Background and Objectives

The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Mr. Olivier De Schutter, will dedicate his report to the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, to be presented in October 2022, to the potential of public job-guaranteeing schemes for poverty alleviation. The report will investigate the role of public works programmes and other public job-guaranteeing schemes to combat unemployment and satisfy societal needs, as well as to contribute to the economic empowerment of women.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Special Rapporteur invites all interested governments, civil society organizations, academics, international organizations, activists, corporations and others, to provide written input for his thematic report.

Respondents are requested to limit their comments to a maximum of 2,500 words. Additional supporting materials, such as reports, academic studies, and other types of background materials may be annexed to the submission.

The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights would be particularly grateful for observations, data, and examples of good practices in the following areas:

· How can proposals such as the Job Guarantee, Public Service Employment, and public works programmes be leveraged to attain full employment? What main criticisms have been addressed to these proposals and how might these be overcome?

· How can public job-guaranteeing schemes support, and not compete with, private sector employment?

· How can the costs of unemployment (direct and indirect) be assessed, and compared to the costs of establishing a public job-guaranteeing scheme, in different contexts?

· What examples of public job-guaranteeing schemes, including public works programmes, are good models for poverty reduction and should therefore be replicated? What lessons should be drawn from them, both for developed and developing countries?

· How can public works programmes and other public job-guaranteeing schemes contribute to fulfil unmet societal needs?

· What is the potential of public works programmes and other public job-guaranteeing schemes to contribute to the economic empowerment of women?

· What is the relationship between unemployment and monetary policy, and how can central banks better support governments' efforts towards full employment?

The Special Rapporteur greatly appreciates the efforts that go into making such contributions and looks forward to reading the submissions.