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Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Penalization measures are often motivated by prejudices and negative stereotypes that ignore the realities of disadvantage and exclusion and fail to recognize the daily struggle of persons living in poverty to overcome the multiple obstacles they face. Poverty is not a lifestyle choice. Homeless persons would prefer safe, affordable, adequate housing to public parks and bus stations. Those struggling to survive on social benefits would rather have secure, regular, well-paying, productive employment than be subject to discrimination and live in constant fear that their entitlements will be taken away. One does not choose to live in poverty, and therefore should not be punished for that situation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- People living in poverty experience discrimination on the grounds of poverty itself (E/C.12/GC/20, paras. 34-35), but also frequently due to membership in other disadvantaged sectors of the population, including but not limited to indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and people living with HIV/AIDS. Particular attention must be paid to upholding the right to equality between men and women. Thus, when designing, implementing and monitoring participatory processes, States must take into account the different experiences of men and women and gender power relations in the community. They must recognize the multiple forms of discrimination that women experience, and address women's specific needs throughout the different phases of their life cycle (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age). Participatory processes must also acknowledge the responsibilities of care providers without reinforcing patterns of discrimination and negative stereotyping.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Natural resources can be a vital source of revenue that the State can use to comply with its human rights obligations. The financial and social benefits of natural resource exploitation are, however, increasingly bypassing people in producing countries. In most countries, extractive industries generate few jobs directly and have only weak links to local markets. Far from bringing benefits, the exploitation of natural resources has been frequently linked to human rights abuse and encroachment on lands and livelihoods of communities, mass evictions, pollution and environmental degradation, which may result in violations of rights to health, food, housing and water. The right of people to participate in decisions regarding natural resources is often violated, especially where the land, territory and resources of indigenous peoples is concerned.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The health-care guarantees of social protection floors have been greatly reinforced by a separate but closely linked initiative emerging from WHO to promote universal health coverage. That concept has been defined in a way that makes it directly compatible with and complementary to the Social Protection Floor Initiative and was endorsed by the General Assembly in resolution 67/81. In elaborating on this concept, the World Health Assembly has consistently made reference to the right to health, underlined the centrality of universal health care in the post-2015 agenda and emphasized the "the importance of accountability through regular assessment of progress".
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The Social Protection Floor Initiative is not merely relevant to human rights; it is firmly rooted within the rights framework. In its report, the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group described the basic concept as being anchored in shared principles of social justice and in the human rights to social security and to an adequate standard of living. In terms of legal foundations, it added that: "The right of individuals to provision by way of social protection is articulated specifically in a number of international instruments, notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights." ILO recommendation No. 202 is very specific in "reaffirming that the right to social security is a human right" and in underscoring the relevance of articles 22 and 25 of the Declaration and articles 9, 11, and 12 of the Covenant.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Although a report as brief as this can only skim the historical surface, at least five factors ensured that social protection in general, and the right to social security in particular, were of marginal importance for most of the twentieth century. First, the artificial and in some respects arbitrary division of the concept of human rights into two different categories of rights governed by very different assumptions, condemned economic and social rights to second-class status for much of this period. Second, the often proclaimed interdependence and indivisibility of the two sets of rights resolutely failed to address in practice the fact that individuals living in extreme poverty were unable to realize effectively many of their civil and political rights. Third, the mistaken notion that civil and political rights are largely costless, while economic and social rights are inevitably extremely costly, was used to legitimize the assumption that social security was a quintessentially costly right and thus only really of relevance to rich countries. Fourth, where it was officially accepted, social security was largely conceptualized as a tool for protecting workers in the public sector and in the formal sector more generally. Thus only minimal efforts were made to develop a more inclusive notion that built upon both formal and informal structures and processes to ensure that all persons were covered by some type of security arrangement. Fifth, many of those problems were exacerbated by the impact of the cold war on the human rights framework. A sixth factor was the extent to which individual United Nations agencies claimed different issues as their own and sought to develop forms of exclusive jurisdictional competence. Under that scheme, social security "belonged" to ILO. The rest of the United Nations system thus more or less kept away from the issue, except in the most general terms. That also meant that, some official rhetoric notwithstanding, the United Nations human rights system developed in relative isolation from what should have been the closely related work of a number of the specialized agencies.
