National implementation of international standards

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In order to give them full effect, the rights conveyed by human rights treaties and international labour standards need to be translated into national legislation and policies. Legal provisions should clearly establish the mechanisms necessary for a successful implementation of social protection policies including: financing and expenditure mechanisms; administrative arrangements, monitoring, evaluating and reporting mechanisms; information and awareness raising systems; and for enhancing good governance.

 

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Expert Commentaries

Adopting Comprehensive, Coherent and Coordinated Policies in Social Protection: A View from the Americas

In the context of the principles of social protection, through the Social Charter of the Americas,1 the countries of the region acknowledge they have “a responsibility to develop and implement comprehensive social protection policies and programs, based on the principles of universality, solidarity, equality, nondiscrimination, and equity that give priority to persons living in conditions […]

Principles

Adequacy of Benefits

From a rights-based perspective, the level of benefits provided must be adequate. According to the CESCR’s General Comment 19 (para 22), “Benefits, whether in cash or in kind, must be adequate in amount and duration in order that everyone may realize his or her rights to family protection and assistance, an adequate standard of living […]

Comprehensive, Coherent and Coordinated Policies

The interdependence, indivisibility and mutually reinforcing nature of human rights necessitates a holistic approach to social protection. As such, under international human rights law, social protection programmes should be one element within a broader strategy aimed at overcoming poverty and realizing all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights such as the rights to […]

Resources

Toolkit on ILO Social Security Standards

The Toolkit on ILO Social Security Standards was developed with the aim of raising awareness about ILO social security standards and promoting their ratification as well as increasing their impact and application in national contexts. The toolkit provides very practical and useful insights as to the ratification procedure, model instruments of ratification as well as […]

Universal social protection for human dignity, social justice and sustainable development: General Survey concerning the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202)

The ILO’s General Survey 2019 , compiled by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR). The Survey (published under the title Universal social protection for human dignity, social justice and sustainable development) focuses on the ILO’s Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), which calls for basic income security and essential healthcare […]

Report on austerity measures and economic and social rights

The present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/141, considers the impact of austerity measures on economic, social and cultural rights, in particular on the right to work and the right to social security, with a specific focus on women, migrants and older persons. It also lays out the criteria States should apply when […]

Building Decent Societies: Rethinking the Role of Social Security in Development

This book, edited by Peter Townsend, makes the case for a comprehensive social security system to be developed in all countries, including the poorest ones, in order to eliminate desperate conditions of poverty, to reverse growing inequality and to sustain economic growth. The establishment of universal social security systems has been one of the cornerstones […]

Namibia Social Protection Floor Assessment

This report is the result of collaboration between the Government of Namibia and the ILO. Drawing on the Social Protection Expenditure and Performance Review (SPER) and Social Budget methodologies, the objectives of the report are: 1) to improve the knowledge and information base on the coverage and performance of social protection in Namibia, focusing particularly […]

Social Security for All: Building social protection floors and comprehensive social security systems. The strategy of the International Labour Organization

This document lays out the social security strategy of the International Labour Organization on the extension of social security. The ILO’s two-dimensional strategy provides clear guidance on the future development of social security in countries at all levels of development. Its horizontal dimension aims at establishing and maintaining social protection floors as a fundamental element […]

World Social Protection Report 2014/15: Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice

Social protection policies play a critical role in realizing the human right to social security for all, reducing poverty and inequality, and promoting inclusive growth – by boosting human capital and productivity, and by supporting domestic demand and structural transformation of national economies. This ILO flagship report provides a global overview of the organization of […]

Human 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 recovery from the crises as an […]

Report 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 the household. CTPs have been identified […]

Social Protection and Human Rights