After adopting the International Conference on Population and Development’s 1994 Programme of Action1 and the 2003 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa2, how has Ghana fared in realizing access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHRs)? International...

The right to education appears in more than 40 standards —declarations and conventions— of the international system, under the aegises of the United Nations, UNESCO, and the International Labour Organization. The principle norms on the right to education are set by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural...

Ce recueil de normes internationales regroupe les dispositions figurant dans les normes sur le droit à l’éducation sous des concepts pris des instruments internationaux des Nations Unies, de l’UNESCO et de l’OIT. Cette étude concerne donc exclusivement le système universel. Il a pour finalité de donner une vision exhaustive...

This compilation of international standards contains the provisions which appear in the right to education norms under concepts taken from the international instruments of the United Nations, UNESCO and ILO. Thus, this study concerns exclusively the universal system. Its aim is to give an exhaustive vision of the international...

This paper presents the results of costing universal social protection floors in 34 lower middle-income, and 23 low-income countries, consisting of: (i) allowances for all children and all orphans; (ii) maternity benefits for all women with newborns; (iii) benefits for all persons with severe disabilities, and (iv) universal old-age...

The case studies and exercises on unemployment protection based on the fictional country of Coresia is part of the training material of the Unemployment protection: A good practices guide and training package, Experiences from ASEAN. The training material was produced under ILO/Japan Project, Promoting and Building Social Protection in...

This unemployment protection guide covers knowledge, expertise and instruments that were developed through technical assistance to ASEAN countries provided by the ILO/Japan Project, Promoting and Building Social Protection in Asia. It can be used also as a toolkit by policy-makers to conduct feasibility studies for the design of unemployment...

This report examines the global and regional labour market trends and gaps, including in labour force participation rates, unemployment rates, employment status as well as sectoral and occupational segregation. It also presents a global in-depth analysis of the key drivers of female labour force participation by investigating the personal...

Population ageing is a global reality. So is the fact that, as people age, they tend to require greater care and assistance in activities related to daily living. Nevertheless, current debates about long-term care for older persons are remarkably narrow. First, long-term care is yet to be recognized as...

Despite long-standing conceptual considerations of shame in understanding poverty and debates about its moral, social and emotional qualities, the role of shame in poverty reduction policies remains largely unexplored. Notions of shame or mechanisms leading to shame – such as stigma or lack of dignity or respect – feature...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development contains a very ambitious poverty reduction schedule: According to Sustainable Development Goal 1 extreme poverty shall be completely eradicated within the next 15 years (SDG 1.1), and also other forms of poverty shall be reduced within the same period at least by half...

Political economic analyses of recent social protection reforms in Asian, African or Latin American countries have increased throughout the last few years. Yet, most contributions focus on one social protection mechanism only and do not provide a comparative approach across policy areas. In addition, most studies are empirical studies,...

The broad-ranging benefits of cash transfers are now widely recognized. However, the evidence base highlights that they often fall short in achieving longer-term and second-order impacts related to nutrition, learning outcomes and morbidity. In recognition of these limitations, several ‘cash plus’ initiatives have been introduced, whereby cash transfers are...

The paper discusses the role social protection can play in saving livelihoods while also enhancing the capacity of households to respond, cope and withstand threats and crises. It focuses on social protection’s role in protracted crises and fragile and humanitarian contexts, as well as discusses the importance of shock-response...

Climate change is not a problem of a distant future; it is already a bitter reality for millions of people around the world today. Bread for the World (Brot für die Welt) and ACT Alliance’s partner organisations report that the regions in which they operate are increasingly experiencing the...

This report reviews the literature on social accountability in the delivery of social protection. It is the second output of the Social Accountability in Social Protection policy research project that Development Pathways has been contracted to carry out by DFID. The purpose of this review is to bring together...

Universal social protection is essential for realizing the human right to social security for all, advancing social justice and promoting inclusive growth, and accelerating progress towards achieving the globally agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ILO flagship report provides a global overview...

Universal social protection is essential for realizing the human right to social security for all, advancing social justice and promoting inclusive growth, and accelerating progress towards achieving the globally agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ILO flagship report provides a global overview...

Old age pensions are usually viewed as a cost to the state and, despite their significant impacts on the wellbeing of older persons, it is rare for them to be understood as investments in economic growth. Yet, there is good evidence that an inclusive old age pension should be...

In recognition of the criticality of adolescence, the severity of deprivation adolescent girls face, and the opportunities we have to support girls, there has been considerable recent interest in better understanding adolescent girls’ lives. Of particular interest have been the pathways out of poverty for girls, with education being...

A feminist perspective and a gender analysis – avoiding conflation of gender and women – can usefully contribute to the discussion on the universal basic income (UBI). Indeed, it helps analyse the concrete situation of women and of men, by looking into power relationships between them and structural discrimination...

The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) are pleased to present Defending Dignity: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Despite significant economic growth in recent decades, poverty levels in...

Transitions bring the opportunity to rewrite the social contract between state and society, to restructure institutional architecture and tackle the political, social and economic deficits that contribute to social exclusion and deprivation. In transitions, economic and social rights have the potential to translate people’s social justice claims into normative...

Globally, women perform the great majority of unpaid care work. This unjust distribution of labour has profound impacts on women’s human rights and is both a product and a driver of gender inequality. Despite the obligations of the State to ensure economic policies are non-discriminatory and prioritize human rights,...

The briefing explores a critical set of redistributive policies – in the areas of social protection, health, education and taxation – that are key to tackling economic inequality from a human rights perspective. It also explains the equally crucial ‘pre-distributive’ policies – actions governments should take to ensure the...