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The right to adequate housing of persons with disabilities 2017, para. 23
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Persons with disabilities living in poverty in cities commonly live in informal settlements or homeless encampments. The Special Rapporteur has been shocked by the deplorable conditions endured by persons with disabilities in those contexts. Many, including young children and older persons, are left to languish in isolation, sometimes in dark rooms without electricity, hidden from view at the back of the home, without access to community centres, social opportunities or health clinics.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Reflection on work undertaken in first 14 years of the mandate; outline of opportunities and priorities 2014, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Migrant workers have also made important advances in addressing discrimination in economic and social contexts, such as discrimination based on citizenship or immigration status, including "undocumented" status. Migrant domestic workers, migrant construction workers (for example, those working in extractive industries or large-scale infrastructure projects), children, older migrants and migrants in irregular situations are the most vulnerable, often lacking administrative or judicial remedies for their housing claims. Migrant workers and the members of their families frequently face housing conditions characterized by overcrowding, irregular or unregulated rental markets, high exposure to arbitrary changes in the cost of rent or essential services, and substandard living conditions, and can be subject to abuse, in particular when they are undocumented.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Older persons
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- The fact that structural discrimination against women prevails in most societies and the consequent limited influence of women in decision-making processes must be taken into account in all stages of programmes. Gender stereotypes frequently attribute to women the responsibility of caregiving, particularly for children and older persons. While such activities contribute significantly to household and community well-being and development, they often go unrecognized by States and societies. Domestic responsibilities are usually not remunerated, and they often prevent women from gaining access to the formal labour market and limit the opportunities for women and girls to participate in capacity-building activities, including education and training.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Qualifying conditions for benefits of targeted schemes must be gender-sensitive, reasonable, objective and transparent. Particular care should be taken to ensure that it is the wealth of the older person him/herself that is assessed and not that of their household. Using household targeting methods for an individual benefit can place older persons in a disadvantageous position because of a lack of studies about household distribution of wealth. While community targeting is a method that can be implemented at reduced costs in many countries, it should also be examined carefully. Indeed, by leaving the decision of who gets the benefit to the discretion of community leaders, community targeting can reinforce power structures and patron-client relations. This can result in creating tensions between beneficiaries and others, further stigmatizing some groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The principle of equality and non-discrimination also requires States to ensure that social pensions are physically and culturally accessible to all older people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- The living conditions of persons living in extreme poverty clearly impact on their health status throughout their life. Higher incidence of ill-health and premature mortality correlates with socioeconomic factors in all regions of the world. Ageing increases a person's susceptibility to illness and disability, and this phenomenon is further aggravated by poverty as they are less likely to be able to afford health care and more likely to maintain poor nutritional diets. They are also more likely to have engaged in physically demanding work for a living. Therefore, policies must take into account that older persons living in poverty may have a greater need for health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- In 1995, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted a general comment on the rights of older persons, in which it stressed that States needed to adapt their social and economic policies to respond to the needs of ageing populations and should give more consideration to older persons in their human rights monitoring and reporting. The general comment also sheds light on the relationship between the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Vienna International Plan of Action and the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, clearly indicating that both binding and non-binding commitments are linked.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- In 2009, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women established a working group to elaborate a general recommendation on the rights of older women. In its preliminary work, the working group explains that the impact of gender inequalities throughout a woman's lifespan is intensified in old age and often results in unfair resource allocation, maltreatment, abuse, gender-based violence and prevention of access to basic services. The general recommendation will be an important tool for addressing the human rights of older women and the elimination of discrimination they face throughout their lives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- As people grow older, they tend to be progressively excluded from the formal and informal work markets by employers who prioritize a younger workforce. At the same time, they are often not protected by social security systems (addressed below). Without access to work or income, the poorest tend to depend on others for their survival or have to seek less secure sources of income (often begging or undertaking menial work). Research indicates that the older persons who manage to enter and remain in the workforce occupy less attractive jobs, with lower pay than people of prime age.
