In a joint statement delivered at the Human Rights Council, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Service for Human Rights made clear that the alleviation of extreme poverty “will not necessarily lead to the realisation of rights”.

The statement was delivered during the Council’s meeting on the role of poverty alleviation in promoting and protecting human rights. It stressed the importance of ensuring that individuals are empowered to know and claim their rights and to participate in decisions that impact them directly. Whilst development and human rights are in many cases mutually reinforcing, it is important to recognise that development initiatives also regularly lead to direct violations of human rights. The Council has a role to play in ensuring that approaches to development are consistent with human rights obligations and incorporate meaningful accountability mechanisms for those that wish to air grievances.

The statement is in line with previous interventions at the Human Rights Council, where GI-ESCR has consistently stressed that whilst human rights enjoyment should be the ultimate goal of development, it is not an inevitable by-product.

The full text of the Joint Statement may be accessed here. A recording of the statement, which was delivered by Sarah Brooks of ISHR, can be found below.