Poverty is a Human Rights Issue

The question of whether poverty is a human rights issue is a controversial one. On the one hand, in development economics theory, poverty is defined as deprivation or a lack of income and has to be solved through economic growth. On the other hand, from the perspective of international human rights laws, poverty is first and foremost as a denial of fundamental rights and as such it’s a human rights crisis. However, in the final analysis and based on both my experience as a citizen of one the poorest countries in the world (the DR Congo) and development economics background, I believe that poverty is first a human rights phenomenon, not an economic one. To support my stance, I will first clarify the basic concepts of this essay, notably poverty and human rights. Second, I will rely on international human rights instruments to show how poverty fits into the human rights framework. Finally, I will outline the different ways in which a better understanding of poverty as a human rights phenomenon would assist the efforts of poverty reduction.

To begin with, poverty is generally defined as a lack of an adequate income to meet basic needs, especially food, but also shelter (housing), access to education, health care facilities and clean water. According to the World Bank, the minimum income required to afford the most pressing need (food) is US$ 1.25 per day, which is the international poverty line. People or households living below that poverty line are poor, accordingly. Based on this line, the World Bank estimates that more than one billion people worldwide are poor. Is this income-based treatment of poverty convincing? Not so because poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon. The list of basic needs enumerated in the definition above...

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...l or a government gift, but rather as fundamental human rights that must be fully enjoyed.

In conclusion, I have argued in this essay that poverty is unequivocally a human rights issue. A better understanding of the human rights frame as explained above is crucial to improving the lives of those trapped into poverty. Economic growth alone as advocate by economist cannot lead the anti-poverty campaign to success. The roles of international human rights advocate, local communities, development partners and national governments are so critical in promoting human rights and eradicating poverty, accordingly.

Works Cited

1. United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report-2011

2. Khan, I. (2009). The Unheard Truth. Poverty and Human Rights, published by Amnesty International

3. Transparency International, Corruption Perception Index, various reports