The 10 case studies presented in this document clearly demonstrate that social protection works for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. In particular, they show how social protection benefits the AIDS response through increased access to HIV services for all people including the most marginalized and excluded in society....

Public assistance in the Caribbean generally does not include special provisions for sole parents. Instead, such families—if they are fortunate—receive support through the limited general public assistance schemes.  The amount of benefits in Caribbean countries is likely to be lower than in developed countries in both absolute and relative...

The Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all are both a policy framework and a practical tool to help countries at all levels of development manage the transition to low-carbon economies and can also help them achieve their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)...

The decision originated in separate employer decisions to discharge from the Mexican Army two HIV-positive servicemen who had tested for the virus in standard army-run medical examinations. In the first case, J.S.C.H. had been in the army as a driver for 19 years. The second case involved M.G.S., an...

Nature of the Case Upon consideration of a communication submitted before it, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination held the Republic of Korea accountable for multiple violations of rights under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, including the right to...

Social protection can help guarantee adequate living standards for children and contribute to the realization of their rights. Investing in it helps States build more cohesive societies, more resilient communities and stronger economies. To fight child poverty and social and economic vulnerability, countries need to develop well-integrated social protection...

The theme of the 2015 Social Monitor, Social Protection for Child Rights and Well-being in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, aims to focus the attention of policy makers on the successes as well as the gaps in delivering on their commitments to protect children’s rights....

This brief, which is based on the UNICEF report Social Monitor: Social Protection for Child Rights and Well-Being in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, provides key findings and recommendations related to social protection for children in the...

How do conflict, disaster and employment all tie into social protection for women? In this video, Priti Darooka from the Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights discusses the need for intersectional analysis when talking about universal, rights-based social...

How have the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) social security standards contributed to creating rights-based social protection systems? How does human rights and social protection law turn into substantive, country-level implementation? The ILO’s Christina Behrendt explains how the organization’s collaborative approach to reducing inequality and preventing poverty and helping states...

Persons with disabilities have faced exclusionpreventing them from fully enjoying their right to social protection under the previous welfarist model. In this video, Facundo Chavez Penillas from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) discusses states’ obligation to ensure that social protection systems are fully inclusive...

How does social protection address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people? How can a rights-based approach be used to ensure that their needs are fully taken into account? In this video, Andrés Scagliola from the Social Development Department of the City of Montevideo discusses challenges and...

Care and social protection are both explicitly mentioned in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the Goals fall short of addressing how gendered power relations can be an impediment to women being able to fully enjoy their human rights. Valeria Esquivel from UNRISD discusses how social protection can contribute...

How can human rights be used to reduce rural poverty? How can subsistence farmers and workers, indigenous groups and people in rural areas be guaranteed the right to food security? In this video, Maya Takagi from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) discusses the organization’s approach to ensuring that...

How do economic, cultural and social rights fit in with social protection? How can duty bearers make sure that these rights are guaranteed for all, especially those excluded from the labour market? In this video, Christian Courtis from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) discusses...

In this video, Katja Hujo (UNRISD) and Isabel Ortiz (International Labour Organization) introduce Overcoming Exclusion and Promoting Rights: Challenges and Opportunities in Social Protection, an official side event of the 30th Human Rights Council. In this video series, experts from international organizations, governments and civil society discuss ways to...

Magdalena Sepulveda explains the purpose of the...

The present study looks at the importance of the zakat system for social protection in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It was undertaken in the context of the work of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on the mixed economy of welfare in...

Nature of the Case:  The case concerns a landlord’s profit-making by levying electrical service charges on tenants over and above the rent and the actual cost of electricity they consumed. The court characterized the Rental Housing Tribunal’s ruling in the initial complaint as administrative action and reviewed it to...

Nature of the Case Upon consideration of a communication submitted before it, the African Commission held that in its persecution of human rights defenders, the government of Sudan violated several provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, including the rights to work and health. Summary In...

Celebrating World Water Day, The Lancet Editors1 highlighted the gains made towards Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7c, “to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation”, and noted UN-Water’s call for sustainable water management in view of future increases...

Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices vary worldwide and depend on the individual’s socioeconomic status, personal preferences, local traditions and beliefs, and access to water and sanitation resources. MHM practices can be particularly unhygienic and inconvenient for girls and women in poorer settings. Little is known about whether unhygienic MHM...

This study examined sources of psychosocial stress related to the use of toilet facilities or open defecation by women and adolescent girls at home, public places, workplaces and in schools in a rural community in Pune, India. The mixed methods approach included focus group discussions among women, key informant...

The importance of maternal sanitation behaviour during pregnancy for birth outcomes remains unclear. Poor sanitation practices can promote infection and induce stress during pregnancy and may contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs). We aimed to assess whether poor sanitation practices were associated with increased risk of APOs such as...

While sanitation interventions have focused primarily on child health, women’s unique health risks from inadequate sanitation are gaining recognition as a priority issue. This study examines the range of sanitation-related psychosocial stressors during routine sanitation practices in Odisha, India. Between August 2013 and March 2014, we conducted in-depth interviews...