Social protection : report of the UN Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty

Abstract

In August 2009, the United Nations (UN) Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda, presented a report to the UN General Assembly addressing the impact of the global financial crisis on people living in extreme poverty and on the enjoyment of human rights (UN doc A/64/279). The report focuses on, among other things, the potential of social protection systems to tackle the effects of the financial crisis and reduce vulnerability. It notes the alarming impact of the current global economic and financial crisis on the poor, which requires the urgent establishment and expansion of social protection systems to protect those living in poverty and to prevent more people from being pushed into poverty (para 6). Eighty per cent of the world's population have little or no access to adequate social protection (para 7); and 20% live in extreme poverty (para 58). Below is a summary of what the report says about social protection.