HUMAN RIGHTS DAY AND POVERTY

2 December 2007

On December 10, a year-long campaign to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be set into motion. The campaign offers an opportunity to States and to all social actors to engage with renewed vigor in the fight against poverty, which remains today, as it was six decades ago, one of the greatest human rights challenges affecting all countries in the World.

Poverty is frequently both a cause and a consequence of human rights violations. But the linkage between poverty and deprivation of rights remains at the margin of policy debates and development strategies. This is so despite the fact that strong legal foundations and platforms to guide States’ action are already in place.

For example, the seven core human rights treaties contain anti-discrimination norms which aim at creating a level playing field for, and protecting the dignity of all members of society. They also address exclusion and deficits in State accountability that lie at the root of poverty and other development problems. All States have ratified at least one of these conventions and 80 per cent have ratified at least four.

Moreover, the world community endorsed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which set concrete targets for joint international efforts to tackle poverty and marginalization by 2015. However, as a consequence of both insufficient political will and, in some cases, resources--as well as a lack of a deeper understanding of the relationship between poverty and abuse--the global picture that has emerged at this year’s half-way point review of the implementation of the MDGs is, perhaps predictably, far from reassuring. Progress in some areas and in some parts of the world does not necessarily mean that governments are honoring the commitments they have made across the board. Thus, fundamental human rights remain unfulfilled.

Indeed, a widely held view holds that human rights do not represent a priority for those who are engaged in the day-to-day struggle for economic survival, since such rights are a luxury that only the well off are able to afford. One thing is certain, however: all human rights—the right to speak, to vote, as well as the rights to food, to work, to health care and housing—matter to the poor because destitution and exclusion are intertwined with discrimination, unequal access to resources and opportunities, and social and cultural stigmatization. A denial of rights makes it harder for the poor to participate in the labor market and have access to basic services and resources. In many societies, poor people are prevented from enjoying their rights to education, health and housing simply because they cannot afford to do so. This, in turn, hampers their participation in public life, their ability to influence policies affecting them and to seek redress against injustice.

In sum, poverty means not just insufficient income and material goods, but also a lack of resources, opportunities, and security, which undermines dignity and exacerbates the poor’s vulnerability. Poverty is also about power: who wields it, and who does not, in public life and in the family. However, poverty is often perceived as a regrettable but accidental condition, or as an inevitable consequence of decisions and events occurring elsewhere, or even as the sole responsibility of those who suffer it.

A comprehensive human rights approach will not only address misperceptions and myths surrounding the poor, it will also, and more importantly, help to find sustainable and equitable pathways out of poverty. By recognizing the explicit obligations of States to protect their populations against poverty and exclusion, this approach underscores government responsibility towards creating an environment conducive to public welfare. It also enables the poor to help shape policies for the fulfillment of their rights, and seek effective redress when abuses occur.

Irrespective of resource constraints, States can take immediate measures to fight poverty. Attacking discrimination, for example, will in many cases remove barriers to labor market participation and give women and minorities access to employment. Programs such as Brazil’s Bolsa Familia and Food Acquisition represent important examples of how the correct exercise of political will militates in favor of the poor.

Defeating poverty in Brazil and elsewhere is a long- term commitment. But when one in every seven persons in the world continues to go hungry every day, protecting and empowering the poor must become an urgent rallying cry to honor the spirit, the letter, and the promise of dignity for all of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This op-ed was published by the following newspapers:
Folha de São Paulo (Brazil)