“From punishment to segregation, austerity must not be used as an excuse to penalize the poor” – UN expert

NEW YORK (25 October 2011) - The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, today warned about a growing global tendency to punish, segregate, control and undermine the autonomy of persons living in poverty, and called on States and individuals “to assess their own prejudices towards the poor.”

“From laws that ban begging, sleeping and eating in parks and plazas to measures that restrict the sharing of food in public, allow the ejection of people from train stations and shopping malls, exclude people from cities or criminalize welfare fraud,” she said in a report to the UN General Assembly, “States are adopting with increased intensity a variety of laws and regulations that penalize the poor.”

The Special Rapporteur acknowledged that governments across the globe are struggling to deal with the impacts of the crises, but warned the need to adopt budgetary austerity does not legitimize the adoption of laws and policies that punish the poor. “Not only do such measures undermine human rights, but the cost of implementing them often greatly outweighs the costs of addressing the root causes of poverty and exclusion,” she said.

Ms. Sepúlveda warned that these measures are disproportionately used against people living in poverty, undermining their enjoyment of human rights. Moreover, they are implemented in a context in which the economic and financial crises have resulted in an unprecedented increase in foreclosures and evictions, forcing a growing number of families to live on the streets.

“There is something seriously wrong with our societies if our policies assume that the most marginalized and disadvantaged are lazy, irresponsible, indifferent to their children’s health and education, dishonest, undeserving and even criminal,” Ms. Sepúlveda said urging the community of States and individual citizens to assess their own prejudices towards the poor.

The rights expert noted that persons living in poverty are often portrayed as authors of their own misfortune, who can remedy their situation by simply “trying harder” without addressing the structural problems that they face. “The prejudices against the poor are so deeply entrenched that they inform public policies, and preclude policy makers from addressing the systemic factors that prevent persons living in poverty from overcoming their situation.”

The Special Rapporteur encouraged States to use the crises as an opportunity to increase support to people living in poverty and to encourage a change in societal attitudes towards the poor, to banish stereotypes and change discriminatory attitudes.

Magdalena Sepúlveda is the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights since May 2008. She is independent from any government or organization.

(*) Read the full report by the Special Rapporteur on poverty: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx

Learn more about the mandate and work of the Special Rapporteur: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx

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