- 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
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have an immediate core obligation to ensure the satisfaction of, at the very least, minimum essential levels of all economic, social and cultural rights. These minimum essential levels are entitlements that are crucial to securing an adequate standard of living through basic subsistence, essential primary health care, basic shelter and housing and basic forms of education for all members of society. Even during times of severe resource constraints, States must demonstrate that every effort has been made to use all resources that are at its disposal, including resources that could potentially be collected through taxation, or tackling tax evasion and other illicit financial flows, in an effort to satisfy, as a matter of priority, minimum essential levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Second, an indispensable step is to insist on explicit recognition by key actors that there is a human right to social protection. At present, the right to social security and the right to an adequate standard of living, proclaimed so proudly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequently often reaffirmed in binding treaty obligations, are ignored or even challenged by the policies advocated by many of the key actors involved in addressing the plight of the hundreds of millions of persons living in extreme poverty. Many leading international organizations and financial institutions still avoid recognizing those rights in their policies and programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Decision-making processes regarding tax and public revenues must therefore be based on full transparency and the broadest possible national dialogue, with effective and meaningful participation of civil society and those who will be directly affected by such policies, including people living in poverty. Fiscal policies should be subjected to the scrutiny of the population during design, implementation and evaluation stages, with the various interests transparently identified. This will require capacity-building and fostering fiscal literacy in the population. The population should have access to all relevant information in an accessible and understandable format, and inclusive mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that they are actively engaged in devising the most appropriate policy options. Owing to the asymmetries of power, expertise and interests in this debate, specific measures should be taken to ensure equal access and opportunities to participate, particularly for people living in poverty.
- 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
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- States must devote the "maximum available resources" to ensure the progressive realization of all economic, social and cultural rights as expeditiously and effectively as possible, even during times of severe resource constraints, whether caused by a process of adjustment, economic recession or other factors. This principle should guide the State's decisions and priorities in generating, mobilizing and allocating resources in order to permit the realization of human rights. The obligation of progressive realization independent of economic growth also exists; it requires the effective use of available resources, including potential resources that could be raised through reasonable efforts, such as taxation measures and international assistance and cooperation. Other areas are also critical for mobilizing resources, including debt and deficit financing, monetary policy and financial regulation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Promoting economic growth is also a primary and legitimate concern of State fiscal policies. Progressive taxation can, however, help Governments to achieve more sustainable growth and to distribute the fruits of prosperity more fairly. Indeed, a recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) found that the combined direct and indirect effects of redistribution, including the growth effects of the resulting lower inequality, are on average pro-growth. Many developing countries have experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, although without a proportionate reduction in poverty or inequality, indicating that the benefits of growth have been concentrated in the hands of a few. This is in large part because the proceeds of growth have not been adequately taxed and redistributed, leading to a concentration of wealth that has considerable negative implications for human rights, social cohesion and future economic growth prospects.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to guarantee that human rights are exercised without discrimination of any kind. This is a fundamental pillar of international human rights law and an immediate obligation of all States.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Third, technocratic solutions, no matter how innovative and data-driven, will not work unless they are genuinely empowering of those whom they purport to help. In that regard, extreme poverty is a classic case study in the centrality of human dignity as a guiding principle of human rights. The poor, we have too often been told by our politicians and others, are usually to blame for their own plight, whether because of laziness, incompetence, mendacity, or whatever. Those unjustified stereotypes provide yet another justification for preferring technocratic approaches through which we measure the poor and work out how we are going to make minimal provision for them, at least in the long term. As Keynes reminded us, in the long term we are all dead. Those living in extreme poverty will be dead even more quickly, so that long-term solutions may be little more than an illusion. Short-term empowerment and respect are what is needed. We need to reassert a common humanity, shared responsibilities and the centrality of human dignity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- It is understandable that some of those who have expended great energy on the post-2015 process should consider that only a token reference to human rights and a weak endorsement of social protection are better than nothing and that they will somehow be able over time to put a positive gloss on determinedly lacklustre goals. This is surely not enough. Civil society groups should make clear that a 1960s approach is no longer acceptable in the twenty-first century. Human rights in general should be recognized as both a central goal of sustainable development and a crucial part of the relevant process and a specific right to social protection, as defined in the Social Protection Floor Initiative and ILO recommendation No. 202, should be recognized.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The discrimination prohibited under international human rights law includes any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference or other differential treatment that has the intention or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of all rights. Not all differences in treatment, however, constitute discrimination. A distinction is compatible with the principles of equality and non-discrimination if the differentiation is reasonable and objective, and pursues a legitimate aim under human rights instruments, and there is a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means employed and the aim sought.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- When acting as a member of an international organization, a State remains responsible for its own conduct in relation to its human rights obligations within and outside its territory. This includes identifying the possible human rights impact of measures agreed at the international level, including the impact on persons living in poverty. Therefore, when a State makes decisions about loans as a member of an international financial institution, careful consideration of human rights obligations would mitigate against imposing conditions regarding fiscal policies that may jeopardize the human rights of the borrower State's population or undermine that State's ability to use maximum available resources to realize economic, social and cultural rights.
