UNITED NATIONS E

Economic and Social Distr. Council GENERAL E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 6 July 2005

ENGLISH ONLY

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Fifty-seventh session Item 4 of the provisional agenda

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty

Progress report submitted by José Bengoa, Coordinator of the ad hoc group of experts

Addendum

 This document is circulated in the language of submission only.

GE.05-14781 (E) 150705 E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 2

CONTENTS

Page

Annex I: Ad hoc group of experts on the implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty. Regional consultation organized by International Movement ATD Fourth World, Bangkok, Thailand, 26-27 March 2005 ...... 3

Annex II: Ad hoc group of experts on the implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty. Seminar on extreme poverty and human rights, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2-3 March 2005 ...... 7

Annex III: The development of extreme poverty as a human rights issue within the United Nations human rights mechanisms ...... 12

Annex IV: List of resolutions pertaining to and documentation produced by the Sub-Commission ad hoc group of experts on the implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty ...... 18 E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 3

Annex I

AD HOC GROUP OF EXPERTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS AND STANDARDS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST EXTREME POVERTY

Regional consultation organized by International Movement ATD Fourth World, Bangkok, Thailand, 26-27 March 2005

On the first day of the consultation, 26 March 2005, Mr. Yozo Yokota introduced the work of the Sub-Commission’s ad hoc group of experts on extreme poverty and human rights, and stressed the importance of holding regional consultations between the experts and persons living in extreme poverty.

A member of the ATD Fourth World Volunteer Corps explained that interviews with persons living in two Bangkok slums were held during the two months preceding the meeting.

Representatives of the persons living in these slums then told about their personal experiences.

Saphan Phut community

A representative of Saphan Phut community said that she had been chased out from her land and had to move to this slum, which was at the time a garbage dump. No owner of the newly occupied land ever presented himself, until 1997, when a fire devastated everything and many owners showed up after that. Authorities put up temporary shelters, but only for three months. Foundations assisted the people with food aid. Once back on the piece of land, they were made to pay 300 baht per month rent. There is no sanitation or clean water. She said that it was impossible to have a normal family life because the place was overcrowded. Moving was not an option because of lack of money, although she did want to. Also, new places could be too far away, forcing the children to change schools. The only possibility would be housing projects to provide them with shelter in a new location. She said that sometimes landowners threatened that they would have to leave the land they were living on.

In the past she used to sell groceries, but now she washes clothes for a living. With regard to health care, she was aware that she could apply for a health card, but did not do so.

Another representative of that community said that she had been living there for seven years. She used to pay rent. She said that her present level of education was not sufficient to find a job and that education was too expensive. She was not sure whether her kids would be able to get more education than her.

She was quite happy with where she was living but did not want to stay there. They were afraid of eviction, with the landlord repeatedly stating that they had to move out, but this never happened. After the 1997 fire, many people of the community helped each other out. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 4

Her ambition was to become a social worker, but there was no support to realize this.

Another representative of the community stated that there were scholarships but that their attribution was not linked to performance. Her kids had no scholarship. Living conditions were relatively good, she said. Money earned mainly went to covering the monthly rent (1,500 baht and another 500 baht for her son’s rent). Because of this, they were unable to help out relatives living in rural communities. Her husband sold mangoes in the evening, but this was not sufficient. With regard to the health-care card, she said she never used it.

Her dream was to have a steady job and a good education for her children.

Bangkok Noi

One representative of the Bangkok Noi community said that she had been living in the slum for a long time. She said that people looked down upon them. She helped out in the temple doing the dishes. Sometimes she did not have anything to eat. Livelihood was hard, she said, although the relationships in the community were generally good. She has moved out now and does not want to return. If she falls ill, she uses the health-care card, but in case of serious illness and emergencies, the health-care card (30 baht) is not enough. The hospital is too far for visits, and she does not have money to travel there.

