Law Vision
Fighting poverty: A human rights approach
Shaila Shahid
"...poverty may be defined as a human condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of the 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."
(United Nations Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, 2001)
This year the slogan for Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day (Dec-10) is “Fighting poverty as a matter of obligation not of charity”. The rationale behind selecting the theme is that today the world has reached an unprecedented consensus to bring an end to poverty. It is also widely recognized that no individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to benefit from development.
Poverty is being considered as human rights violation. Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, to food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services. These fundamental human rights are defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, and the International Covenants and other widely adhered to international human rights treaties and Declarations -- powerful tools that can empower efforts for social and economic justice worldwide.
The rights based approach marks a shift away from an earlier development focus on meeting basic needs, which particularly relied on charity or good will. But today the world realized that the fight against poverty should not be seen as a charitable or philanthropic venture. In a rights based approach an individual is recognized as rights holders, which implies that others are duty bearers. In fact, if we consider that people have rights and consequently duties, it obliges every single person to take responsibility. It also obliges the development actors both at national as well as international level to acknowledge and respect the dignity of the “rights holders” and act accordingly.
As 'rights holders' people can claim their legitimate entitlements. Also under a human rights framework, governments are the primary duty bearers. Among their duties are the establishment of equitable laws and systems that enable individuals to exercise and enjoy their rights and to seek judicial recourse for violations under the rule of law. This approach emphasizes the participation of individual communities in decision making processes that shape policies and programmes which have a great impact over their life and livelihood.
Thus people living in poverty must be empowered through freely chosen participation in all aspects of political, economic and social life. Key elements of a poverty eradication strategy include policies geared to reducing inequalities, increasing opportunities, improving and providing access to resources, employment and income etc. This can be done through changing attitudes and restoring dignity to the very poor by no longer considering them to be incapable, and by making accountable those who can and who must change the situation.
The gravest human rights challenge
The intrinsic relationships between human rights and poverty should be obvious. For example, people whose rights are denied, victims of discrimination or persecution and who have little or no access to basic requirements and resources are more likely to be poor. Poverty is a cause and a product of human rights violations. It is this twofold phenomena that makes poverty probably the gravest human rights challenge in the world. And apparently poverty affects all human rights. Yet, poverty is still rarely seen through the lens of human rights. Rather it is often perceived as tragic but inevitable, and even as the responsibility of those only who suffer it.
Although the government body is mainly responsible for the denial of human rights and human dignity as they are in a position, who indeed are obliged to do something or to act accordingly for improving the status of its people. They also have committed to it by taking oath according to the constitution and by overwhelmingly signing and ratifying a number of treaty and international covenants to make poverty history. As well as the realization of human rights, including the fight against poverty, is a duty, not a mere aspiration.
Although it is evident that law is no panacea for the intractable problem of poverty, but it can be an indispensable basis for, and complement to, social mobilisation and strengthened in turn by socially engaged. Vigorous advocacy of compliance with international human rights norms and explicit incorporation and action ability of such standards in national legal frameworks can play a role in the struggle to reduce, and ultimately eradicate, global poverty and social injustice.
Eradicating poverty
The solutions to eradicate poverty must focus on the empowerment of people themselves, especially those suffering the greatest discrimination and social exclusion. History is besieged with well-meaning ways but failed to give appropriate solutions that overlook the root causes of poverty as well as the demands, perspectives and capacities of people themselves to be architects of their own destiny. In reality, all countries can take immediate measures to fight poverty with all its complexity. Claiming a lack of resources does not release countries of its responsibility. Reducing poverty will often cost money, but not all rights require significant resources for their realization, including many obligations attached to socio-economic rights. Political will is at least as important.
Eliminating poverty as it is understood today is often the result of policy choices as of any other reason. Poverty is not accidental. Public policies, at the national and international levels, often ignore or violate standards essential for poverty reduction, including human rights. The link between the fulfilment of human rights and poverty reduction is clear. Human rights obligations require that governments put people's well-being first.
The primary responsibility to protect human rights lies with national governments, but other states, as well as international organisations, also have a responsibility to act in accordance with international human rights norms and standards. A state that lacks the means effectively to protect basic human rights for its people has an obligation to actively seek international assistance and cooperation. Equally, states in a position to assist have a responsibility to support other states to enable them to ensure adequate protection of rights to their populations. The principle embodied in the Millennium Declaration that all countries share the responsibility of reducing poverty globally, even if poor countries must take the lead in fighting deprivation at home, is widely accepted.
Bangladesh perspective
Bangladesh also prepared a PRSP (poverty reduction strategy paper) for eliminating poverty although in some extent it has been criticized that the consultations were carried out and only conducted with the professional elite and not with people actually living in poverty. A rights based approach to poverty reduction requires attention to the needs of the most vulnerable and the most marginalized. However the voices of neglected groups are rarely heard during policy deliberations.
As usually this kind of policy papers nationally and internationally grounded in respect of human rights to human dignity, to personal security and to freedom from want, fear and discrimination. Achieving them is not a matter of charity. It is both an ethical obligation and collective responsibility. Meeting these goals and furthering human developments require empowering of the poor, especially women, young people and marginalised populations, who are often twice or even more disenfranchised.
Poverty has been addressed in so many ways and in so many national, international forums. Also victims of poverty are people with rights that are already written into our Constitution, in the United Nations Charter and in many international treaties and conventions. There comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. As 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai told the world in her acceptance speech “That time is now… there can be no peace without equitable development.” Until it is acknowledged that we have the right to development, and that economic, social and cultural rights are in uniformity with civil and political rights, we still have a long way to go.
The writer is working for law desk, The Daily Star.