- 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
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- The benefit of social pensions may also reach beyond their direct beneficiaries and assist family members of the older person and any children in their care. In AIDS-affected countries, for example, where older persons are the primary caregivers of children orphaned by AIDS, social pensions may impact positively on child well-being. A study in South Africa found that children living with pensioners are, on average, 5 centimetres taller and that such a pension being given led to an 8 per cent increase in school attendance among those in the poorest percentile of the population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
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
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- At regional level, there are several provisions recognizing the specific vulnerability of older persons that call on States to implement specific measures to protect the elderly. They also emphasize the right to social security.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights stipulates that "the aged and the disabled shall also have the right to special measures of protection in keeping with their physical or moral needs" (art. 18). The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) recognizes the particular vulnerability of older women and requests States to take a number of measures "commensurate with their physical, economic and social needs as well as their access to employment and professional training" and "ensure the right of elderly women to freedom from violence, including sexual abuse" (art. 22).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The Revised European Social Charter recognizes "the right of elderly persons to social protection" (art. 23). It calls on States to adopt or encourage appropriate measures to: (1) "enable elderly persons to remain full members of society for as long as possible"; (2) "enable elderly persons to choose their lifestyle freely and to lead independent lives in their familiar surroundings for as long as they wish and are able"; and (3) "guarantee elderly persons living in institutions appropriate support, while respecting their privacy, and participation in decisions concerning living conditions in the institutions".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Several International Labour Organization conventions and declarations also recognize the right to social security, including the Declaration concerning the aims and purposes of the International Labour Organization, to pursue "the extension of social security measures to provide a basic income to all in need of such protection and comprehensive medical care". The main standards are established by Convention No. 102 concerning Minimum Standards of Social Security and Convention No. 128 concerning Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits. Convention No. 102 establishes worldwide-agreed minimum standards for all nine branches of social security: medical care, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, old-age benefit, employment injury benefit, family benefit, maternity benefit, invalidity benefit and survivors' benefit.
- 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
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- Non-contributory pensions are the only means by which universal pension coverage can be achieved and gender imbalances redressed. However, social pensions must not be regarded as the sole response to old-age poverty. To be effective in the promotion of an adequate standard of living, social pensions can only be one component of a comprehensive social protection strategy that addresses the impact of extreme poverty throughout one person's life cycle and includes measures to ensure older persons access to adequate social services, in particular access to health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Wide and informed public participation in the development and implementation of social policies is an essential feature of policies grounded in human rights standards. Participation of the intended beneficiaries is not simply desirable in terms of ownership and sustainability, but is also part of their right to take part in public life which is a core component of human rights instruments. Owing to the asymmetry of power between the beneficiaries and the authorities that administer the programme, beneficiaries are often unable to realize their rights. Promoting meaningful public participation must thus be an essential feature of the design, implementation and evaluation of social pensions. Special attention must also be devoted to ensuring the effective participation of older women and other groups that may be marginalized.
- 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
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- The financial affordability and sustainability of expanding social pension programmes have immediate implications on the determination of benefit levels. While States should bear in mind the need to expand the coverage of existing schemes, ensuring that the levels of pensions remain adequate for beneficiaries is also a major concern. In this context, the benefits must be high enough to enable older people to enjoy an adequate standard of living and afford the goods and services they require to realize at least the minimum core content of their economic, social and cultural rights. While the cost of schemes can be reduced by increasing the age of eligibility or decreasing the size of the benefit, a balance should be struck between reaching all those in need and providing a benefit that would allow older people a minimum subsistence level.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Accessibility also requires that policymakers assess and take into account any possible discriminatory impact of the manner in which grants or transfers are disbursed. For example, owing to limited mobility (such as that of persons with disabilities and older persons), lack of familiarity with electronic methods of payment (such as through the use of debit cards and mobile phones) and the gender impact (such as when queues are guarded by armed personnel), modes of disbursement could have unintended discriminatory effects.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Gender concerns remain largely ignored, even when social protection schemes specifically target women within households or female-headed households. The channelling of social protection to women may amplify the impacts of certain schemes reaching children or older persons, but it does not ensure that the root causes of gender inequality are adequately addressed. Evidence shows that social protection systems are rarely gender-neutral and that badly designed programmes can exacerbate or contribute to inequalities.
