Dignity for all in practice is the umbrella theme of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty for 2022-2023
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Dignity for all in practice is the umbrella theme of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty for 2022-2023. The dignity of the human being is not only a fundamental right in itself but constitutes the basis of all other fundamental rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrined human dignity in its preamble:
‘Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’
“Dignity” is not an abstract concept: it belongs to each and every one. Today, many people living in persistent poverty experience their dignity being denied and disrespected. The ways in which the poorest people are treated are a measure of the respect in which human dignity is held in our societies.
Personal agency helps define a life in dignity, in which individuals have the freedom to make informed choices and to participate meaningfully in the decision-making processes that affect their lives.
With the commitment to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure all people everywhere enjoy peace and prosperity, the 2030 Agenda again gestured toward the same promise established under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet, the current reality shows that, in a world where we produce enough to feed everyone, 811 million people do not have enough food and 44 million are at risk of sliding into famine (source: WFP), 2 billion people still live without safe drinking water and 3.6 billion without safely managed sanitation (source: WHO and UNICEF). 1.3 billion people still live in multidimensional poverty (source: UNDP) with almost half of them children and youth.
Inequality of opportunities including access to key services, and gender inequality persist whilst income inequality is sharply on the rise and, each year, the gap between the rich and poor gets even wider. In the past year, as millions struggle through the erosion of workers’ rights and job quality to make it to another day, corporate power and the wealth of the billionaire class have recorded an unprecedented rise.
Poverty and inequality are not inevitable. They are the result of deliberate decisions or inaction that disempower the poorest and marginalized in our societies and violate their fundamental rights. The silent and sustained violence of poverty – social exclusion, structural discrimination and disempowerment – makes it harder for people trapped in extreme poverty to escape and denies their humanity.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this dynamic, exposing social protection system gaps and failures as well as structural inequalities and diverse forms of discrimination that deepen and perpetuate poverty.
In addition to this, the climate emergency constitutes new violence against people living in poverty, as these communities are unduly burdened by more frequent occurrences of natural disasters and environmental degradation, leading to the destruction of their homes, crops and livelihoods.
“The destruction of the environment, ecosystem and biodiversity makes families living in poverty suffer more than anyone else.” (Christian, Activist for social and environmental justice, DRC).
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty and the 30th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This Day honors the millions of people suffering from poverty and their daily courage and recognizes the essential global solidarity and shared responsibility we hold to eradicate poverty and combat all forms of discrimination. The 2023 mid-term review of the SDGs presents an opportunity for governments to end the violence being wrought on the planet and the poorest, and correct structural inequalities and discrimination that perpetuate poverty and oppression and hinder progress. Ref: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Poverty
Editor-in-Chief: Monica Uduku
