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In recognition of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the theme for this year's observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is "Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty".

The observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. These convictions are inscribed in a commemorative stone unveiled on this day. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17 th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor. Replicas of the commemorative stone have been unveiled around the world and serve as a gathering place to celebrate the Day. One such replica is located in the garden of United Nations Headquarters and is the site of the annual commemoration organized by the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

Through resolution 47/196 adopted on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and invited all States to devote the Day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities with regard to the eradication of poverty and destitution. The resolution further invites intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to assist States, at their request, in organizing national activities for the observance of the Day, and requests the Secretary-General to take, within existing resources, the measures necessary to ensure the success of the Day's observance by the United Nations.
October 17th presents an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty. Participation of the poor themselves has been at the center of the Day's celebration since its very beginning. The commemoration of October 17 th also reflects the willingness of people living in poverty to use their expertise to contribute to the eradication of poverty.

The struggle against poverty has evolved more and more visibly into an overarching development goal of the international community. Poverty eradication, however, is not only a development goal; it is also a central challenge for ensuring world-wide recognition of human rights. The international community has acknowledged that poverty is a violation of human rights and that promoting human rights can reduce poverty.

The world-wide persistence of poverty can be attributed in part to the violations of human rights. In fact, human rights violations can be both a cause and a consequence of poverty. People living in poverty are excluded from society, and their ability to secure their own rights is particularly limited by their predicament.

Poverty can be seen as a human condition of deprivation of resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.

Under the core human rights instruments, human beings are guaranteed among others, the rights to life, liberty and security of person, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to just and favourable working conditions, the right to adequate food, housing and social security, the right to education and participation in the democratic process. Securing those rights for all would bring us closer to poverty eradication.

Human rights based approach to fighting poverty links poverty reduction to the question of obligation, rather than charity and compels policymakers to implement strategies helping the most vulnerable individuals and groups escape poverty and destitution.


THE SECRETARY-GENERAL MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY

17 October 2008

The theme of this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty – “Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty” – recalls the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60 years ago. The Declaration affirms that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family”.

Sixty years on, hundreds of millions of people are still deprived of basic human rights such as food, housing, education, and decent working conditions. Those forced to live in poverty often face social exclusion, discrimination and disempowerment. Poverty robs the poor of their human dignity.

Our efforts to eradicate poverty must pay close attention to respect for human rights and the dignity of all. They must go beyond basic material needs and address discrimination and inequality. That means ensuring that all poor people have access to the resources they need - land, capital, knowledge and skills – to escape poverty. It means empowering the poor to effectively participate in decision-making and other activities that directly affect their lives.

Current economic uncertainties make this task even more challenging, but also even more important. Rising food and fuel prices, and the global financial crisis, are threatening to negate the progress made to reduce poverty and hunger in many parts of the world. An estimated 100 million people are now at risk of falling into poverty.

At the high-level event last September, Governments reconfirmed their commitments to the Millennium Development Goals. Many pledged new resources to bolster food security, eradicate disease, ensure access to water and sanitation and manage the financial crisis. These commitments are not a matter of charity, but an obligation in the pursuit of human rights for all. If we fail to keep our promise on the MDGs, we create the conditions for greater human misery and global insecurity.

Poverty will not be eradicated without due respect for human rights. On this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, let us guarantee the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family and strive for a world free of poverty and injustice.

About the Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world’s main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 191 member countries of the United Nations,during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

This unprecedented global framework for development is a crucial step towards ending poverty and inequality.

However, at the halfway point to the 2015 deadline for the achievement of the Goals, we have seen some progress, but much more needs to be done. Urgent action must be taken by nations if they are to fulfill their promise to achieve the MDGs. Since agreeing to make the MDGs a key framework for international action and cooperation to reduce poverty, much progress has been made.

But despite the gains, no region in the world is on-track to achieve all of the Goals, and some regions are off-track on many of them. Uurgent action is needed to implement sound policies to achieve the Goals set in 2000, and deliver on the promise made to the world’s poor in the Millennium Declaration:

“We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected”

The eight MDGs break down into 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60 indicators. The eight MDGs are:

1. eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. achieve universal primary education
3. promote gender equality and empower women
4. reduce child mortality
5. improve maternal health
6. combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases
7. ensure environmental sustainability
8. develop a global partnership for development

The MDGs:

* synthesise, in a single package, many of the most important commitments made separately at the international conferences and summits of the 1990s;
* recognise explicitly the interdependence between growth, poverty reduction and sustainable development
* acknowledge that development rests on the foundations of democratic governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights and peace and security
* are based on time-bound and measurable targets accompanied by indicators for monitoring progress;
* bring together, in the eighth Goal, the responsibilities of developing countries with those of developed countries