A second representative said she had moved to the slum at the age of 13. First she used to clean up the market stalls. She spoke about the drug problems in the community. In case of harassment or violations of their rights, they could not turn to the police because they blamed them for the situation they were in and showed no sympathy. She expressed the wish that the police could see the situation from her perspective. In case of medical need, she would get help in the hospital. She made some money by collecting garbage.

Her dream was to have money for a small hut.

A third representative said that she had seven children, four of whom were with her. Her husband had passed away. Her other children lived with relatives, but she had no news from them. For a living, she collected garlands and resold them, but the money she made was not enough to take care of her children. She said that people had no understanding and respect for poor people and their situation, and that the rich looked down upon them. Police often chased the slum dwellers away.

Her dream was to have her own house.

Discussion

Mr. Yokota asked the representatives where the men were. They answered that they were at work. He also noted that it was a good sign that all women spoke of their dreams. He asked which of all basic needs they wanted most. They answered that doctors were needed to attend to their health needs. They expressed the wish that an agency would take care of visits by doctors and nurses. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 5

The community representatives agreed that in order to make themselves heard, they needed a community leader.

The question was raised why the people living in extreme poverty did not use the health-care card. The reason stated was that the cards often were registered in their communities of origin, and that to benefit from it, they would have to go back there, which was often too far. Also, the paperwork connected to the health card system was considered too difficult.

Mr. Yokota asked whether police harassment and interference with community life was part of a general situation. The representatives answered that the police were often rude, looked down on them and had no ear for complaints. Teasing behaviour was often experienced from drunk police officers. Also, eviction orders were often suddenly announced. They said as well that the community had no confidence and leadership to complain about their situation.

ATD Fourth World had prepared two questions, which the representatives were asked to answer:

 What kind of information/skills/training do you want, so as to use it to improve your life?

 What do other people need to know about your life?

The representatives answered that they would like to learn sewing and handicraft skills. One woman said that existing schools were too far away. Also, they wanted to know more about housing registration, and be informed whether authorities could arbitrarily chase them off their land. The representatives were informed of two Thai organizations which they could turn to, namely the Housing Development Foundation and the National Human Rights Commission, both of which were unknown to them. It was stressed that they could also turn to pro deo legal advisers.

The representatives also stated that they wanted to know more about human rights, since they felt that others regarded them as inferior. A representative of the National Human Rights Commission informed the representatives that there was a federation of the poor in Thailand.

Conclusions

Mr. Yokota rounded the day off with some observations from the discussions:

 Extreme poverty has an economic, but also a human rights dimension;

 A human rights approach puts people at the centre of policies and programmes;

 From an economic point of view, people living in extreme poverty have lost out;

 From a human rights-based approach, the only way to solve problems of extreme poverty is to listen to and work with people living in extreme poverty;

 A human rights solution engages and empowers the poor; E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 6

 Often heard wishes during the day are those related to shelter, accessible medical care, safe drinking water, as well as nutritious food of good quality;

 Many representatives also expressed the wish to obtain skills and job training, which were seen as opportunities for the improvement of their livelihoods.

Field visits

The second day, the participants visited the two communities, Saphan Phut and Bangkok Noi, to see the living conditions for themselves. All considered this first-hand experience essential to understanding the daily situation of people living in extreme poverty. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 7

Annex II

AD HOC GROUP OF EXPERTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS AND STANDARDS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST EXTREME POVERTY

Seminar on extreme poverty and human rights

Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2-3 March 2005

On 2 and 3 March 2005, four members1 of the ad hoc expert group had the opportunity to meet in Sao Paulo under the auspices of the Centre for the Study of Violence of the University of Sao Paulo, and thanks to the sponsorship of the Nippon Foundation and Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation.2 This was a unique occasion for the experts to hold a working session and to achieve progress with regard to their mandate.

On behalf of his colleagues, the coordinator of the ad hoc group of experts, expressed gratitude to the Nippon Foundation for its interest in the work of the group of experts and its committed support. He also extended the group’s warmest thanks for the exceptional support provided to it by the Centre for the Study of Violence and for the wonderful hospitality of its director, Mr. Guilhermo Almeida, and his team of brilliant young experts who demonstrated a passionate interest in the mandate and enriched the group of experts with their professional dedication to and experience in the fight against poverty. He also thanked Mr. Xavier Verzat and Mr. Thierry Viard, from ATD Fourth World, whose contribution to the seminar was most valuable due to the vast experience of their movement in working with the poor and in consistently advocating for the human rights dimension of extreme poverty within the United Nations human rights bodies. The valuable participation of Pasquale and Carlos, two men who experienced poverty in its various forms was a sharp eye-opener on the links between human rights and extreme poverty and a clear illustration of the relevance of civil and political rights in this context.

He also expressed the group’s warmest thanks to Mr. Leandro Despouy, former and first Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on extreme poverty as a human rights issue. His

1 Mr. Bengoa, Mr. Guissé, Ms. Motoc and Mr. Yokota.

2 This seminar followed another one held in Rio de Janeiro from 27 February to 1 March on leprosy and human rights and which the experts also attended. The organizers intended the intimate link between leprosy, discrimination and poverty, showing that victims of this bacillus are primarily people living in poverty or extreme poverty. The stigmatization and exclusion of patients and even former patients - and of their descendants - was particularly stressed, especially as it contributes to maintain persons in poverty or to impoverish them since they are frequently denied access to work, housing of their choice, and remain de facto isolated from society. Some have been living for decades in leprosy colonies, unable to found a family, to establish links with society or to access adequate education, housing, employment opportunities. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 8 enlightening participation in the seminar and his guidance and support to the Working Group was a unique and precious asset that strongly encouraged the experts to persist in their work and to build upon the remarkable and pioneer studies undertaken by their predecessor.

The Centre for the Study of Violence presented an overview of the mandate and work of the ad hoc group of experts and participants, based on the 2004 report, reviewed pending issues and considered a possible work plan.

A number of issues underlined in last year’s report were highlighted again, essentially pertaining to the possible nature and content of a text on human rights and extreme poverty.

On the nature of the document, as advocated in 2004, the experts agreed that a declaration should be envisaged, aware that this would constitute a long-term project. The experts stressed that although a declaration is not binding, it would refer to existing human rights instruments that are.

A number of controversial topics related to the possible content of the document were discussed, mainly the incorporation of a definition of poverty, the qualification of poverty or extreme poverty as a violation of human rights, the inclusion of the concept of justiciability of rights and accountability in the context of poverty or extreme poverty, the interrelation with vulnerable categories (women, children, indigenous, minorities, for instance). It was eventually considered that focusing on these aspects would divert attention from their mandate and was inappropriate at this stage. The idea of a possible definition as a starting point for a text to be envisaged was completely discarded as far too complex, possibly too abstract, and thus contrary to the perspective of an accessible and concrete document. The idea of mentioning specific vulnerable groups was discussed, but as it will certainly be impossible to be exhaustive, it was suggested that the notion of vulnerability in general could be inscribed, introducing the concepts of risk and prevention.

A few principles were agreed upon though. A major conclusion was that the focus should be on extreme poverty, in accordance with the mandate of the group of experts. Another point the experts underlined and decided to further explore was participation, in particular the necessity of consultations with persons affected by extreme poverty and of individuals, organizations and institutions working with them. This was also stressed by Leandro Despouy. In order to translate this long acclaimed expectation into reality, the importance of organizing regular events involving people living in poverty was reiterated and it was agreed that efforts should be undertaken to fund regional seminars or workshops. It is also important to bear in mind the wealth of existing international human rights instruments as pertinent to the fight against extreme poverty; the interdependence and indivisibility of rights and the impact of extreme poverty on all rights, in a cumulative or domino effect; the fundamental principle of dignity; the integration of social exclusion, discrimination and stigmatization; the crucial place of civil and political rights; the need for a clear, accessible document, and the long-term process the elaboration of a declaration would involve, especially if based upon consultations with a broad range of counterparts. On this specific point, Leandro Despouy stressed that the Sub-Commission is the only United Nations body which has demonstrated the capacity to incorporate the testimonies of civil society, including of marginalized voices. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 9

This seminar was the occasion for a dynamic and rich exchange between the experts and a team of academics who are also practitioners involved with communities affected by extreme poverty. Their contribution to the seminar provided a new perspective of the theme of human rights and extreme poverty and an objective view of the work of the experts and of the United Nations in general on this issue, including the mandates of the Commission and the Sub-Commission on human rights and extreme poverty and on the right to development. The presentations introduced a number of issues to be covered by the agenda. The discussions were significantly enhanced by the intervention of two participants who had personally experienced human rights violations linked to poverty. Their contribution played a major role in taking the debate forward from concepts to reality, outstandingly illustrating the obvious linkages between poverty and human rights.

Most of the debate concentrated on the possible content of a declaration, but few conclusions were reached on this as the task is a step ahead of the mandate of the group of experts, that it calls for extensive expert work, with a legal focus, and that there was little time to reach consensus on various questions already highlighted in the previous report of the experts. Thus, it was decided that an expert seminar should be organized in order to develop the normative aspect of the document.

On the subject of the declaration, the decision to deal with extreme poverty rather than with poverty was confirmed and endorsed.

The delicate issue of a possible human rights definition of poverty was raised. Participants took note of the definition formulated by Arjun Sengupta, the independent expert of the Commission on Human Rights on extreme poverty and human rights. Some experts considered this attempt as interesting and quite comprehensive. It was noted that it was not an exclusive definition. However, some participants rejected this definition as neoliberally oriented and predominantly economic. Several participants pointed out that working on a definition would be an impossible task due to the complexity of extreme poverty. It was rather thought that a descriptive approach could be proposed, highlighting various causes of poverty, its manifestations and impact on human rights, the cross-cutting notions of opportunities, discrimination, exclusion.

In this context, the notion of extreme poverty as a human rights violation was discussed and given the controversy surrounding this concept, resolutions of the Commission and Sub-Commission and the lack of solid legal work conducted on this topic, it was decided that the experts would not venture into this matter. However, in conformity with resolution 2004/7 of the Sub-Commission, it was agreed that extreme poverty must be defined as a situation that jeopardizes all human rights.

It was agreed that the preamble should, in accordance with the mandate of the experts, take into consideration relevant existing human rights norms and standards.

The body of the text was the object of vivid exchanges. A preliminary question was whether the declaration should adopt a right-by-right approach, enumerating, for instance, all rights contained in the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, or adhere to a more generic approach. This latter option was favoured as providing more flexibility. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 10

A long debate took place confronting the indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all rights with the opinion of some that some rights were more inherently connected to poverty and the right to life and were thus to be prioritized. While not excluding other rights, one participant strongly advocated for what he called biological rights, to be stressed because of the urgent, immediate attention they require - the right to food, health, housing and water. In a similar spirit, one of the participants brought up the notion of basic attention, also prioritizing the rights to health, food, housing and water as a prerequisite to all other rights. The proponent of this theory had previously considered the right to dignity as a sort of synthetic right that would make the eradication of extreme poverty an obligation. However, as dignity is a fundamental principle in international human rights law, but not a right, he shifted to the concept of basic attention. The participant added that this topic required a more philosophical study. The two above-mentioned theories were defended with reference to the Tokyo seminar. However, while understanding the reasoning behind it, the majority of participants disagreed with such an approach, stressing that it contradicted the principle of indivisibility and interdependence proclaimed in the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action. Furthermore, it was underlined that while this particular view was mentioned in the report of the experts to the fifty-fifth session of the Sub-Commission, it was discarded in their next report to the fifty-sixth. It was also noted that as the text would aim at highlighting the linkages between extreme poverty and all human rights, a focus on economic and social rights would miss that important point. On this subject, it was emphasized that the testimonies of two of the participants about their life in poverty revealed how much civil and political rights were also quintessential and in their case, the significance of the right to citizenship and to freedom of expression was recurrent, as well as the notion of dignity and the issue of discrimination.

The concepts of accountability and justiciability, both highlighted by all participants as inherent in a human rights approach to poverty, were thoroughly discussed. Some participants deemed it unnecessary to be explicit about this dimension, considering it would be automatically implied by the reference to existing and applicable norms and standards. Others observed that this principle of justiciability was not obvious, particularly with regard to economic, social and cultural rights, referring to the debates on an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Finally, some pointed out that given the polemical nature of the notion, it might be wiser not to include it in the text. One participant considered it more relevant to speak of the juridicity of rights rather than of justiciability, arguing that the latter only implied a right to claim while the former referred to actual reparation and restitution of rights.

The question of making specific mention of particularly vulnerable groups was discussed (such as women, children, indigenous peoples, minorities). Their inclusion was seen as extremely important as these categories, among others, are often the victims of discrimination. However, although considering that the notion of non-discrimination should be a fundamental principle to be inscribed in the text, the idea of a list of vulnerable groups was discarded on the basis that it would never be exhaustive enough and would consequently risk being exclusive. It was suggested that the fact that people living in extreme poverty can often be the objects of multiple discrimination could be introduced.

All participants agreed on the utmost importance of consultations with people living in extreme poverty and organizations working with them. The experts strongly insisted on this point, deploring the fact that such a participatory process had not yet really started but hoping that regional seminars would be organized in the coming years to facilitate this. It is E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 11 undoubtedly a challenge that requires financial and logistical support. Efforts have to be made, and a few initiatives in this direction can be commended. Support from the Nippon Foundation had been highly appreciated by the experts. ATD Fourth World is also in the process of organizing regional seminars, the first one of which was to be held in Bangkok in April 2005, which could be seen as a sort of pilot seminar in the context of the project on the declaration. The possibility of organizing a consultation in Africa, possibly in Senegal, with the help of Professor Guissé was discussed and will be further explored.

Finally, the coordinator insisted on the importance of bringing up a positive dimension, namely the potential of persons living in extreme poverty and their dignity, as demonstrated by the testimonies of Pasquale and Carlos.

The first Special Rapporteur to work on the theme of extreme poverty and human rights, Leandro Despouy, took part in the second half of the seminar and his contribution was of much guidance. Besides summing up his work, he elaborated on a few points raised during the seminar. He insisted on the vicious circle of poverty and on the perpetuation of the phenomenon from one generation to another, stressing that each form of precariousness would engender another and that this domino effect was fundamental in understanding the linkages between human rights and extreme poverty. He underlined that all rights were affected, and gave the most illustrative example, that of the right to be registered. The large number of poor children, such as street children, who are not registered have no legal existence, which makes them even more vulnerable to grave human rights violations, including executions. He concluded that this required an integrated remedy while, regrettably, poverty reduction policies tended to be isolated, partial and inappropriate, failing to address root causes and the multidimensional aspects of the problem.

He strongly encouraged the group of experts to continue their work, observing that extreme poverty was progressing in the world. Noting that the Sub-Commission was the most appropriate forum to discuss this issue, even more so as it gives categories of persons who are usually marginalized and rarely heard in international spheres the opportunity to voice their concern. He declared that what he had learned about extreme poverty was in contact with people directly concerned and that their inclusion in the process was therefore essential. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 12

Annex III

THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXTREME POVERTY AS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

From the Charter to the Millennium Development Declaration, the struggle against poverty has evolved more and more visibly into an overarching development goal of the international community. One can even argue that it stands out as the core objective of numerous commitments and instruments elaborated within the United Nations system. However, it is only since the 1990s that the fight against poverty, and more particularly against extreme poverty, was placed at the top of the United Nations agenda. Since then, year by year, it has consistently been the subject of a series of resolutions and reports by the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission. It is also in that period that the United Nations began considering extreme poverty as a human rights issue.

In 1995, the Assembly declared the first United Nations Decade on the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006), in the context of the Copenhagen Plan of Action. Such initiatives indicated a global commitment to attack a phenomenon which appeared as morally inacceptable and anachronistic in a world where wealth was considerable. In 2000, the Millennium Declaration spelt out the mission of the community of nations against extreme poverty:

“We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected. We are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want.”

The Millennium Development Goals, in implementation of the Millennium Declaration, target the eradication of extreme poverty.

Since the late 1980s, extreme poverty has been considered a human rights issue in its own right, by the Commission on Human Rights and the then Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. This interest grew from concerns over the persistence of poverty and extreme poverty, both in developing and industrialized countries, and its impact on the realization of human rights. As the anti-poverty approaches adopted hitherto seemed to have failed, it was presumed that they were inadequate to address the complexities of extreme poverty and to devise commensurate solutions. It was thus deemed that a definition of extreme poverty grounded in human rights or the qualification of extreme poverty as a human rights issue would lead to addressing the root causes and would enable more efficient and more sustainable anti-poverty programmes.

It should be noted that it is essentially the advocacy of one NGO, ATD Fourth World, that brought forward the examination of extreme poverty as a human rights matter within the E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 13

Sub-Commission and the Commission. Indeed, in 1987, ATD Fourth World,3 together with other NGOs that are still active in maintaining poverty on the human rights agenda of the United Nations,4 called upon the Commission on Human Rights to study the issue of extreme poverty, together. That same year, for the very first time, the Sub-Commission was requested to explore the links between extreme poverty and human rights, within the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on economic, social and cultural rights. Interestingly, Danilo Turk, in charge of the mandate, was asked to develop the concept of indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights “in the light of the problems and needs of people living in extreme poverty in industrialized and developing countries” (Sub-Commission resolution 1987/29). In his reports to the Sub-Commission, Danilo Turk stressed the need for a specific study on the issue of extreme poverty and its linkages with all human rights. By adopting resolution 1989/10, the Commission for the first time recognized extreme poverty as an independent issue to be considered in the context of all human rights. In 1991 and 1992, the General Assembly adopted specific resolutions on human rights and extreme poverty, and has from then on examined this theme, highlighting that extreme poverty constitutes an obstacle to the exercise of all human rights.

The Sub-Commission Special Rapporteur on human rights and extreme poverty (1992-1996)

In 1992, the Commission on Human Rights requested the Sub-Commission to undertake a study on human rights and extreme poverty. The Sub-Commission created the mandate of Special Rapporteur on human rights and extreme poverty and appointed Leandro Despouy to study the effects of extreme poverty on the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms - not solely within an economic, social and cultural rights mandate. He produced innovative work between 1993 and 1996, under two consecutive mandates.

Besides being the first to explore the linkages between all human rights and extreme poverty, Leandro Despouy can be commended for his efforts towards devising a human rights

3 Originally a French governmental organization created in the 1950s, ATD developed into a movement whose core mandate aims at working directly with people living in extreme poverty with the ultimate goal of contributing to the eradication of extreme poverty. Participation and empowerment of people living in poverty are at the heart of ATD’s mandate

4 A number of NGOs have been consistently making joint as well as individual statements before the Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission, as well as other forums, on extreme poverty and human rights. ATD, Franciscans International, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, the International Federation of Social Workers, the International Council of Women, Lutherans International, the World Organisation against Torture submitted a joint statement to the Sub-Commission in 2003. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 14 definition of extreme poverty, based on a formulation by the founder of ATD,5 which he included in his preliminary report on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/19):

“The lack of basic security connotes the absence of one or more factors enabling indivividuals and families to assume basic responsibilities and to enjoy fundamental rights. The situation may become widespread and result in more serious and permanent consequences. The lack of basic security leads to chronic poverty when it simultaneously affects several aspects of people’s lives, when it is prolonged, and when it severely compromises people’s chances of regaining their rights and reassuming their reponsibilities in the foreseeable future.”6

Aiming at a more precise human rights definition of extreme poverty, Leandro Despouy proposed to consider a combination of parameters:

 The historical dimension of extreme poverty;

 The fact that extreme poverty concerns developing and industrialized countries alike, although to different degrees;

 The link between poverty and exclusion, with poverty inevitably leading to exclusion;

 The distinction between poverty and extreme poverty, not only in economic terms but above all in relation to the impact on the enjoyment of human rights. In this context, Leandro Despouy stressed that “extreme poverty is the denial not only of economic, social and cultural rights, but of all human rights and fundamental freedoms”;

 The harmful consequences for human rights of the persistence of the situation of insecurity in which persons living in extreme poverty find themselves for years and sometimes for generations. Despouy referred to “the vicious circle of poverty”, pointing out that extreme poverty involves the denial of all human rights, a horizontal vicious circle - with a cumulative or domino effect of deprivations or misfortunes, an intergenerational dimension which he described as the “vertical vicious circle”, and an effect of stigmatization and exclusion.

Leandro Despouy did not come up with a packaged definition but in his final report, in 1996, he insisted on the need to come up with a human rights definition of extreme poverty.

5 In 1987, in a report to the Economic and Social Council of France on poverty, Joseph Wresinski had formulated what is often quoted as the very human rights definition of extreme poverty.

6 Report of the French Economic and Social Council, “Grande pauvreté et précarité économique et sociale”, Journal Officiel de la République Française, Avis du Rapport du Conseil économique et social, 1987, No. 6, 28 February 1987. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 15

Also drawing from NGOs’ appeal, Leandro Despouy put forward the importance of learning about extreme poverty and its links with human rights directly through the experience and voices of people living in extreme poverty. He also advocated for their participation and empowerment in anti-poverty strategies. Mr. Despouy raised the crucial issue of data collection and poverty measurement.

It should be underlined that in 1993, the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights affirmed the link between human rights and poverty (not merely extreme poverty), describing poverty as “one of the major obstacles hindering the full enjoyment of human rights”. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action also consecrated the principle of the indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights - civil, political, economic, social and cultural.

The independent expert on human rights and extreme poverty of the Commission on Human Rights (1998-present)

In 1998, two years after the mandate of the Sub-Commission expired, the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1998/25, created a new mandate on the question of human rights and extreme poverty. The mandate holder was requested, inter alia, to undertake the following:

 To evaluate the relationship between the promotion and protection of human rights and extreme poverty, including through the evaluation of measures taken at the national and international levels to promote the full enjoyment of human rights by persons living in extreme poverty;

 To take into account in particular the obstacles encountered and progress made by women living in extreme poverty as regards the enjoyment of their fundamental rights;

 To make recommendations and, as appropriate, proposals in the sphere of technical assistance;

 To contribute to the General Assembly’s evaluation in 2000 of the World Summit for Social Development;

 To make suggestions to the Commission on Human Rights on the main points of a possible draft declaration on human rights and extreme poverty.

In 2000, the Commission, in its resolution 2000/12, renewed the mandate of the independent expert and included the following tasks in his/her new mandate:

 To hold consultations, including during her visits, with the poorest people and the communities in which they live, on means of developing their capacity to express their views and to organize themselves and to involve national human rights bodies in this exercise;

 To consider strategies to overcome extreme poverty and the social impact of those strategies; E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 16

 To continue her cooperation with the international financial institutions, with a view to identifying the best programmes for combating extreme poverty;

 To contribute to the mid-term evaluation of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, scheduled for 2002.

In its resolution 2002/30, the Commission requested the independent expert to take into account the outcome of the Durban World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002.

Anne-Marie Lizin has been the independent expert from 1999 to 2004. As Leandro Despouy, she continuously insisted on the importance of participation and empowerment of people living in poverty in discussions and decisions concerning them. One of her main contributions was to identify civil registration as a major issue closely connected to extreme poverty. This is a very interesting starting point for discussion as it is a civil right that gives rise to other civil, political but also economic, social and cultural rights. Ms. Lizin also emphasized the potential of decentralization in poverty alleviation. She can also bear credit for considering the linkages with migration and trafficking in human beings.

In 2004, the Commission extended the mandate of the independent expert, which was entrusted to Arjun Sengupta, the former independent expert on the right to development. The independent expert was requested to pay particular attention to:

 The relationship between the enjoyment of human rights and extreme poverty;

 Identifying, including in cooperation with international financial organizations, the most efficient measures taken at the national and international levels to promote the full enjoyment of human rights of persons living in extreme poverty;

 The contribution that people living in extreme poverty can make to the definition of measures to promote the full enjoyment of their human rights;

 Developing cooperation with other United Nations bodies dealing with human rights which are also active in the area of the fight against extreme poverty;

 The assessment of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, the internationally agreed goals contained in the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus, and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development;

 The impact of discrimination on extreme poverty, bearing in mind the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;

 The situation and empowerment of women in extreme poverty, applying a gender perspective in his/her work. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 17

The Sub-Commission ad hoc group of experts on the implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty

It should be noted that the independent expert played a role in relation to a mandate which, since 2001, falls under the competence of the Sub-Commission. Indeed, at the request of the Commission, in 1999 and 2001, two events (a workshop and an expert seminar) were organized with the support of OHCHR to explore, upon a request of the Commission, the possibility of a draft declaration on human rights and extreme poverty. The independent expert was requested by the Commission to organize and report on these meetings, with support from OHCHR.

While the 1999 workshop concluded in favour of a declaration on human rights and extreme poverty, the 2001 expert seminar opted for the elaboration of “new guiding principles” that would “build on existing norms and standards in a manner that explicitly addressed the phenomenon of extreme poverty, that clarified definitional issues within the framework of human rights and that set forth relevant operational and policy guidelines”. It proposed “addressing the clear links between human rights and extreme poverty” to “highlight the multidimensional nature of poverty, its causes and consequences, and encapsulate existing norms interlinking human rights and poverty/extreme poverty”. Thus, in 2001, the Commission submitted a request to the Sub-Commission, shifting from the idea of a possible declaration to considering “the need to develop, on the basis of the various existing international texts, guiding principles of human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty”. A Sub-Commission group of experts was set up in 2001 to consider this issue and is to submit a final report to the Sub-Commission in 2006 with conclusions on the matter. Indeed, in 2004, in their interim report, the group of experts recognized the need for an international text on human rights and extreme poverty, highlighting that some issues and questions deserved further examination and consultations, including with people living in extreme poverty. Draft elements of discussion for possible guiding principles on human rights and extreme poverty were presented as an annex to the report and submitted for consultations in order to serve as a basis for further discussions on the matter (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2004/25 and Add.1). E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/20/Add.1 page 18

Annex IV

LIST OF RESOLUTIONS PERTAINING TO AND DOCUMENTATION PRODUCED BY THE SUB-COMMISSION AD HOC GROUP OF EXPERTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EXISTING HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS AND STANDARDS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST EXTREME POVERTY

In its resolution 2001/31, the Commission on Human Rights requested the Sub-Commission to consider the need to develop guiding principles on the implementation of existing human rights norms and standards in the context of the fight against extreme poverty.

Resolutions adopted by the Sub-Commission

2001/8 (creating the mandate of the ad hoc group of experts), 2002/13 (outlining the work plan of the ad hoc group of experts), 2004/7 (submission of the final report of the ad hoc group of experts).

Reports of the ad hoc group of experts

E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/15 (Programme of work of the ad hoc working group established to prepare a study to contribute to the drafting of an international declaration on extreme poverty and human rights), E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/17 (Preliminary working paper submitted by José Bengoa), E/CN.4/Sub.2/2004/25 and Add.1 (Progress report submitted by José Bengoa and conference working paper).

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