Geneva, 24 March 1998

Mme Chair,
Distinguished delegates,
Friends and Colleagues,

Let me begin by expressing my appreciation for the role of ATD Quart Monde in fighting for the human rights of people living in extreme poverty. Last year, you brought a number of people here to the Palais des Nations and gave me an opportunity to meet briefly with them on the Day for the Elimination of Poverty. The previous year, you gathered people from every region of the world for a dialogue with the Secretary-General.

These simple events were important in showing that everyone has the right to be heard and a humbling reminder that our work here must connect with the situation of people living in such conditions. I have learned how important it is to listen, and to really hear, and respond to, what is said.

Poverty isn't just about material possessions. What is sometimes far worse is the exclusion that comes with extreme poverty - having no voice, no standing and no role in a community. I want to work with ATD Quart Monde and other organisations in fighting that sense of exclusion and despair and encouraging the direct participation of those enduring poverty.

In the coming days the Commission on Human Rights will be debating its agenda items dealing with poverty and with economic, social and cultural rights. The issue is clearly one which needs focused action as well as words. It also needs a wider constituency than we have been able to gather here today. With a view to identifying possible practical actions, I will be chairing a round table meeting tomorrow on setting benchmarks in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights.

Benchmarks aren't always popular with governments - they can make it easy to judge whether performance has matched promises. Effective action against poverty involves difficult decisions by governments faced with competing economic and social priorities. For example - a choice between a new airport and putting a deadline on providing clean drinking water within walking distance of every residence in a country.

I would argue that these decisions can be made easier by using the language and standards of human rights and placing the decision making process firmly in the context of the government's international human rights obligations.

These obligations stretch also to international organisations including the World Bank and the IMF. For example -what are the real objectives of a World Bank loan for an infrastructure project or an intervention by the International Monetary Fund to stabilize a currency? For too long the objectives and the success or failure of interventions have been measured narrowly - according to the criteria of macro-economics. In my meetings with these agencies I am arguing that their real purpose is -and must be -to contribute to the realisation of a number of human rights.

As many of you know, we have witnessed countries where there has been an increase in poverty alongside and despite an increase in wealth. This cannot be called progress.

Any discussion on extreme poverty must focus in particular on the situation of women. Seventy per cent of the world's poor are women, two out of three of those who are illiterate are women. Their work is often unrecognised and unpaid or underpaid - their rights to own, inherit and benefit from property are often violated or simply not part of the legal system. The expression "feminisation of poverty" should not become a cliché that glosses over some of the worst and most hidden suffering in today's world.

Finally Madame Chairman, I would ask in this Human Rights Year that we recognise fully the links between the two sets of human rights. We cannot campaign for civil and political rights without ensuring that the individuals economic, social and cultural rights are equally protected. Extreme poverty is a denial of almost all rights --- those in extreme poverty are usually excluded from political processes; from access to information; to fair legal treatment and from the normal benefits of citizenship.

I welcome the opportunity to participate today and hope that the concerns expressed in this room will resonate in the debate in the Commission on Human Rights this week and in the weeks to come so that its actions respond to the reality that extreme poverty is an acute violation of human rights.