Poverty and economic inequality

Prepared in response to the call for inputs issued by the Special Rapporteur on the right to development to inform his 2023 thematic reports and priorities for the mandate, this submission recommends adopting an intersectional approach to the right to development by engaging with gender, racial and economic justice, among others.

This joint submission by SRI, AWID and IWRAW AP responds to a call for input issued by the Independent Expert on foreign debt for her upcoming report on multiple crises, fiscal systems and human rights. The submission aims to address the current situation as a crisis of neo-liberal capitalism, white supremacy, colonialism and patriarchy, and calls for an intersectional approach to these crises, their causes and their human rights impacts.

This submission argues that one of the essential elements to “profoundly transform economies to make them greener, fairer and more inclusive” is to review the current macroeconomic system, which itself is a continuation of the historical and ongoing consequence of colonialism: its impact on people and to embark on a radical global system change - one which places people and the planet before profits.

In response to the Special Rapporteur’s call for input about unilateral coercive measures and the right to health, SRI made a submission examining unilateral sanctions ​​as forms of economic and racial injustice and imperial domination, and a violation of the right to development.

SRI, IWRAW Asia Pacific and AWID made a joint submission in response to the Working Group’s call for inputs on “Human security of women and girls in the context of poverty and inequality.” The submission advocates for an economic justice approach and class analysis of poverty and inequality.

In response to the Special Rapporteur’s call for inputs on racism and the right to health, SRI made a submission advocating for an analysis of racism and the right to health addressing both racism and colonialism as determinants of health and as structural violence.

In response to the Special Rapporteur’s call for inputs on violence and its impact on the right to health, SRI made a submission addressing violations of bodily autonomy and the operation of systems of oppression as structural violence

It is true that in all countries there is economic and social inequality, which has a greater impact on the rights of women and girls, black and indigenous people, people with disabilities, migrants, among others.

There is no doubt that this scenario is also a consequence of inequality between countries, mainly between the Global North and South. This inequality should not be reduced only to the distribution of vaccines or foreign debt. These are manifestations of a long history of colonialism and oppression in different forms that is more evident today than ever.

This is the moment to radically reimagine our systems and institutions so that they serve the people. The pandemic has shown that when states choose to, they can act swiftly to implement policies and spend resources that would have been unthinkable two years ago.  At the Human Rights Council, we must recognize this moment for what it is -a chance to breathe new and transformative life into the human rights system and everything that it is supposed to stand for.

40th Session of Human Rights Council

Item 3: Clustered Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the right to Food and Independent Expert on Foreign Debt

Statement by Action Canada for Population and Development

28 February 2019

Human Rights Council – 28 th session – March 2015

High-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming

Statement by Action Canada for Population and Development

Mr President.

I make this statement on behalf of Action Canada and the Sexual Rights Initiative.

We congratulate those states which have made advances on MDG1 and welcome the Special Rapporteur’s Report and recommendations.

Human Rights Council – 35th session
Item 3: SR on Extreme Poverty

Thank you Mr. President,

Action Canada makes this statement on behalf of the Sexual Rights Initiative.

Statement by H.E. Mr Minelik Alemu Getahun, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland

UN Human Rights Council, High Level Panel on Human Rights Mainstreaming,

Geneva, 1 March 2013

In response to the Special Rapporteur’s call for input on nationalist populism, the submission makes the links between the resurgence of white supremacist, racist and xenophobic discourse in mainstream, right-wing and populist movements, related discriminatory laws and policies, and States’ complicity in furthering violence. It looks at the impact of racial discrimination in the area of sexuality and gender, and advocates for an intersectional approach to these issues.