Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (A/HRC/38/33)
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, prepared pursuant to Council resolution 35/19, focusing on the International Monetary Fund and its impact on social protection. Link to report (Arabic, Chinese,...
Read MoreReport of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on his mission to the United States of America (A/HRC/38/33/Add.1)
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, on his mission to the United States of America from 1 to 15 December 2017. The purpose of the visit was to evaluate,...
Read MoreReport on extreme poverty and human rights (A/HRC/35/26), submitted by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
The focus of the present report is on the idea of replacing or supplementing existing social protection systems with a universal basic income (“basic income”). In recent months, this proposal has drawn increased attention from governments, scholars, and practitioners in a range of different fields, and four major books...
Read MoreReport on extreme poverty and human rights (A /70/274), submitted by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
The present report begins with an analysis of the confusing approaches to human rights taken by the World Bank in its legal policy, public relations, policy analysis, operations and safeguards. The Special Rapporteur then seeks to explain why the Bank has historically been averse to acknowledging and taking account...
Read MoreReport on extreme poverty and human rights (A/HRC/29/31), submitted by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights focuses on the relationship between extreme poverty and extreme inequality and argues that a human rights framework is critical in addressing extreme inequality. In the report, the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of the widening economic...
Read MoreGuiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights
These Principles are the first global policy guidelines focused specifically on the human rights of people living in poverty. They are intended for use by governments to ensure that public policies, including poverty eradication efforts, reach the poorest members of society, respect and uphold their rights, and take into account...
Read MoreReport on taxation and human rights (A/HRC/26/28), submitted by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights presents fiscal policy, and particularly taxation policies, as a major determinant in the enjoyment of human rights. Taxation is a key tool when tackling inequality and for generating the resources necessary for poverty reduction and the...
Read MoreReport on participation of people living in poverty (A/HRC/23/36), submitted by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
This report focuses on the right to participation of people living in poverty. Participation is a basic human right in itself, a precondition or catalyst for the realization and enjoyment of other human rights, and of fundamental importance in empowering people living in poverty to tackle inequalities and asymmetries of...
Read MoreReport on non-contributory pensions and human rights (A/HRC/14/31), submitted by the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty
This report provides recommendations on how to ensure that non-contributory pensions comply with core human rights standards. It also addresses the role of international assistance and cooperation in the field of social...
Read MoreReport of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights (A/69/297)
The present report focuses on the implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption by all States of social protection floors. The very widely endorsed Social Protection Floor Initiative aims to guarantee basic income security and access to essential social services for all. In the report, the...
Read MoreReport on a human rights approach to the global and financial crisis (A/64/279). submitted by the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty
This report addresses the impact of the current global financial crisis on people living in extreme poverty and the enjoyment of their human rights. It stresses that the crisis offers an opportunity to move beyond the restructuring of the global financial and monetary systems and to place people at the...
Read MoreReport of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on her Mission to Paraguay (A /HRC/20/25/Add. 2)
The report focuses on a number of flagship programmes, including the Tekoporã conditional cash transfer programme, the Abrazo (“hug”) Programme and the Family Health Units Programme. The report recognizes that major strides have been made in the area of rights-based public policy planning. It also reviews the achievements of the social protection...
Read MoreReport of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on her Mission to Namibia (A /HRC/23/36/Add.1)
While acknowledging the compounded challenges faced by Namibia – including limited institutional capacity, and the fact that Namibia has one of the world’s lowest population densities – this report concludes that progress has not been fast enough. There are still unacceptable levels of inequality along the lines of gender, race,...
Read MoreReport of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on her Mission to Mongolia (A /HRC/23/3 6/Add.2)
The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights conducted an official visit to Mongolia from 3 to 7 December 2012, during which she collected first-hand information on the situation of people living in extreme poverty and on the impact of key policies relating to poverty alleviation and development...
Read MoreUnderwriting the Poor: A Global Fund for Social Protection (Briefing Note 7)
Seventy-five to eighty per cent of the world’s poor do not have comprehensive social protection, yet the total costs of introducing social protection would amount to only 2-6 per cent of global GDP. Poorer States often have not adopted social protection systems because a) the development models supported by...
Read MoreHuman rights-based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises (A/HRC/17/34)
In the present report, the United Nations Independent Expert on human rights and extreme poverty sets out the parameters of a human rights-based approach to recovery from the global economic and financial crises, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. She urges States to see...
Read MoreReport on Cash transfer programmes (CTPs) from a human rights perspective (A/HRC/11/9), submitted by the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty
This report focuses on cash transfer programmes (CTPs) from a human rights perspective. CTPs are non-contributory programmes providing payments in the form of cash to individuals or households. The primary objective of CTPs is to increase the real income of beneficiaries in order to enable a minimum level of consumption within...
Read MoreJoint report of the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty and human rights and the Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation: Mission to Bangladesh (A /HRC/15/55)
In the report, the Independent Expert on water and sanitation highlights the problems relating to sanitation, water quality and availability, and menstrual hygiene. The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty focuses on social protection programmes for education, women, older persons, emergency relief and decent work, and points out the challenges...
Read MoreReport of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on Social Protection Floors (A/69/297)
The present report focuses on the implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption by all States of social protection floors. The very widely endorsed Social Protection Floor Initiative aims to guarantee basic income security and access to essential social services for all. In the report, the...
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