Nelson Mandela, famous fighter against apartheid, said at one time that poverty - like slavery - is not a natural condition for human society. It can be overcome by the actions of people. And the fight against poverty is not a charitable gesture at all. Social rights and their protection - this is actually a statement of human dignity. And indeed it is. After all, a violation and even non-observance of such rights leads to dire consequences. Here are just a few stunning facts.
More than 960 million people go to bed hungry every night, a billion live in slums, and almost one and a half billion do not have access to education. Social rights are not ensured for both women and children. 20 thousand babies die daily. Every minute a woman dies from complications during childbirth.
Governments and states around the world are making grandiose plans and executing multi-billion dollar projects. Humanitarian aid is allocated to the poorest countries and sectors of the population. However, this is not enough. If you do not take into account that the human rights aspect is needed to solve the problem of poverty, the world will stand still, leaving the most vulnerable to die of hunger. Why did such a situation arise when social rights are practically invisible?
The main reason is real inequality - even in very rich countries there are entire strata of people who cannot get housing and basic medical care. Many governments say that they lack resources, but in fact they simply do not want to deal with this problem - it is not a priority for them.
Social and economic rights are protected by a special international pact. But most countries ignore their obligations to this document. The international community is often indifferent to this, in contrast to those
human rights violations that are associated with political conflicts. In addition, the activities of global financial institutions and corporations often enslave ordinary people, and their demands are not so rarely based on the need to reduce
social payments.The result of all this is not only death, illness and poverty, but also systematic discrimination. Poor people not only suffer from deprivation of rights - they also live as if in a trap. They are expelled from society, they are not allowed to talk, they are intimidated. Their
political rights are also in jeopardy - after all, it is the poor person who is cheaply ready to sell his vote in the elections. Such people constantly feel their insecurity.
Social rights and their observance are a real way from a trap to freedom. Only then will the poor be included in certain social frameworks. This is the only way to force the authorities to ensure their right to live free from fear and poverty. True respect for human rights requires recognition that everyone has the right to live with dignity, with access to food, water, medical care, education and a roof over their heads. These provisions are contained in a huge number of universal international norms. They not only represent sources of social security law , but also provide the poor with a means to change the existing balance of power that keeps them in poverty.