- ATD Fourth World

ATD Fourth World gave a joint oral statement on April 7th at the 59th session of the Commission on Human Rights concerning agenda item 10: Economic, Social and Cultural rights.

Fight Poverty, Eliminate extreme poverty

ATD Fourth World made three main points:

* The struggle to survive of people, families and communities living in poverty or extreme poverty throughout the world, as well as their hardships, experiences, and aspirations, must be recognised and taken into account by the international community. Without this understanding, it is impossible to empower the poor and to eliminate poverty.

• It is difficult for society-at-large to understand how people living in poverty, often without qualifications or who are illiterate, are able to apply their life experience, not just to change their own situation, but to contribute to a future vision of humanity.
• Experience has shown that reliance on certain minimum rights to which other fundamental rights would be subordinate is not sufficient in order to make sustainable progress in the fight against extreme poverty and social exclusion. On the contrary, it is necessary to work towards policies based on each and every fundamental right.

ATD Fourth World asks that:

• the Commission continue its pioneering work in this domain by responding to General Assembly recommendation 55/106 and making a priority of the study of concrete means to create partnership with the very poor, based on the experience of persons or groups already committed to their cause, in all parts of the world;
• the Sub-commission continue its work on a draft framework text on human rights and extreme poverty based on the indivisibility and the interdependence of all human rights;
• the High Commission continue the implementation of its Draft Guidelines: A Human Rights Approach to Poverty Reduction Strategies, particularly by examining whether, if necessary, these guiding principles can be modified in order to be applied in developed countries.

ATD Fourth World also presented a written contribution (E/CN.4/2003/NGO/223).
See Press Release