Through resolution 47/196 adopted on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Today is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year's theme is "Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty."
The struggle against poverty has evolved more visibly into an overarching development goal of the international community. Poverty eradication, however, is not only a development goal; it is also a central challenge for ensuring worldwide recognition of human rights. The international community has acknowledged that poverty is a violation of human rights and that promoting human rights can reduce poverty.
Poverty persists worldwide. This reality can be attributed in part to the violations of human rights. In fact, human rights violations can be both a cause and a consequence of poverty. People living in poverty are excluded from society, and their ability to secure their own rights is particularly limited by their predicament.
Poverty may be viewed as a human condition of deprivation of resources, capabilities, choices, security, and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights. Human beings are guaranteed, among others, the rights to life, liberty, and security of a person, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to just and favorable working conditions, the right to adequate food, housing, and social security, the right to education, and participation in the democratic process. Securing those rights for all would bring us closer to poverty eradication.
A human rights-based approach to fighting poverty links poverty reduction to the question of obligation rather than charity and compels policymakers to implement strategies helping the most vulnerable individuals and groups escape poverty and destitution.
The struggle against poverty has evolved more visibly into an overarching development goal of the international community. Poverty eradication, however, is not only a development goal; it is also a central challenge for ensuring worldwide recognition of human rights. The international community has acknowledged that poverty is a violation of human rights and that promoting human rights can reduce poverty.
Poverty persists worldwide. This reality can be attributed in part to the violations of human rights. In fact, human rights violations can be both a cause and a consequence of poverty. People living in poverty are excluded from society, and their ability to secure their own rights is particularly limited by their predicament.
Poverty may be viewed as a human condition of deprivation of resources, capabilities, choices, security, and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights. Human beings are guaranteed, among others, the rights to life, liberty, and security of a person, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to just and favorable working conditions, the right to adequate food, housing, and social security, the right to education, and participation in the democratic process. Securing those rights for all would bring us closer to poverty eradication.
A human rights-based approach to fighting poverty links poverty reduction to the question of obligation rather than charity and compels policymakers to implement strategies helping the most vulnerable individuals and groups escape poverty and destitution.
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