Press Release
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| UNITED NATIONS Press Release |
xxxxxxxxxx | STATES MUST ADDRESS POVERTY WITH UTMOST URGENCY, SAY UN INDEPENDENT EXPERTS ON THE OCCASION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DAY | xxxxxxxxxx |
8 December 2006 The following statement was issued today by 37 United Nations special procedures mandate holders: On the occasion of Human Rights Day on 10 December 2006, we express our deep concern that millions of people are systematically deprived of fundamental human rights simply because they are poor. From a human rights perspective, poverty can be described as the denial of a person's right to a range of basic capabilities. Poverty is more than just a lack of income. Poverty is also about power and inequality. Access to and control over resources, social practices, and legal and institutional structures are also determinative factors in causing poverty. Our collective experience, through communications and dialogue with States, country visits and thematic studies, clearly points to poverty as a cross cutting issue and a grave human rights challenge. Through our respective mandates, we have witnessed how poverty exacerbates the occurrence of human rights violations, reinforces discrimination against groups and communities, and denies individuals the ability to claim their human rights and seek a remedy. We are particularly troubled by the heightened effects of poverty on women around the world. Poverty is part of a vicious cycle of marginalization, social exclusion and discrimination. Despite the persistent efforts of people living in poverty to change their situation, breaking out of this cycle is extraordinarily difficult. Poverty is also not just a problem of developing countries—it exists everywhere. Thus, every State needs to address poverty with utmost urgency. States have pledged to eradicate extreme poverty through the Millennium Development Goals and, in the Millennium Declaration, they resolved "to create an environment – at the national and global levels alike – which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty." Poverty is often a cause, as well as a result, of a complex system of human rights denials, in which violations of civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights interact and mutually reinforce each other, with devastating effects. These rights are guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and other international human rights instruments. Poverty is also a key impediment to the realization of the right to development. We firmly believe that any successful effort to eradicate poverty must advocate for full respect of all human rights. We also believe that eliminating poverty will greatly contribute to efforts to protect and promote human rights and human dignity. We are convinced that in all countries poverty eradication strategies must be part of efforts to guarantee the enjoyment of all human rights. Consequently, we call on all States to recognise poverty as a denial of basic human rights, treat the elimination of poverty as a binding obligation, and prioritize poverty reduction in policy and practice, including through meaningful participation of the poor and allocation of resources for the fight against poverty. In this context, we wish to draw attention to several publications of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, including the most recent "Principles and Guidelines for a Human Rights Approach to Poverty Reduction Strategies", and encourage the Office and partners to assist countries, international agencies and development practitioners to translate human rights norms, standards and principles into pro-poor policies and strategies. At a time when the United Nations human rights system is undergoing reform, we would like to emphasize that the United Nations special procedures system is an indispensable mechanism for the protection and promotion of all human rights. This system was successfully designed to bring objectivity, expertise and credibility to the process of monitoring human rights protection. As special procedure mandate holders, we report to the Human Rights Council on human rights violations around the world, and work with all stakeholders to protect human rights. We are uniquely placed to raise the alarm about the most pressing human rights dilemmas, to highlight issues of continuing concern, to insist that Governments fulfil their human rights obligations and to support the effective implementation of all human rights. In the context of the on-going reform of the UN human rights system, this valuable system must be reinforced, to maintain the highest levels of integrity and independence. |