The world is at an existential crossroads involving a pandemic, a deep economic recession, devastating climate change, extreme inequality, and an uprising against racist policies’ declared the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in his report to the UN Human Rights Council’s 44th session this week. The report gives a gloomy appraisal of global efforts to eliminate extreme poverty, predicting that the Sustainable Development Goals are unlikely to be achieved, that COVID-19 will push more than 70 million additional people into extreme poverty and the climate crisis similarly will exacerbate inequalities and further impoverishing millions.

Responding to the report, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights took the floor to highlight how the intersecting crises of inequality, climate change and ecological breakdown, are having serious, compounding consequences for the rights of persons living in poverty.  In its oral statement, GI-ESCR called for transformative solutions based on rights, dignity and respect for planetary boundaries, including:

• investing in strong public services, healthcare, education, housing, social protection and food, to counter inequalities and build resilience;

• participatory models of policy-making that include the voices of persons experiencing poverty; and

• protecting the environment and taking ambitious rights-respecting climate action.

As this was the first appearance at the Human Rights Council for the new mandate holder, Mr Olivier de Schutter, GI-ESCR also welcomed Mr de Schutter to the role and looks forward to working with him and continuing to support this important mandate.

The Special Rapporteur’s report is HERE.

The video of GI-ESCR’s oral statement is HERE.

The written version of GI-ESCR’s oral statement is HERE.