Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 282 entities
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Policy responses to the financialization of housing have tended to prioritize support for financial institutions over responding to the needs of those whose right to adequate housing is at stake. Spending on bailouts of banks and financial institutions after the 2008 financial crisis far outstripped spending to provide assistance to the victims of the crisis. In fact, many national Governments made substantial cuts to their housing programmes. As noted above, the World Bank continues to promote "financial liberalization" rather than active State intervention in housing provision in emerging economies, despite the evidence that financialization generally increases inequality and fails to address the needs of the millions of households living in situations of homelessness or grossly inadequate informal housing.
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- In Egypt, after Prime Ministerial Decree No. 350/2007 removed restrictions on foreign purchases of property, land prices more than doubled in many areas, rising at a rate of 148 per cent per year between 2007 and 2011. Extension of credit for housing has been largely restricted to higher income households in Cairo and Giza, and approximately 3 million homes have been left empty or unfinished by their owners in urban areas. Poverty continues to increase and more than 12 million people live in informal housing.
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- In many countries health is among the most corrupt sectors. Health sector corruption, including for example the bribing of health officials and unofficial payments to health-care providers, obstructs the ability of States to fulfil their right to health obligation and to guarantee available, accessible, acceptable and good quality health services, goods and facilities. Yet corruption affecting health also occurs in other sectors and industries, for example, the water sector, and the food and beverages, tobacco and other industries. Moreover, corruption has significant implications for equality and non-discrimination since it has a particularly marked impact on the health of populations in situations of vulnerability and social exclusion, in particular those living in poverty and children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Children
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The fundamental values of the international human rights system are under attack in new and diverse ways in 2017. While competing explanations have been proffered, one that is included in most lists is that there is a rapidly growing sense of economic insecurity afflicting large segments of many societies. There is an increasing feeling of being exposed, vulnerable, overwhelmed and helpless, and of being systematically marginalized, both economically and socially. This situation, which previously seemed to be a fate reserved only for those living in low-income countries or in extreme poverty in high- and middle-income countries, now afflicts not just the unemployed and the underemployed, but also the precariously employed and those likely to be rendered unemployed in the foreseeable future as a result of various developments. Many of these individuals previously enjoyed a modicum of security and respect and felt that they had a stake in the overall system of government. As the new insecurity has ballooned and affected ever-greater numbers, many mainstream political parties have either remained oblivious, or have offered solutions that have only exacerbated the problems, further undermining faith in electoral democracy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Corruption and the right to health 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- There is ample research indicating that corruption and a lack of transparency exacerbate socioeconomic deprivation. Lower social groups carry a heavier burden in a society rife with corrupt elements. In turn, the equal enjoyment of the right to health is deeply affected by poverty and income inequality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Financialization of housing and the right to adequate housing 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The report builds on important work undertaken by the previous Special Rapporteur on the right to housing. In her 2012 report on the impact of finance policies on the right to housing of those living in poverty (A/67/286), she warned of emerging trends towards the financialization of housing encouraged by States' abandonment of social housing programmes and increased reliance on private market solutions. She documented attempts by States to rely on the private market and homeownership, which increases inequality and fails to address the housing needs of low-income and marginalized groups. More fundamentally, she called for a paradigm shift through which housing would once again be recognized as a fundamental human right rather than as a commodity. The present report takes up that challenge.
- 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
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the workplace 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- In recent decades, economic globalization, implemented with as few regulations on companies and capital as possible, has been touted by many economists as an essential vehicle to global prosperity and the end of poverty. The economic system that grew out of that philosophy has indeed led to a rise in global economic productivity and wealth, but it has also contributed to a dramatic rise in the power of large multinational corporations and concentrated wealth in fewer hands. At the same time, States' power to regulate those business entities has eroded. Further, the world's recent economic growth has not been shared equally. Productivity and economic output have increased, but so has inequality, with the fruits of that growth going primarily to the wealthiest.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- The Human Development Index, which is a strong indicator of poverty and correlating factors, showed in 2014 that of the 26 countries where attacks have been reported, 20 were listed as countries with a low human development coefficient; the other six affected countries were listed in the medium human development category. That said, it is noteworthy that, overall, the affected countries had a level of income inequality that ranged from relative equality to relative inequality, with a GINI coefficient range of 30.8 to 63.9, the average for all 26 countries being 44.3.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- In the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, adopted in 2014, States recognized that the root causes of malnutrition were complex and multidimensional. They include social, economic, political and cultural determinants. Poverty, social exclusion, gender inequality, low socioeconomic status and lack of control over productive resources, for example land-grabbing and seed patenting, are all major contributors to malnutrition. Similarly, malnutrition is aggravated by poor sanitation and the absence of safe drinking water and adequate housing, as well as a lack of education, health and social protection services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- For example, in addressing climate change and environmental pollution (Goal 13 and target 3.9), States and other actors must recognize the particular health impact that these environmental issues have on certain populations, due in part to socioeconomic inequality, cultural norms and intrinsic psychological factors. Climate change increases the incidence of diseases that already disproportionately affect the poor, such as malaria and diarrhoea. Likewise, environmental pollution contributes to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, disproportionately experienced by the poor. This increases health expenditures and ill mental and physical health among those who can least afford it, reinforcing the vicious cycle of poverty (A/HRC/32/23, para. 24).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The favouring of profit over people's human rights through the unequal allocation of land, property, housing and related services in cities is a major driver of homelessness. Unregulated or underregulated financial and other market forces, and unfettered land and property speculation resulting in escalating land values, all contribute to the inequality of wealth distribution and homelessness. These systemic inequalities are compounded by direct discrimination against people who are poor, often pushing them to precarious housing conditions, including into informal settlements or on occupied land, and ultimately into homelessness. Many municipalities use planning and zoning laws or regulations to prevent construction of shelters or affordable housing in their communities. Homeless people are often denied opportunities to live in central locations; instead, they are compelled to live in remote, isolated and poorly serviced areas where there are no jobs.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Rapid global urbanization has resulted in an astonishing accumulation of wealth for a few, accompanied by increasing poverty for many. Reliance on private market housing supply to respond to urbanization needs has meant that new housing supply has targeted mostly the rich, creating inflated real estate values, speculation and significant deficits of affordable housing. People who move to cities often have no choice but to live in informal settlements where millions suffer, in varying degrees, from poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, overcrowding and makeshift structures. Instead of ensuring access for people in need of housing, land regulations, planning and zoning have rendered informal settlements "illegal", favoured commercial development over housing and failed to respect the social function of land as a public good. The legacy of colonialism in some countries has embedded inequality in land and property.
- 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)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 44g
- Paragraph text
- [Despite the efforts of various countries to eradicate and prevent debt bondage, there are still challenges in implementing adequate measures in this regard, including:] The absence of measures to specifically target the factors that cause or facilitate debt bondage, such as poverty, illiteracy, lack of access to decent work, social exclusion and discrimination. Also, the absence of measures to address cultural and economic pressures in some countries (e.g. in relation to marriage) and to ensure access to education, health and social security;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- People in debt bondage tend to have experienced a low level of access to education, which frequently results in illiteracy and innumeracy. This leads to a lack of alternative employment options and makes them vulnerable to exploitation from their employers. Illiteracy and innumeracy allow employers or recruiters to manipulate loans, interest rates and wages. Poor remuneration in previous employment is considered to be a major cause of debt bondage, as workers are forced to take loans or advances to cover basic subsistence needs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Right to food and nutrition 2016, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Poverty and inequality are drivers of obesity and micronutrient deficiency, in addition to undernutrition. Low-income populations are particularly vulnerable to obesity. Processed foods tend to be highly accessible and relatively cheap and can be stored for long periods without spoiling. In the United States of America for instance, low-income neighbourhoods often lack food retailers that sell fruits, vegetables, whole grains and alternative low-fat options. Unable to afford healthier food options, individuals may become overreliant on poor-quality foods, essentially being forced to choose between economic viability and nutrition and exposed to "double malnutrition".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- It is of crucial importance to monitor, in a rights- and gender-sensitive manner, progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and to make sure that national and local mechanisms track compliance with and progress made to realize the rights to water and sanitation, including in terms of gender equality. Gender equality is central to the Goals (see Goal 5) and is reflected in several targets, including target 6.2. Gender equality in access to water, sanitation and hygiene will have a positive impact on other goals and targets, including those on ending poverty (Goal 1), on promoting decent work and economic growth (Goal 8), on reducing inequality (Goal 10) and on making cities and human settlements inclusive and sustainable (Goal 11). Since gender inequalities are so profound in water and sanitation and, at the same time, manifest themselves in all human rights and throughout the entire development agenda, a comprehensive approach would allow for using similar indicators and information collected through the monitoring of different human rights and development targets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- An estimated one third of deaths worldwide are linked to poverty and inadequate housing and the immense impact of substandard housing and homelessness on the rights to life, security and dignity for the most vulnerable populations is undeniable. The following examples, focusing on the lived experiences of particular groups in particular circumstances, offer a deeper understanding of the intersections between the right to housing and the right to life.
- 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
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Failures of States to take positive measures to address systemic deprivations of the right to life tied to poverty, grossly inadequate housing and homelessness, as described in section II above, have not generally been addressed as violations. In this sense, the now rejected distinction between "first" and "second" generation rights, between justiciable rights and aspirational goals - a legacy of false dichotomies between the two covenants - has been perpetuated in the interpretation and application of the right to life as it intersects with the right to adequate housing.
- 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)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Fiscal crises around the world have resulted in significant increases in homelessness and have given rise to a new category of homeless - highly educated individuals who had a good standard of living but who, due to an economic crisis, experienced unemployment and ultimately homelessness. The 2008 crisis, for example, and the accompanying austerity measures, caused a massive rise in homelessness in several European countries. Evidence suggests, however, that widespread homelessness did not occur in the aftermath of the global economic crisis in countries where governments were careful to ensure that reactive measures did not undermine social protection.
- 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)
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The common denominator in virtually all structural causes of homelessness is government decision-making inconsistent with human rights - neglecting or failing to respond adequately to the needs of the most disadvantaged in response to crises or economic developments and allowing unregulated market forces to render large numbers of people homeless. Homelessness is created when apparently external structural causes converge with the systemic patterns of social exclusion and discrimination and when governments fail to address new challenges within a human rights framework.
- 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The widespread persistence of extreme poverty, despite the progress made in recent years, serves to highlight the central importance of the struggle to achieve economic and social rights. Many hundreds of millions of people continue to suffer from extreme poverty, and by no means only in the poorest countries, in what is a grave affront to any notion of universal human rights. While such poverty is a phenomenon that fundamentally undermines most, if not all, civil and political rights, its most obvious and brutal manifestation is in the premature deaths and severely deprived lives that result from the denial of economic and social rights. While it is true that many developed and a few developing States have radically diminished extreme poverty without adopting a strategy based on the recognition of economic and social rights, experience more broadly suggests that the failure to take those rights seriously diminishes the prospects for eliminating extreme poverty, even in contexts where overall economic growth levels are high.
- 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
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. (a)
- Paragraph text
- For those living in poverty or without sufficient means, States should ensure health coverage or access to care to prevent discrimination (targets 1.3 and 3.8);
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- A strong case is also to be made for attributing the resurgence of right-wing populism, at least in some of the many countries in which it is occurring, to the growth of inequality and the widespread neglect or denial of economic and social 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
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Funders must face those challenges head-on to create proper arrangements to ensure that funding actually reaches its destination, thereby effectively generating benefit for the poor and realizing the human rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
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
Paragraph
Tackling the demand for the sexual exploitation of children 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The basic principles on the right to an effective remedy for victims of trafficking in persons add the supplementary angle of guarantees of non-repetition, which require that perpetrators be effectively sanctioned and that the root causes of trafficking, such as poverty, gender inequality and discrimination, be addressed effectively.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
New York Declaration For Refugees and Migrants 2016, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Since earliest times, humanity has been on the move. Some people move in search of new economic opportunities and horizons. Others move to escape armed conflict, poverty, food insecurity, persecution, terrorism, or human rights violations and abuses. Still others do so in response to the adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters (some of which may be linked to climate change), or other environmental factors. Many move, indeed, for a combination of these reasons.
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Addressing violence proactively as a public health issue can end the vicious cycle of violence, poverty and helplessness. For this, it is vital that investment in healthy human relationships, emotional and social well-being and social capital be prioritized.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Rural homelessness has been the result of decreasing food security from household production, climate change, corporatization of agriculture, loss of land through subdivision at inheritance, declining civil security in rural areas, extreme poverty, unregulated resource exploitation and natural disasters. Rural homelessness usually leads people to migrate to urban areas in search of work and housing.
- 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)
- Environment
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- The Committee's recognition in its general comment No. 6 and in periodic reviews that the right to life requires positive measures to address homelessness and poverty stands in marked contrast with the absence of consideration of these obligations in the Committee's consideration of alleged violations under the Optional Protocol.
- 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)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph