Social Protection Floors and Economic and Social Rights © Fiorente A
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Social protection floors and economic and social rights © ILO/ Crozet M. ii © ILO/ Crozet M. © Fiorente A. CONTENTS Paragraphs Page I. Introduction 1–2 1 II. Social protection floors 3–12 1 III. Human rights norms and principles and social protection floors 13–35 4 A. The obligation of progressive realization 16–18 5 B. Minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights 19–23 5 C. Principles of transparency, participation and accountability 24–28 7 D. Equality between men and women 29–35 8 IV. Social protection floors and marginalized groups 36–53 12 A. Children 37–39 12 B. Older persons 40–43 13 C. Persons with disabilities 44–47 15 D. Informal workers 48–49 17 E. Non–nationals 50–53 17 V. Conclusions 54–56 19 © ILO/ Crozet M. © Bologna A. iii © ILO/ Lord R. Summary The present report, A/HRC/28/35, is submitted in accordance with resolution 25/11 of the Human Rights Council, which called for a report with a special focus on the importance of social protection floors for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. The report outlines the main characteristics of social protection floors and how they can contribute to ensuring the enjoyment of minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights, reducing poverty and inequality. iv I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 25/11, the Human Rights Council requested the Secretary-General to submit an annual report with a special focus on the importance of social protection floors for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights (para. 16). 2. The report outlines the main features of social protection floors and how their adoption, by States, can contribute to the enjoyment of minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights, reducing poverty and inequality. In that context, the Social Protection Floor Initiative, led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and supported by all United Nations agencies, is pivotal in promoting basic income security and access to health care, and in facilitating the enjoyment of several economic and social rights by the most marginalized groups of the population. II. Social protection floors 3. Events such as the surge in the late 1990s in innovative national programmes for social protection in the global South1 and the 2008 financial and economic crisis2 have gradually increased political support for the idea of Government-funded minimum social protection floors. According to the Social Protection Floors Recommendation (ILO Recommendation No. 202, adopted on 14 June 2012), social protection floors are nationally defined sets of basic social security guarantees that should provide access to essential health care and to basic income security for all those in need over the life cycle. 1 Bolsa Familia and Brasil Sem Miséria in Brazil; Oportunidades in Mexico; Asignación Universal por Hijo para Protección Social in Argentina; a social transfer scheme in Zambia; the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India; the Productive Safety Nets programme in Ethiopia; a universal pension scheme in Namibia; and the provision of universal health services in Thailand. See Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, report to the General Assembly, A/69/297, para. 16. 2 See Bob Deacon, Global Social Policy in the Making: The Foundation of the Social Protection Floor (Bristol, United Kingdom, Policy Press, 2013) and Julie L. Drolet, Social Protection and Social Development: International Initiatives (Springer, 2014). 1 4. The ILO-led Social Protection Floor Initiative entitled “The Future We Want”, adopted by the is a policy response to the limited social security General Assembly in its resolution 66/288, States coverage worldwide. According to the ILO World stressed “the need to provide social protection to all Social Protection Report 2014/2015,3 73 per cent members of society”, encouraged “initiatives aimed of the global population are either not covered, at providing social protection floors for all citizens” or only partially covered, by comprehensive and reaffirmed that sustainable development social security systems. The ILO report notes that and poverty eradication policies should promote 75 countries have no child and family benefit “respect for all human rights” (annex, paras. 156, programmes mandated by legislation, and the 107 and 58, respectively). global average spending on such programmes is only 0.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). 7. ILO Recommendation No. 202 provides Worldwide, employment injury, disability and guidance to member States on how to extend maternity benefits and old-age pension are also and adapt social protection floors to national only available on a very limited basis. circumstances. It states that national social protection floors should include at least four essential guarantees: 5. In 2009, the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination adopted the One (a) Access to at least essential health care, United Nations Social Protection Floor Initiative as including maternity care; one of the nine United Nations joint initiatives to cope with the global economic and financial crises.4 (b) Basic income security for children, providing Within the framework of the Social Protection access to nutrition, education, care and any other Floor Initiative, the Social Protection Floor Advisory necessary goods and services; Group was created to enhance global advocacy activities and to develop the conceptual policy (c) Basic income security for persons of working aspects of the approach. age who are unable to earn sufficient income, in particular in cases of sickness, unemployment, 6. In 2011, the Social Protection Floor Advisory maternity and disability; Group issued a report entitled Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization,5 which (d) Basic income security for older persons. consolidated global advocacy activities around social protection. In 2012, at the 101st session of 8. While the final objective is to put in the International Labour Conference, Governments, place comprehensive social protection systems, employers and workers from 185 countries implementation can be gradual in line with States’ unanimously adopted ILO Recommendation resources. Countries adopting a social protection floor No. 202. In that landmark recommendation, should develop nationally defined strategies, in a social security as a human right for all persons is participatory manner, respecting the principles of non- reaffirmed and guidance provided for building discrimination, gender equality and social inclusion. comprehensive social security systems. Also in Building on existing social protection mechanisms, 2012, in the outcome document of United Nations those strategies may include a mix of measures: Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), contributory and non-contributory, targeted and universal, and public and private — depending on the country’s social, economic and political context. 9. The results of ILO research and the 3 World Social Protection Report 2014/2015: Building experience of several developing countries economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice show that virtually all countries can afford social (2014). Available from www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/ protection floors and that they would constitute public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/ 6 wcms_245201.pdf. effective tools in the fight against poverty. 4 The Initiative is co-led by ILO and the World Health Organization and involves 17 collaborating agencies, including United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and international financial institutions, inter alia the World Bank. 6 ILO, “Can Low Income Countries Afford Basic Social Security?”, Social Security Policy Briefing Paper 3, 2008. Available from 5 ILO, Geneva, 2011. Available from www.ilo.org/global/ www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/secsoc/downloads/ publications/books/WCMS_165750/lang--en/index.htm. policy/policy3e.pdf. 2 © Bologna A. 10. Social protection floors differ from a “safety net” or “social safety nets” approaches, which are non-contributory transfers designed to provide 12. The concept of the Social Protection Floor regular, predictable and targeted support to Initiative is based on shared principles of social poor and vulnerable people. In contrast, the aim justice and refers to the Universal Declaration of of social protection floors is to approach social Human Rights and the International Covenant policy comprehensively through the promotion of on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for the integrated strategies for essential social services realization of the rights to social security, adequate and income security for all. standard of living, health, education, food and housing.8 The Social Protection Floor Initiative 11. “Safety net approaches” do not offer wider and human rights standards are complementary, social protection systems, but rather tend to consist as the first provides the policy space while the of isolated programmes, often fragmented and latter provides the normative framework in which insufficiently coordinated. That fragmentation States should develop social protection floors. makes it more difficult for individual rights-holders While social protection floors represent States’ to identify who is accountable for a programme’s policy commitments, human rights norms translate implementation and may lead to gaps in coverage, into concrete rights for specific rights-holders, and exclusion errors, or create risks