- 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
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- In the same vein, the more a State can rely on domestic rather than external resource mobilization for its financing, the more it will be able to deploy sustainable development strategies and policies that are responsive to the needs of its people and accountable to them. Therefore, a sustainable base of domestic revenue becomes an enabling factor to exercise the right to self-determination and the right of all persons to take part in the conduct of public affairs. In this regard, it will also be crucial to build public confidence that these resources are being well used by, for example, increasing public participation and oversight of budgeting and expenditure.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- In revenue collection, compliance with these rights may require States to set up a progressive tax system with real redistributive capacity that preserves, and progressively increases, the income of poorer households. It also implies that affirmative action measures aimed at assisting the most disadvantaged individuals and groups that have suffered from historical or persistent discrimination, such as well-designed subsidies or tax exemptions, would not be discriminatory. In contrast, a flat tax whereby all people are required to pay an equal proportion of their income would not be conducive in achieving substantive equality, as it limits the redistributive function of taxation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Without the resources to retain private legal assistance, and with restricted access to legal aid (see above), persons living in poverty are often forced to navigate the judicial system alone. In doing so, they encounter, in addition to the barriers listed above, a complex labyrinth of laws, traditions and interactions, with copious paperwork, the use of legal jargon and mainstream languages, and restrictive time limits, all of which can deter the poor from seeking justice under formal systems and impede fair outcomes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The generic term "social protection" has been used to describe a wide range of past and present policy approaches. In recent years, however, the main debate has been between those who support what are termed "social safety net" approaches and those who seek "social inclusion" and acknowledge "social citizenship". The principal response of the World Bank to the backlash against the austerity and adjustment policies of the Washington Consensus was to advocate social safety nets. The concept of social risk management gained special prominence, both as a means to protect the basic livelihood of the most vulnerable, or those living in chronic poverty, and to promote better managed risk-taking in response to economic and other shocks. However, the safety net approach was also widely criticized for failing to devote enough attention to structural poverty and inequality, and for its emphasis on the narrow targeting of groups for assistance. In response, rights-based approaches were promoted, not only within the human rights community, but by a broader range of development scholars and institutions. But the general debate is far from settled and critics argue that many of today's approaches to social protection continue to show a "bias towards more ameliorative and less transformative approaches to social protection, which are likely to leave the underlying causes of injustice in place."