- 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
- Children
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Where there is political will, low-income and middle-income countries can implement social pension programmes. Without detracting from developing States' own obligations, international assistance must also play a role in helping developing countries to progressively realize the right to social security. In those countries where the protection gap is widest, establishing or enhancing non-contributory pensions requires overcoming considerable resource, institutional and technical constraints. International assistance can be critical in this respect.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 105
- Paragraph text
- The traditional reliance of many States on contributory pension systems as the main source of social security in old age has left a significant portion of older persons unprotected. This problem is particularly serious for women as most are not covered by contributory pension schemes although they tend to live longer. Investing in non-contributory pensions can play an important role in empowering older people and contribute to the realization of their human rights, in particular their economic, social and cultural rights.
- 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
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Most older women are excluded from formal social security and health insurance schemes as these are linked to paid, formal-sector employment. In developing countries, the great majority of women work all their lives in the informal sector or unpaid activities. In developed countries too, older women are more likely than men to be poor at old age. On average, in European Union countries, older women have a poverty risk rate of about 22 per cent as compared to 16 per cent for older men. They are less likely to receive a large contributory pension since they are more likely to have stopped work at some point over their lifetime to take on the burden of child rearing and are also more likely to have received lesser wages for their work than men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The overarching goals of the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing include ensuring the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, and civil and political rights by older persons and the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against older persons; achieving gender equality for older persons through inter alia eliminating gender discrimination; and providing quality health care, support and social protection for older persons. The Plan of Action combines a statement of political will with practical recommended actions for States. Given their specificity and level of detail, these are vital tools to guide a State in implementing its political and legal commitments.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
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
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure that social protection systems do not create significant inequalities between those who have an interrupted participation in the labour force - due for example to parenthood, care for older persons or persons with disabilities - and those who do not. At a minimum, States must provide universal non-contributory social pensions that are sufficient for an adequate standard of living, and ensure that women living in poverty can access them. The introduction of carer credits into a country's pension or superannuation system can provide a method of explicitly recognizing those years spent providing unpaid care.
- 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
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Human rights standards relating to working conditions require States to ensure just and favourable conditions of work, including safe and healthy working conditions, reasonably limited working hours and paid annual leave. The right to form and join trade union organizations and engage in collective bargaining must be ensured. Workers must have access to a social security system that provides for the broadest possible coverage (such as health care, sickness compensation, old age pensions and compensation for employment-related injuries).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The Committee explicitly notes that States cannot rely solely on contributory systems for old-age pensions, as all individuals will not always be able to secure sufficient means to maintain an adequate standard of living. States must have a non-contributory pension system in place. Therefore, within the limits of available resources, States must provide non-contributory old-age benefits to assist, at the very least, all older persons who, when reaching the retirement age, are not entitled to an old-age insurance-based pension.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 23d
- Paragraph text
- [At the international level, definitional issues continue to be controversial, especially in terms of whether social protection floors should be seen as a matter of human rights and whether they should be universal and unconditional. Before examining those dimensions, it is appropriate to take note of the approach reflected in ILO recommendation No. 202. As the culmination of many initiatives, both within and well beyond the ILO context, it has become the principal benchmark against which social protection floors should be designed, implemented and evaluated. The main elements of recommendation No. 202 are as follows:] Social protection floors should include at least basic social security guarantees for health care and also for income security for children, older persons and those unable to work, in particular in cases of sickness, unemployment, maternity, and disability;
- 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
- Older persons
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- States must remove administrative barriers that prevent older people from accessing social pensions, such as requiring identification documents for registration when such documents are costly or may not exist in countries where many people are not registered at birth. Administrative requirements often affect women disproportionately as they are less likely to have identity cards and have been registered at birth. There are alternative ways to assess and record ages based on local knowledge and personal references. Furthermore, the establishment of social pensions can be used as an opportunity to improve data collection and registration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph