The United Nations

“ Poverty is a flagrant violation of human dignity and yet so difficult for legislation to cover. Learning from the poorest what these violations may entail in order constantly to improve on necessarily inadequate legislation - this is the object of becoming acquainted with extreme poverty in order to protect human rights. ”

“ After we have seen how human rights are violated by poverty, the question of indivisibility seems almost to be self-evident. It is obvious that poverty tortures the individual concerned both physically and spiritually, through the material and non-material conditions of his existence. It inspires him to resist in order to safeguard his dignity by all possible means. ”

“ When it is a question of putting fundamental rights into practice, the question "In your eyes, who am I?" becomes more relevant; are you ready to put this fraternity into practice, and have my hopes become your hopes? ”

“ The common experience shared by victims of human rights violations and men and women living in extreme poverty should make us appreciate how the poorest of the poor, in their situation of extreme dependence and weakness, strive to resist the destruction of their dignity and to be upholders of human rights, in their own situation and by their own means. ”

“ Human dignity is "untamable": the fact that it has its roots in the very essence of the human condition makes its codification difficult. One might be tempted to say that, by definition, it cannot be reduced to norms. It goes beyond human rights, once these have been defined, demarcated and contained in texts regulating human relations. The promotion of human rights can therefore take place in the international community only if awareness of them and their observance are nourished by a constantly-renewed identification of the demands of dignity, as the human environment evolves. ”

“ If a minimum content in the areas of economic, social and cultural rights were conceived as a group of fundamental rights simultaneously to be implemented whenever an individual, a family or a population group is threatened with poverty or social exclusion, so that they might be brought back into society with their heads held high, then such a minimum could be an instrument for promoting human rights. ”

“ The dignity of the individual can reach fulfilment only if it is revealed or confirmed by a partner. The endeavour to understand extreme poverty derives from the same relationship of partnership and fraternity. It reflects the desire of the non-poor to know and their refusal to be indifferent. We must therefore seek to understand the thinking of those who are afflicted by extreme poverty and to create the conditions in which they may freely express their thoughts. ”

“ Can one talk of guaranteeing basic rights when those rights vanish as soon as a person is at risk of extreme dependence? Communication with the very poor and a determination to associate them with the promotion of human rights, both in their conception and in their implementation and its monitoring is already to put into practice the spirit of human rights, as is, as we have seen, the determination to comprehend the process of impoverishment and extreme poverty ”

“ It is important to understand to what extent economic, social and cultural dependence constitutes an impediment to a person’s freedom as a citizen; there is no freedom of thought for the person who must get on well with present or putative creditors ("You have to be on good terms with everyone") ; and there is no freedom of expression or association for those who have to "maintain a low profile". ”

“ It remains the opinion of the Special Rapporteur that the question of extreme poverty should not be seen only as a social phenomenon requiring further study and analysis, but also as a problem which requires strong moral and political commitment aiming at eradication of poverty. Human rights norms provide a normative basis for such commitment and, indeed, it could be argued that human freedom calls for such a commitment. ”

“ The realization of human rights is not concerned only with economic, social and cultural rights. The experience of those most exposed to discrimination because of their extreme poverty clearly reveals the indivisibility of human rights. ”

“ He meant by this the torture of the daily concern not to dissatisfy those who have power over you; the torture of slum housing which destroys all family harmony; the torture of silence which forces the poor to let their minds wander in circles and to destroy themselves ”

“ As for minimum wage levels, the form of minimum entitlement most widely applied in Europe, they depend on the budgetary possibilities of the State and always tend rather to follow a logic of keeping to the minimum than of granting the means for future economic independence. As the beneficiaries put it, such wages enable one to survive but not to live. There is also the danger that people will remain tied to their particular status. In these circumstances it is difficult to establish a dynamic in which the rights lead on from one to the other and enable progress to be made ”

“ Careless or blind discrimination against those in a weak position leads to cessation of fraternity, crossing the boundary of the poverty areas of the world, beyond which people are "sunk", "trapped", as if they did not exist.
170. The process of impoverishment may thus be seen as a series of violations of fundamental rights at the conclusion of which those living in poverty are more liable to find themselves subject to the "restrictive clauses" that our international and national instruments allow, than to be recognized as defenders of human rights. ”

