- ATD Fourth World

Please click on titles to see the documents available on the subject

Guarantee the Rights of All - Extreme poverty is a violation of fundamental rights and human dignity. The promotion of access by all to the inalienable and indivisible fundamental rights of all human beings ( social, economic, politics, civil and cultural rights) is essential to respect people’s dignity.

European Strategy for Social Inclusion - In order to ensure that policies really reach people living in poverty, this dimension of the Lisbon Strategy must be reinforced and have more visibility. The National Action Plans for Social Inclusion must be developed, assessed and implemented in partnership with people who live in poverty and social exclusion. Their knowledge is recognised and enriched by the knowledge and experience of others if we want policies to have " a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty and social exclusion by 2010".

Sustainable development - In order to ensure a balance between economic, social and environmental policies, the fight against poverty and social exclusion must be emphasised in Sustainable Development policies.

Support to families - The ambition of family policy in the fight against poverty and social exclusion should be above all to support each family, no matter what its structure, in achieving its own goals. This support is the most effective when it is based upon the skills and competencies that exist within the family, on the connections between its members and the hopes that they each have for each other and for the future.

Services of General Interest - The persistence of extreme poverty limits the access of numerous families to services of general interest. The creation of specific services for them is in opposition to the goal of ensuring effective access to human rights for all. Services of general interest must therefore guarantee access for all to all fundamental rights.

Civil Dialogue - The principle of participatory democracy inside the Constitution should lead to the implementation of a structured civil dialogue based on a sectorial and horizontal consultation of NGOs and on the concerns and propositions of the most vulnerable groups.

Bringing together all citizens - The celebration, each year, of the 17th October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is a chance for all citizens to come together and share experiences.

Documents available:

• Guarantee the Rights of All:
  • Contribution on the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - May 2000 : Contribution du Mouvement au projet de Charte des Droits Fondamentaux de l’UE (in French)

• European Strategy for Social Inclusion :
  • Response to the questionnaire for the evaluation of the Open Method of Co-ordination on Social Inclusion - June 2005 (see above)
  • Open Letter Fourth World European Committee - 5 March 2005 : The Eradication of Poverty and the Fight Against Social Exclusion Must be at the Core of the Revised Lisbon Strategy
  • Press release on Lisbon Strategy - 9 February 2005 : Poverty - has the European Commission forgotten it?
  • Analysis of National Action Plans for Social Inclusion 2003-2005 - October 2003
  • Extracts from ‘’Europe at a crossroads’’, ‘Revue Quart Monde’, n°181-February 2002; L’Europe au pied du mur - Europe at a crossroads (in french)
  • Analysis of National Action Plans for Social Inclusion 2001-2003 - September 2001

• Sustainable Development:
  • Press release - 9th June 2005 : Sustainable Development Demands the Eradication of Poverty in Europe and the Rest of the World
  • Some answers to the Commission’ s Consultation Paper for the preparation of a EU Strategy for Sustainable Development- April 2001 : People and families living in poverty and sustainable development

• Support to families:
  • European discussion paper within the framework of the Social Inclusion Action Programme (November 2003) : Valuing children, Valuing parents. Focusing on family in the fight against child poverty in Europe

• Services of General Interest:
  • Contribution to consultation concerning the Green Paper on Services of General Interest : Contribution à la consultation concernant le Livre Vert sur les services d’intérêt général (.pdf, in French)

• Civil Dialogue:
  • Contribution to a Public Hearing on “Governance, Subsidiarity and Proportionality” - March 2001 : Gouvernance, subsidiarité, proportionnalité (.pdf, in French)

• Bringing together all citizens:
  • Inauguration of a commemorative stone in honour of the Victims of Poverty European Parliament, Brussels - 29 May 2002
  • European Parliament resolution on the United Nations World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty - 4 October 2001