Fighting Poverty - A Matter of Obligation, Not Charity | Human Rights Day - December 10 [View All]

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“Whenever we lift one soul from a life of poverty, we are defending human rights.

And whenever we fail in this mission, we are failing human rights.”

-- Kofi Annan

http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006/calendar.shtml

HUMAN RIGHTS AND POVERTY

Today, poverty prevails as the gravest human rights challenge in the world. Combating poverty, deprivation and exclusion is not a matter of charity, and it does not depend on how rich a country is.

By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime...Poverty eradication is an achievable goal.

- Louise Arbour
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Poverty is a cause and a product of human rights violations. It is this double edge that makes poverty probably the gravest human rights challenge in the world. The links between human rights and poverty should be obvious : People whose rights are denied -- victims of discrimination or persecution, for example -- are more likely to be poor. Generally they find it harder or impossible to participate in the labour market and have little or no access to basic services and resources. Meanwhile, the poor in many societies cannot enjoy their rights to education, health and housing simply because they cannot afford them. And poverty affects all human rights: for example, low income can prevent people from accessing education -- an “economic and social” right -- which in turn inhibits their participation in public life -- a “civil and political” right -- and their ability to influence policies affecting them.

Yet, poverty is still rarely seen thought the lens of human rights. Rather it is often perceived as tragic but inevitable, and even as the responsibility of those who suffer it. At best those living in poverty -- countries and individuals -- are portrayed as unfortunate, at worst as lazy and undeserving.

The reality is different. Many ingredients go into making poverty, but factors like discrimination, unequal access to resources, and social and cultural stigmatization have always characterized it. These “factors” have another name: the denial of human rights and human dignity. What's more, these are factors governments and those in a position of authority can, indeed are obliged to, do something about. They have committed to it by overwhelmingly accepting a number of human rights treaties and by signing on to the international consensus to make poverty history, through the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, as well as most recently the 2005 World Summit Outcome. The realization of human rights – including the fight against poverty -- is a duty, not a mere aspiration.

More information on the link between poverty eradication and human rights in the Secretary-General's Report {A/61/308} (5 September 2006)

http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006 /

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 25:

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

From a thread by flamingyouth (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=184x10502)...

94 deaths of homeless people highlight lack of care

If you're homeless in King County, you'll likely live about 30 fewer years than other people in the country.

You're also about eight times more likely to commit suicide, compared with U.S. averages. You're about twice as likely to die in an accident. And you have 13 times the chance of being murdered.

That's based on a report on homeless deaths released Monday by Public Health — Seattle & King County, which studied nearly 100 King County residents who died without a home last year.

"It's very disturbing," said Janna Wilson, director of the county's Healthcare for the Homeless Network. "These people have a lot of barriers to early and preventive health care."



http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003462264_homeless05m.html