“ Creation of a soil in which human rights can be exercised is in itself a step towards realization of those rights
188.In seeking to understand extreme poverty we must therefore depict the daily courage of the most destitute, as a preface to any project for the promotion of human rights and to any development project, whatever its economic, political or cultural context. ”

“ Conversely, benefits of a purely economic, social or cultural nature (literacy, payment of a minimum wage, work, housing, etc.) if stingily granted to the very poor, cannot liberate their minds. Security of existence "at a reduced rate" or on a "second class" basis, as has been the case in a number of industrialized countries, neither serves to free the mind of material worries nor to "make a new start with one’s head held high". Too often, it only consolidates second-class citizenship in all respects. ”

“ Human dignity appeals to fraternity: Those concerned about human rights when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drawn up had comprehended that human dignity can prevail only in a spirit of fraternity; the concepts of the human family and the duty to behave towards others in a spirit of fraternity are inherent in human rights thinking. ”

“ Slowly, through assertion, here too, of their right to express themselves, to obtain an education and to work, joint achievement proves possible and this, for an entire milieu, including these families, breaks the spell of the fatality of poverty, experienced or tolerated. ”

“ Freedom of thought, of choice, of opinion, of commitment, all freedoms in fact disappear vis-à-vis anyone who controls the livelihood and existence of the very poor and their families, whether it be an employer, a local authority or an administration. ”

“ In several countries, particularly in Western Europe, the right has been established to a standard of living which will permit people to live in dignity and make efforts to become reintegrated into society. ”

“ The very poor are repeatedly told: "You’re a useless parasite and a nuisance to the community in which you live". Such remarks, when endlessly repeated, finally sow doubt in the minds of those to whom they are addressed and sap their strength. ”

“ During the discussions on the need for a more thorough knowledge of extreme poverty, many obstacles were identified: the heterogeneous nature of very poor populations, the lack of statistical data and the uncertainty as to the best methods of obtaining them, and the complexity of the causes of impoverishment. ”

“ It is related to the right to life in dignity, the right to lead a human existence that promises development. Existence is a term which opens on to the future;
(c) Family: For the poorest, success in living as a family determines the success of individual and professional life projects. This is why security of existence must as a matter of priority provide protection for the family unit and the means for its success, so as to prevent the failure in life of its members ”

“ Poverty is violence done on the bodies of the poorest whose only capital, as poor children, young people, women and men, is the physical strength they are obliged to live off from their earliest years (child labour, prostitution) , when they must use up their bodies, extract from them more strength than they possess (conditions of work and enforced idleness of the poorest men and women) in order to produce the necessary means of providing shelter and food and bringing up their families. ”

“ To take a current example: in the Europe of the Single Act what freedom of movement will the poorest citizens have, unless it is understood that foreign languages must be taught as a matter of priority in the poorest districts of Europe? ”

“ Already, in countries where attempts have been made in this direction, the beneficiaries feel that they are second-class citizens. They feel, for example, that their differently-coloured medical insurance form entitles them only to health on the cheap; that the housing reserved for them under this minimum concept in no way puts an end to spatial social segregation, that the jobs offered to them are work without any prospects or even worse, work which seems like a punishment for being poor. ”

“ Poverty, exclusion from society, or the denial of human rights to an individual or a group means that the chain of fraternity has been broken.
179.In a southern Sahara shanty town where everyone lives in privation, they say "those over there are the poor", referring to those who no longer have social relations and who also live apart. To be "poor" is to have no one to fall back on as a last resort when the risks of life have used up all one’s resources. ”

“ Is this not also a way of truncating the essence of an individual, his awareness of body and mind, in order to assert power over him? In this case it is not political power, but the power of those who decide what is good for the poor, often without taking their opinion into account. ”

“ Such a seminar should provide the opportunity for a broad exchange of views among experts with the relevant expertise in the use of social and economic indicators in different fields and should contribute to the strengthening of co-ordination among United Nations organs and agencies in that regard. ”

“ Joseph Wresinski, Journal Officiel de la République française, Avis et rapports du Conseil économique et social, annexe 1987 - No. 6, 28 February 1987.↑ 4/ Message carved in stone on the Parvis des Libertés et des Droits de l'Homme at the Trocadéro in Paris: "Là où des hommes sont condamnés à vivre dans la misère, les droits de l'homme sont violés. S'unir pour les faire respecter est un devoir sacré". ”