End of June, more than 100 countries support the adoption of a resolution on extreme poverty and human rights at the UN Human Rights Council

The French mission to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has succeeded in bringing together over 100 countries to support a resolution extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

On 26th June 2014, France brought together over 100 countries in Geneva to support a resolution presented to the Human Rights Council with the aim of recognising the challenge posed by extreme poverty around the world and renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights for three more years.

The resolution also promotes the implementation of the Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, adopted in 2012 by the UN. ATD Fourth World considers that these Guiding Principles are particularly valuable because they underline the importance of prioritising the access of people living in poverty to all of their fundamental rights.

More than 100 countries supported the resolution, presented by France on behalf of a transnational Group of Friends composed of Albania, Belgium, Chile, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Romania and Senegal. The resolution was adopted by consensus.

By prolonging the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, the Council affirms its wish to better understand the relationship between human rights and extreme poverty, and its openness to recommendations that will help advance the fight against extreme poverty. The mandate holder is required to conduct thematic studies, carry out two country visits per year, and produce an annual report for the UN General Assembly setting out any advances and discoveries made. In recent years, the Special Rapporteur has played an essential role in guaranteeing that the voices of people living in poverty are heard in the UN and elsewhere.

The mandate is currently held by Philip Alston, Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-Chair of the law school’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. Alston has held a range of senior UN appointments for over two decades, including serving as Chair of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 1991 to 1998.

A copy of this ATD International’s press release is available for download.