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Measures that result in the penalization of those living in poverty do nothing to tackle the root causes of poverty and social exclusion. They serve only to entrench further the multiple deprivations faced by those living in poverty and create barriers to poverty reduction and social inclusion. Consequently, they greatly undermine the ability of States to comply with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Across developing and developed countries, incarceration rates are extremely high for persons living in poverty. Disproportionately high numbers of them are arrested, detained and imprisoned as a result of law enforcement officials' frequent use of poverty, homelessness or disadvantage as an indicator of criminality, and they encounter considerable obstacles in manoeuvring within or exiting the criminal justice system.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Economic and social rights are also of central importance to efforts to tackle extreme inequality and its consequences. The thoroughly documented increases in global wealth and income inequality threaten to undermine the social fabric, to turn civil and political rights into a tool that will be used predominantly to protect the rights and interests of the wealthy and to entrench forms of economic and political liberalism that ignore the needs and deny the rights of those living in poverty. In many respects, the approach currently taken by the international human rights system all but ensures the worst of all possible outcomes. On the one hand, the correct approach insists that economic and social rights are indivisible from, and of equal importance to, civil and political rights, thus suggesting that they can provide a meaningful response to extreme poverty, extreme inequality and other forms of rampant social injustice. On the other hand, the international human rights system systematically marginalizes those rights in many respects, and tolerates a situation in which the majority of States avoid the recognition, institutionalization and accountability that alone can establish solid foundations upon which to build respect for economic and social rights as full-fledged human rights and thus provide powerful and principled arguments to reduce levels of inequality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The duty to implement social protection policies to expand the protection available to persons living in extreme poverty flows directly from a number of human rights, in particular the right to social security and the right to an adequate standard of living, which are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, several international and regional human rights treaties, conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and national constitutions. Ensuring access to social protection is thus not a policy option, but a State obligation under international human rights law. Understood in this way, human rights can greatly contribute to the building of the political support necessary to establish and expand social protection systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- However, the independent expert stresses the need to be cautious in evaluating progress towards the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 2 (achieve universal primary education) through targets based solely on enrolment numbers. Whether the detected positive effects on school enrolment translate into substantive gains in education is a question still open for debate. While school enrolment and attendance are necessary, the establishment of additional policies to ensure the availability and adequacy of schools, the high quality of education and the transition from school to the labour market is also essential.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The effects of social protection measures such as cash and in-kind transfers on the health status of persons living in extreme poverty will not be consolidated unless they are accompanied by adequate investment in the provision of health care and the guarantee of access to medicines. Also essential is coordination among various social policies, including coordination between programme managers and health service providers, to ensure adequate, accessible and gender-sensitive health-care services, even in the most remote and vulnerable communities. In addition, States should provide mass immunizations and public health awareness campaigns.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- A human rights framework also demands accountability and redress mechanisms. Policymakers and others whose decisions and actions have a negative impact on the right to social security or the right to an adequate standard of living must be held accountable. Independent and effective judicial and quasi-judicial (such as human rights commissions and ombudspersons) mechanisms must be put in place to monitor the formulation and implementation of social policies. As has already been emphasized, in order to ensure that the more disadvantaged and disempowered can gain access to accountability mechanisms, such mechanisms must meet certain technical requirements, such as guaranteeing confidentiality, allowing for individual and collective complaints, being sufficiently resourced, being independent from political interference, and being culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Numerous studies demonstrate that specific cash transfer programmes have been effective in working towards target 2 of the Millennium Development Goals: halving the number of persons suffering from hunger by 2015. For example, the Productive Safety Net Programme in Ethiopia, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India, the initiative "Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra-Poor" in Bangladesh and the Kalomo District Pilot Social Cash Transfer Scheme in Zambia have all improved nutritional levels. In a wide range of programmes and countries, there is strong evidence of a direct link between income supplementation and food consumption among beneficiary households. A number of countries have noted the possible role of school meal programmes and the distribution of food baskets in the achievement of significant gains towards the fulfilment of target 2.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- The establishment of a solid legal and institutional framework for social protection measures at the national level is a fundamental first step towards the realization of human rights as well as the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Enshrining social protection within domestic law affirms the duty of States to protect and promote the right to social security and an adequate standard of living. It solidifies States' long-term commitment to poverty reduction, placing social protection firmly on the political agenda. The independent expert has repeatedly emphasized the significance of legal and institutional frameworks in ensuring the long-term success of social protection programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Penalization of people living in poverty 2011, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- States have long recognized that poverty is a complex human condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other economic, civil, cultural, political and social rights. Poverty is not an autonomous choice, but rather a multifaceted situation from which it may be difficult, if not impossible, to escape without assistance. Persons living in poverty are not to blame for their situation; accordingly, States must not punish or penalize them for it. Rather, States must adopt wide-reaching measures and policies designed to eliminate the conditions that cause, exacerbate or perpetuate poverty, and ensure the realization of all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of those 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph