In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights focuses on the right to participation of people living in poverty. Participation is a basic human right in itself, a precondition or catalyst for the realisation and enjoyment of other human rights, and of fundamental importance in empowering people living in poverty to tackle inequalities and asymmetries of power in society.
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights analyses the obstacles to access to justice for persons living in poverty. Access to justice is a fundamental right in itself and essential for the protection and promotion of all other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. Without effective and affordable access to justice, persons living in poverty are denied the opportunity to claim their rights or challenge crimes, abuses or human rights violations committed against them.
The report analyses several laws, regulations and practices that punish, segregate, control and undermine the autonomy of persons living in poverty. Such measures have been adopted with increasing frequency over the past three decades, intensifying in recent years owing to the economic and financial crises, and now represent a serious threat to the enjoyment of human rights by persons living in poverty. The ways in which States and social forces penalise those living in poverty are interconnected and multidimensional, and cannot be analysed in isolation.
This booklet is adapted from the 2013 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona. It focues on participation of people living in poverty.
Participation of persons living in poverty (2013)