditionalities and other requirements must be reviewed to ensure that they do not violate human rights obligations by imposing a disproportionate burden on those living in poverty. When collecting and processing information pertaining to beneficiaries, States shall ensure that they observe internationally accepted standards of privacy and confidentiality, and shall not disseminate such information to other authorities or use it for other purposes without the consent of the beneficiary;
- 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
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Since the global economic and financial crises in the financial markets arose in 2007, they have had a devastating impact on poverty rates and presented a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Their disastrous impact has been amplified by a number of pre-existing social and economic realities: the world had been plagued in preceding years by consecutive fuel and food crises, unemployment was already unacceptably high, a majority of workers were employed in the informal sector, and only 20 per cent of the world's working-age population and their families had effective access to social protection.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Families
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The economic and social costs of detention and incarceration can be devastating for persons living in poverty. Detention and incarceration can lead to loss of income and employment and often temporary or permanent withdrawal of social benefits. Their families, particularly their children, are also directly affected. Therefore, criminal justice systems predicated on detention and incarceration, even for minor non-violent crimes, can themselves represent a significant obstacle to access to justice for persons living in poverty. Those who are poor and vulnerable are likely to leave detention disproportionately financially, physically and personally disadvantaged.
- 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
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Undoubtedly, women cannot enjoy this right equally if they have a disproportionate share of (unpaid) work at home. Gendered distribution of, and stereotypical assumptions about, family and caring responsibilities are at the root of much of the discrimination and limitations women experience in the labour market: barriers to entering employment, fewer opportunities for advancement, lower wages and higher levels of informal and insecure work. Moreover, women's right to decent work is consistently perceived as inferior to that of men. Simultaneously, discrimination against men who seek to perform a greater share of caring and family responsibilities further entrenches gender stereotypes and disadvantages women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- States must take all appropriate measures to ensure that women can enjoy the same access to, quality of and opportunities in education and training as men. The prohibition against discrimination in relation to the right to education applies fully and immediately to all aspects of education; therefore States must ensure that girls and women can enjoy their right to all types and levels of education on an equal basis with boys and men. This may require the adoption of concrete measures to ensure that unpaid care work in the home does not interfere with their schooling, for example, providing accessible public services and adequate infrastructure to support the unpaid care work in households and communities and reduce its time burden. According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, States' obligations in regard to the right to education encompass ensuring that communities and families are not dependent on child labour and that third parties, including parents and employers, do not stop girls from going to school.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- The HIV/AIDS pandemic has severely disrupted and/or increased unpaid care work in many countries. Women are affected by the virus in greater numbers than men and also, in conjunction with girls, provide 70 to 90 per cent of HIV/AIDS care. Caring for an AIDS patient can increase the workload of a family caretaker by one third, so that scarce family financial resources, as well as women's time, are stretched even further. The Special Rapporteur has seen herself during country visits how in communities ravaged by HIV/AIDS the desperate care needs of the sick as well as orphans and other vulnerable children all too often go unmet by the State. Instead, grandmothers, aunts or older girls struggle to fill the care deficit. Moreover, the burden of caring is disproportionately borne by people living in poverty, especially in rural areas, even in those contexts where HIV is more common among urban, wealthier people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- In many countries in the global South, growing numbers of women are compelled to migrate in order to provide for the future of their family, often as a result of shortages of well-remunerated jobs at home. Often migrant women take on jobs abroad as domestic workers, in what has been called the "global care chain". Migrant workers therefore fill the unmet need for care services in the richer destinations, while family members that remain at home must devise new strategies for reorganizing tasks and care responsibilities in their absence. Overall, this intensifies the care deficit in poorer countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Recently, austerity measures in both developed and developing countries have engendered massive expenditure cuts, including to public services and social protection budgets. As infrastructure and public services are eroded and formal employers contribute less to the costs of care, care responsibilities are shifted back to families, while purchasing basic commodities and care substitutes becomes difficult because of the fall in earnings and the high unemployment rate. Simultaneously, in some developed countries policies intending to remove women from welfare benefits and force them into employment are being implemented, in a context of high unemployment and labour flexibility, and where childcare services are inadequate. As a consequence of these measures women's time is further stretched and their unpaid care work increases, especially in households living in poverty; indeed, it is implicitly expected to act as an unlimited and cost-free alternative to public services and as a shock-absorber for the crisis.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Public policies should position care as a social and collective responsibility rather than an individual problem, and treat unpaid caregivers and those they care for as rights holders. A transformative approach is clearly required under human rights law, including tackling gender stereotypes and traditional roles. In order to move effectively towards this, State policies must recognize and value the importance of unpaid care, but without reinforcing care work as women's sole responsibility or supporting particular models of the family to the exclusion of others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- In order to create an enabling legal framework, States must ensure comprehensive equality and non-discrimination legislation. This should include explicit prohibition of discrimination on the basis of maternity and family or carer responsibilities in all areas of public life, and the right to equal pay for equal work. These laws and regulations must cover part-time, atypical and informal workers. Similarly, the legal framework must include reproductive rights, prohibit child marriage and remove any remaining family laws in place, including those relating to divorce, inheritance and division of marital property.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- In order to achieve greater equality in sharing unpaid care work between women and men, in general and within households, the solutions must be public as well as private. It is necessary for the State to facilitate, incentivize and support men's caring, for example by ensuring that they have equal rights to employment leave as parents and carers, and providing education and training to men, women and employers. To facilitate long-term change, educational programmes, to be used in schools and communities, should be developed to challenge stereotypical, traditional male and female roles and promote the concept of shared family responsibility for unpaid care work in the home.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
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 added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph