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Extreme poverty and human rights on universal basic income 2017, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- How then should human rights actors and institutions respond to the crisis of economic insecurity and the phenomena associated with it? And where might a campaign to achieve a basic income fit into the overall equation?
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- The Haitian authorities, including the present interim Government, needs to overcome the reluctance of previous Governments to press the international community to ensure that the human rights of its citizens are upheld.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Human rights. One of the most impressive human rights achievements of the United Nations in recent years emerged from a similar time of crisis within the Organization as a result of its role in the final months of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2010. In response to concerted criticism, the Secretary-General first commissioned an internal review panel to explore whether the United Nations had met its responsibilities to prevent and respond to serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law. He then followed up by announcing his Human Rights Up Front initiative, which "aims to help the United Nations act more coherently across the pillars of the Organization's work - peace and security, development, and human rights". As the Deputy Secretary-General has noted: "Human Rights Up Front is about improving how the United Nations system functions and how staff members are to perform." Yet the refusal to address the human rights violations that have occurred in Haiti as a result of the cholera epidemic stands in stark contrast to the excellent intentions of that initiative. Unless action is taken, the message is that a double standard applies according to which the United Nations can insist that Member States respect human rights, while rejecting any such responsibility for itself even in a particularly egregious situation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Second, it is agreed that United Nations actions should comply with human rights standards. The Organization specifically claims "to ensure that its peacekeeping operations and their personnel operate within the normative framework of international human rights law and are held accountable for alleged violations".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Even some of the Organization's traditional supporters have argued that its "peacekeeping brand has been stained indelibly by three major sins", which are sexual misconduct, the negligence involved in bringing cholera to Haiti and "the abject failure of the United Nations to own up to these lapses, and to respond to them in an effective, principled way".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The global media has been systematically critical of the United Nations. For example, the Economist has accused the United Nations of dodging its responsibility, the New York Times argues that it has "failed to face up to its role in [Haiti's] continuing tragedy", Business Insider has referred to the cholera outbreak as "the UN's Watergate", the Washington Post has commented that "by refusing to acknowledge responsibility, the United Nations jeopardizes its standing and moral authority".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 86b (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [In order to comply with their human rights obligations regarding the right to participation, the Special Rapporteur recommends States undertake the following actions:] Resources: Improve official capacity to facilitate public participation and access to information, including through adequate staff, equipment and training.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- The sheer surprise with which the most recent crises took the international community is telling not only of the rapidity of transmission of the crises, but of the inability of States to predict and prepare for shocks and to understand the multiple dimensions of poverty. In order to better inform policy debates on how best to prioritize the human rights of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, States need to be able to identify them more accurately and efficiently and to assess their needs. To this end, States should work towards creating mechanisms that provide better information about the incidence and substance of deprivation and inequality. This includes instituting means of gathering larger quantities of better quality disaggregated data on the impact of the crises and of recovery policies. Data should be disaggregated according to several dimensions, such as gender, age, geographical location, ethnicity and health status. It is also crucial that, in the face of rising food prices, States monitor in a timely manner the development of local food prices in order to ensure prompt and appropriate policy responses.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Acknowledging that no one policy recommendation is a panacea for recovery, the Independent Expert recommends a number of innovative measures to which States should lend serious consideration when formulating their vision for recovery. These are outlined from a human rights perspective below.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- A considerable proportion of States has indicated that they plan to limit or eliminate food subsidies as part of their response to the crises. From a human rights perspective, the decision to limit food subsidies at a time when food prices are escalating drastically and there is still a pressing need for public food and nutrition support is extremely worrying.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- As part of the efforts to tighten spending, some countries are further curtailing already limited social protection schemes by reducing the level of benefits or by further targeting (reducing coverage). This is despite the reality that those living in poverty continue to suffer from the cumulative effects of the crises and should be protected as a matter of priority.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In formulating policies in response to the crises, such as reductions in public expenditure, increases in taxation or entering into conditional loans with donors or financial institutions, States must allow for the broadest possible national dialogue, with effective and meaningful participation of civil society, including those who will be directly affected by such policies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The importance of social protection measures in achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The gender-specific effects of economic shocks are also apparent within households. When such shocks are confronted, gender bias within the household may lead to the allocation of fewer resources (such as food) to women or the selling of female-owned assets as an initial coping strategy. Moreover, during periods of crisis, women disproportionately suffer the impacts of public spending cuts on essential services and incur a heavier load of unpaid work than men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- On 3 November 2011, a petition was lodged with MINUSTAH on behalf of some 5,000 cholera victims claiming (a) a fair and impartial hearing; (b) monetary compensation; (c) preventive action by the United Nations; and (d) a public acknowledgement of United Nations responsibility and a public apology. Sixteen months later the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs replied, noting that "the United Nations is extremely saddened by the catastrophic outbreak of cholera, and the Secretary-General has expressed his profound sympathy for the terrible suffering caused by the cholera outbreak". The Under-Secretary-General went on to make what seems to be an indirect reference to the theory that the earthquake that had occurred nine months earlier was the real culprit: "The cholera outbreak was not only an enormous national disaster, but was also a painful reminder of Haiti's vulnerability in the event of a national emergency." After recalling the independent panel's "confluence of circumstances" and no fault findings, the Under-Secretary-General deemed the claims "not receivable pursuant to Section 29 of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations". That provision requires the United Nations to provide for appropriate modes of settlement of disputes of a private law character to which it is a party, but the Under-Secretary-General considered the claims not to be of a "private law character" because their consideration "would necessarily include a review of political and policy matters".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Studies by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) have shown that previous and current stimulus packages in several countries have tended to favour men over women, despite the fact that women had been more severely affected by the crises. If a gender approach is not actively considered, there is a serious risk that the recovery from the crises will also exclude women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Third, various precedents exist for the United Nations to make one-time lump-sum payments for damages caused by peacekeeping operations. An agreement reached with Belgium in 1965 involved acceptance of "financial liability where the damage is the result of action taken by agents of the United Nations in violation of the laws of war and the rules of international law", but was stated to be "without prejudice to the privileges and immunities which the United Nations enjoys". Similar agreements were also entered into with Luxembourg in 1966 and Italy in 1967.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The World Bank and human rights 2015, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- The Bank should have a due diligence policy that spells out some of the circumstances under which it would be unable to continue providing support for a given project. The United Nations due diligence policy in relation to peacekeeping is of direct relevance here. There is reason to believe that in many cases that subsequently became controversial, the Bank could have promoted relatively minor changes to make some of the projects much less vulnerable to criticism on human rights grounds. As the old aphorism says, a stitch in time saves nine.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- States should look for innovative means of generating financial resources to assist developing countries in taking a human rights response to crises. In this context, States should seriously consider introducing a financial transaction tax. Such a tax would appropriately represent the financial sector's contribution to recovering the costs of the global economic and financial crises and provide a new and necessary resource to be allocated to poverty alleviation and development initiatives, including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- States need to focus efforts on a recovery that can prepare for and mitigate the effect of future climatic crises, through, for example, social protection programmes that provide economic security to individuals most likely to be affected by crises. States should also make human rights impact assessments and risk analyses prior to initiating climate change mitigation or adaptation projects in order to avoid adverse effects on the enjoyment of human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- To address future crises in an effective and timely manner, ensuring that the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups are protected, States should improve their technical and institutional capacity to develop evidence-based policymaking. Depending on the domestic circumstances of each country, this may include enhancing the capacity to mobilize fiscal space and improving research and analytical capabilities to identify and quantify the impact of economic shocks on the most vulnerable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Today, States have the opportunity to address the problems in the architecture of the global financial and monetary systems that have been exposed by the crises. The weaknesses of a deregulated free market have been brought into sharp relief in recent years, and States should utilize this moment to meet the challenge of restructuring the global financial system so that it is more equitable and protects against economic shocks with the potential to devastate the lives of the most vulnerable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- There are several measures that States should take to ensure a gender approach in the design and implementation of recovery measures. For example, States should conduct a comprehensive and disaggregated gender analysis that assesses the vulnerabilities of both genders as potential beneficiaries of social policies, and design responses accordingly. In designing measures, policymakers should consider the impact of the crises on women's domestic (unpaid) and care work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Increasing inequalities and food insecurity, the declining availability of natural resources and unpredictable changes to climate patterns are likely to increase the potential for social unrest throughout the world. Any recovery plan must anticipate these challenges and assume that there will be many more crises to recover from. What is needed, therefore, is human rights-based change that directly addresses the long-term structural barriers to equality and sets the foundations for a sustainable, socially inclusive society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- These are alarming numbers. What these figures do not show, however, is that those who are enduring the gravest effects of the crises are the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society, including women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and migrants. Because of ingrained discrimination and structural disadvantage, vulnerable groups have restricted access to services and social protection, which help to cushion the effects of crises, and they are thus exposed to increased risk during times of economic shock.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Human rights based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a focus on those living in poverty 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to achieve these minimum essential obligations is not dispensed with during times of crisis and recovery. Even during times of severe resource constraints, when available resources are demonstrably inadequate, the obligation remains for States to demonstrate that every effort has been made to use all resources that are at its disposal, in an effort to satisfy, as matter of priority, minimum essential levels and to protect the most disadvantaged and marginalized members or groups of society by adopting relatively low-cost targeted programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- In summary, what is at stake is the Organization's overall credibility in many different areas. Its existing position on cholera in Haiti is at odds with the positions that it espouses so strongly in other key policy areas. It has a huge amount to gain by rethinking its position and a great deal to lose by stubbornly maintaining its current approach.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- In contrast, special procedures mandate holders have been consistently critical of the refusal to take responsibility. In particular, successive Independent Experts on the human rights situation in Haiti have warned since 2012 of the costs of silence and denial on this issue. In 2016 the Independent Expert called for the urgent creation of a commission "to quantify the harm done, establish compensation, identify responsible parties, halt the epidemic and take other measures" (A/HRC/31/77, para. 102).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Going forward, the role of Member States will be absolutely crucial. Although more lives have been lost in Haiti to cholera than were lost in the entire Ebola epidemic in Africa, too many States have so far wrongly assumed that the case of Haiti is too hard to resolve. States that provide substantial support to the peacekeeping budget, particularly the United States, which is the principal contributor, should actively champion a resolution to this ongoing crisis that respects the rights of the victims and best serves the reputational and other interests of the United Nations. A failure to do so will cause irreparable harm to the Organization and the esteem in which it is held around the world.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Prior to finalizing the present report, a draft was submitted to the Secretary-General and other relevant officials for comment. To the Special Rapporteur's surprise, that draft was leaked to the press and appeared in full in the New York Times. Subsequently, the Deputy Secretary-General replied to the Special Rapporteur on 19 August 2016. The reply contained several elements that are novel and very welcome. In particular, the United Nations committed to the adoption of a "new approach" which "will address many of the concerns raised in [the present] report". That approach will include, as "a central focus", a package to provide "material assistance and support" to the victims and their families, over and above existing programmes. The support package and delivery mechanism will be elaborated through "a transparent process" involving consultation with the Haitian authorities, Member States and victims. The Organization also committed to intensify its efforts in response to the epidemic. Each of these undertakings is important. The implications are that there will be an approach which goes well beyond the existing one, will be transparent, will mobilize additional resources and will compensate victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The UN responsibility for the cholera outbreak in Haiti 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Remedies. The provision of remedies for wrongdoing is an essential dimension of the law relating to immunity, of human rights law, of the rule of law and of the principle of accountability. The High Commissioner for Human Rights regularly and rightly admonishes States that refuse to provide a remedy to those whose human rights have been violated, yet in the Haiti case the United Nations has refused even to contemplate a range of remedies which could reasonably and feasibly be provided. Similarly, in the transitional justice context, the United Nations consistently calls upon States to acknowledge wrongdoing, to ensure meaningful processes for the vindication of claims and to provide victims with redress. Yet in the Haiti case the victims are told that a handful of broadly focused development projects should provide sufficient redress. Even in the context of armed conflicts, various United Nations bodies have urged States to provide forms of compensation, whether ex gratia or otherwise, to the killed or injured even though the legal obligation to provide such compensation is not uncontested.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph