Governments and international financial institutions should make a commitment to create social security systems that enable everyone to realize their rights, 43 human rights and economic justice organizations said today. Governments and financial institutions should end policies that have been failing millions of people.
The groups sent a joint statement to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in advance of the 2023 annual meetings of both institutions in Marrakesh, Morocco, from October 9 to 15, 2023. The groups will hold an online meeting on October 4 to explain their call for change. Experts and activists will provide testimonies from Argentina, Chile, Uganda, and Sri Lanka.
“Amid mounting poverty and soaring inequality, where millions grapple daily to realize their economic, social and cultural rights, we cannot afford to maintain social security approaches that have been shown to fail rights,” said Tirana Hassan, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. “Governments and international financial institutions have an opportunity to course-correct and adopt a rights-aligned approach to social security that sets the tone and leads the way toward more just societies and economies.”
Social security is one of the cornerstones of human rights, sustainable economies, and just societies. It is enshrined in numerous legally binding international treaties and is provided through a set of public policies and programs often known as social protection. These programs ensure income security throughout an individual's life, offering support during life events such as childbirth, old age, illness, disability, unemployment, and circumstances such as climate disasters that elevate the risk of income insecurity, such as the earthquake that recently shook Morocco.
“The right to social protection for all is enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and yet, 75 years later, global social protection falls shamefully short, with more than half of the global population lacking basic coverage, violating human rights,” said Luc Triangle, Acting General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation. Triangle said:
The international financial institutions bear immense responsibility for achieving universal social protection, but it's imperative to shift away from an outdated economic model that often endorses austerity measures. The workers’ call is clear: scaling up social protection financing, an investment for societies which dramatically reduces inequalities while boosting employment, skills, productivity, demand for goods and services, and overall GDP growth.
Many governments rely on social security programs that are means-tested, in which eligibility hinges on income, assets, or narrow poverty indicators. Research shows that these programs are often ineffective because of high error rates, corruption, and social mistrust. Focusing only on people in poverty or extreme poverty also excludes large segments of the population, including those who are not officially considered poor but are far from experiencing economic stability.
“This campaign shows that there are more and more civil society organizations who sees through the statement that ‘poverty-targeting is pro-poor’. In fact, universality is pro-poor, in line with human rights and a key strategy to promote social justice,” said Henrik Fröjmark, Policy Director of Act Church of Sweden.
Stephen Kidd, CEO of Development Pathways, said:
The push by international financial institutions to promote poverty-targeted social assistance schemes–following the poor relief model used by Europe in the 19th century– across lower-income countries has meant that the vast majority of those living on low incomes have been excluded from social security, while national social contracts have been undermined as a result of citizens losing trust in their governments. It’s time that the international financial institutions got behind a modern system of universal life cycle social security system that ensures that everyone can receive protection from childhood to old age and, importantly, helps rebuild trust in government, democracy and strong social contracts.
For decades, the World Bank and the IMF have promoted this flawed approach, the groups said. They have failed to consider social security as a right and that it contributes to building fairer and more stable societies, and not just charity. This has contributed to a global reality in which 53 percent of people lack any form of social security, and whereas instability, social defiance, and polarization are growing and the needs for resilience are greater than ever in the face of the climate crisis.
“On the African continent we have witnessed the dire impact of failing to prioritize social protection resulting in inequality, rising poverty, children dropping out of school and unnecessary deaths,” said Angella Nabwowe, Ag. Executive Director of the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights. Nabwowe said:
Governments must seize this moment to rethink current approaches to social protection that have excluded large segments of the population through targeting and must holistically invest in social protection. The World Bank/IMF and other funders must desist from promoting austerity and poverty targeting, all of which reduce the ability of our governments to adequately finance social protection and prioritize public services, including social protection.
Recent reforms in some countries have also eroded the right to social security, leading to reduced coverage and benefits. In some countries, these changes, supported by the World Bank or IMF, involved cuts to employer contributions or reduced benefits for the majority in the public system. Additionally, privatization of social insurance in some places has worsened poverty and inequality, disproportionately affecting women and older people.
Dr. Maria Ron Balsera, Director of Program at the Center for Economic and Social Rights, said:
The current polycrisis should trigger a shift to a rights-based economy which includes promoting the right to social security for all, supported by the framework of values and obligations of human rights. A rights-based economy demands action to redistribute resources, remedy inequalities, and rebalance power in our economies.
The groups strongly urge the IMF and the World Bank, pivotal actors in financing and shaping social security policies in low- and middle-income countries, to take four measures that could improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people:
Commit to Realizing the Right to Social Security: Support countries’ efforts to realize the right to social security by establishing or strengthening rights-aligned universal social protection systems, beginning with social protection floors.
End Poverty-Targeted Programs: In countries without universal coverage, stop developing new poverty-targeted programs, and phase out existing ones, replacing them with universal alternatives.
Support Equitable and Sustainable Public Systems: The IMF and the World Bank should support equitable and sustainable public social security systems adhering to international standards. This includes adequate employer contributions and income security.
Cease Austerity Measures: The IMF should halt austerity policies that threaten rights and refrain from promoting social spending trade-offs. Investments in health, education, and social security should, at a minimum, meet international benchmarks as a percentage of GDP and national budgets.
“It is high time that governments, the World Bank, and the IMF acted to make universal social protection a reality,” said Marta Schaaf, the climate, economic and social justice, and corporate accountability director at Amnesty International. Schaaf said:
The extraordinary combination of political, economic and climate crises is battering the lives and livelihoods of billions of people who have little or no access to social protection measures. Investing in universal social protection can provide security and dignity, and fulfill the right to social security for all. Protecting people against personal losses or losses due to shocks, from disasters or economic reversals, can be transformational, enabling children to stay in education, improving health care, reducing poverty and income inequality.
“We demand a full restructuring and change in social protection policies,” said Shereen Talat, MenaFem Movement for Economic, Development and Ecological Justice director. “We reject incremental reforms and call for a transformation of the global system. Genuine social protection means empowering the marginalized, eradicating poverty, and ensuring ecological justice. Anything less than this will be undermining the global crisis and perpetuation of injustice."
Signatories to the joint statement:
Act Church of Sweden
Amnesty International
Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND)
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Association For Promotion Sustainable Development
Bretton Woods Project
Building Blocks for Peace Foundation
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for Economic and Social Rights
Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice
CeSSRA - Centre for Social Sciences Research & Action
Colombo Urban Lab, Sri Lanka
Community Legal Education Center
Development Pathways
Elibariki Msengi
Forum for Wildlife and Environment Preserve (FOWEP)
Free Trade Union Development Center
Friend of the Disabled Association
Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF)
Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)
Global Redistribution Advocates
Global Social Justice (GSJ)
Global Social Justice Brussels
Human Dignity
Human Rights Watch
Initiative for Right View (IRV)
Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER)
Institute for Economic Justice
International Trade Union Confederation - ITUC
JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF)
Kikandwa Environmental Association
Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
Madhira Institute
MenaFemMovement For Economic, Development and Ecological Justice
National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal
Oxfam International
Phenix Center
PRO Global/Pensioners without Borders
RAISE - Research & Action for Income Security
Social Policy Initiative
The Policy Initiative, Lebanon
The General Confederation of Labour, CGT Argentina
Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)
I am speaking on behalf of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, which counts over 120 Civil Society and Trade Union organizations world-wide.
We are delighted that this report on inequality, social protection and the right to development recommends the establishment of a global fund for social protection.
We are indeed convinced that
low-income countries need international support for financing rights-based social protection systems;
social protection programmes should be nationally owned and not necessarily follow Western models;
people living in poverty need to participate in the design and monitoring of pilot projects and programmes to extend social protection, in order to ensure that they correspond to the reality of their lives.
We call upon all governments to address deepening inequalities within and among States by establishing universal social protection systems as a fundamental human right understood through the principle of equality of opportunity for development -. on a personal as well as a national level.
We urge the international community, in particular all members of the Global Partnership for Universal Social Protection (USP2030), to support such efforts.
Item 3 Interactive dialogue with the expert mechanism on the right to development Human Rights Council, 20 September 2023
The session “Social Justice: Social Protection and Health, People’s Vaccine” coorganized by GCSPF, GCAP Asia, GCAP Africa, PVA and Africa Japan Forum was held during the Global People’s Assembly (GPA) 2023 on 17th September at the UN Church Centre.
The GPA 2023 was held on September in New York – at the UN SDG Summit and the UN General Assembly. The GPA brought together people’s representatives together and creates a strong voice at the SDG Summit for the midpoint of Agenda 2030. Read the 2023 Declaration.
In July 2023, the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) and #PayTheGrants (#PTG), through their lawyers at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI), filed court papers challenging regulations that unlawfully and unconstitutionally exclude millions of people living in poverty in South Africa from receiving the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. The papers filed in the North Gauteng High Court include 79 supporting affidavits from people directly impacted by these regulations. The respondents named in the case are the Minister for Social Development, and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). Read more
Extending social protection coverage is recognized as a priority in a number of ASEAN Declarations, however, public expenditure on social protection is low in the many ASEAN Member States, considerably below the average level in the Asia-Pacific region. ASEAN also remains state-centric and lacks resonance with the region’s citizens. A bigger issue is how non-state actors can carve bigger space and effect these policies more substantively.
Collectively organized by AROSP, ASEC, HNSEA, AMRC, AFWA, INSP!R, MFA, WIEGO, KPRI, INFID, BMC, CLEC, ETOs, F2BM, TEAM9, APSD, TF-AMW, YBS, LIPS
You are invited to join ACSC/APF2023 CS5 Workshops on 1 and 2 September 2023 via face to face at the Atma Jaya University, Jakarta and through Zoom. For online participants, register here
The Global People’s Assembly (GPA) 2023 will be on 17 (Sunday) and 18 September (Monday) in New York – at the UN SDG Summit and the UN General Assembly. The GPA brings people’s representatives together and creates a strong voice at the SDG Summit for the midpoint of Agenda 2030. The assembly will be in-person in the Church Centre of the UN. Participants can also join online. Register here - Read more
The hybrid session “Social Justice: Social Protection and Health, People’s Vaccine” coorganized by GCSPF, GCAP Asia, GCAP Africa, PVA and Africa Japan Forum will be held during the GPA 2023 on 17th September at the UN Church Centre from 11.15 am to 12.45 pm New York time. Register hereRead more
This guide, published by ITUC and ITUC Africa, provides an analysis of the Protocol on Social Protection and Social Security, developed by the African Union Commission and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), with the support of ITUC Africa and other civil society actors. It also contains information on various strategies that trade unions, in collaboration with other CSOs, can employ to support the ratification process. The guide is available in English and French. Read more
The idea of a global fund for social protection has taken hold over the last decade as a potential solution to structural gaps in the global financial and development architectures.
Based on a study produced by a team of researchers, led by Professor Nicola Yeates at the Open University in the UK, and published by the ILO, this webinar aims to present experiences of setting up global funds across the health, climate and agriculture sectors and the lessons to be learnt from them that can guide further thinking about the implementation of a prospective global fund for social protection.
Webinar 26 October, 2023 - 14:00 - GMT+2 / CEST Read more
Experts unanimously emphasized the necessity of developing effective and sustainable insurance tools to include informal workers in Jordan’s social protection system, allowing them to benefit from the coverage provided by the Social Security Corporation.
This consensus emerged during a dialogue session held by Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) on Tuesday 15 August 2023. Read more
In the study "Inequality, social protection and the right to development" (A/HRC/54/83), the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development examines inequality within and among States through the framework of the right to development. It considers the political economy of development and explores capacities to enhance universal and comprehensive social protection systems.
In assessing inequality-reduction policies and social protection systems, the Expert Mechanism identifies global good practices and practices that are exclusionary or restrictive. It places social protection systems within the context of State obligations, international cooperation and global partnerships, as outlined in the Declaration on the Right to Development, and the new social contract, as outlined in the Secretary-General’s report entitled “Our Common Agenda”.
To conclude, the Expert Mechanism offers recommendations to States and other stakeholders to address deepening inequalities within and among States by establishing universal social protection systems as a fundamental human right understood through the principle of equality of opportunity for development. Read more
The Global People’s Assembly 2023 (GPA) will be on 17 (Sunday) and 18 September (Monday) in New York – at the UN SDG Summit and the UN General Assembly. The assembly will be hybrid - in-person in the Church Centre of the UN (opposite the UN) and participants can also join online.
The aim of the GPA is to bring people’s representatives together and create a strong voice at the SDG Summit for the midpoint of Agenda 2030. One of the priorities of the Global Assembly is to promote the right of all to universal social protection.
The GCSPF is coorganizer of the Global People's Assembly 2023. Sylvia Beales Gelber is also part of the drafting committee for the Declaration which will be no more than two pages and will be finalised on Sunday 17th and shared with the Secretary General of the UN at the start of the Summit.
The Global Coalition together with Africa Japan Forum, the People’s Vaccine, GCAP Africa and GCAP Asia is coorganizing the first session which is “Social Justice: Social Protection and Health, People’s Vaccine” that will take place on Sunday 17th, 2023 from 11.15 am - 12.45 pm New York time (If you will join us online you can confirm your local time here).
The objective of this session will be to articulate the key barriers and solutions to universal health coverage, social protection and achieving social justice for all with key asks to be included in the Declaration and to form the basis of a campaign plan.
Videos and messages will be shared in the session. We want the session to be as interactive as possible. We would really appreciate your in person presence for this in New York and for you to come to the session on line. As we will be developing key messages in the session as well as a campaign plan we therefore invite you to share your videos and messages. Please contact Sylvia (sylvia.bealesgelber AT gmail.com) to coordinate your contribution to this session.
This publication by Markus Kaltenborn, member of the Global Coalition, on the relevance of social protection systems for the adaption to climate change has been submitted to the Transitional Committee (TC) whose task is to prepare the COP28. Read more
A month of free learning sessions, featuring experienced speakers teaching about how international
financial institutions (IFIs) impact women’s rights, plus advocacy and mobilizing tactics to rise up against them.
The summer school is free to any activist, scholar and advocate interested in learning about economic justice
and IFI influencing – especially women’s rights groups!
The Gender IFI collective, a group of economic justice, women’s rights and IFI advocacy groups. Read more
Public sector trade unions have welcomed an announcement from the Philippines Government that recently approved social protection floors (SPFs) will cover precarious public services workers including community health workers, known as barangay health workers (BHWs). Read more
The Phenix Center for Economics and Informatics Studies held a panel discussion on improving working conditions for digital labor platform workers in Jordan and around the world. The panel discussion featured renowned experts from the global team of the Fairwork project, alongside experts from Jordan and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It looked into the role of digital labor platforms in the global economy, and overviewed strategies to promote sustainable and fair work environments in the MENA region and around the world. Experts also provided insights on how to best address pressing labor issues within the sector, including the inclusion of platform workers in social security schemes, and improving the “weak” regulatory framework of the sector. Read more
Lessons from relief for comprehensive social protection This paper by Laura Alfers and Florian Juergens-Grant considers the implications of COVID-19 relief measures for the building and extension of comprehensive and universal social protection systems. It highlights three key areas emerging from the crisis, which are likely to affect the shape of social protection systems moving forward.
These include the contested meaning of universality, the digitization of social protection systems, and the possibilities for informal worker participation in building a more inclusive social protection. In doing so the paper argues that the terrain of the social protection debate is shifting—it is increasingly uncontroversial that universal social protection is needed and that the state must play a role. Read more
The right to health ranked first among fundamental rights these past few years after COVID-19 caused severe economic and social repercussions worldwide. These repercussions affected the right to work and education. They highlighted the core deficiencies of health, education, and social protection systems and governments' inability to provide for their citizens basic services that are proper and fair. Hence, The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) took a significant interest in the right to health, adopting it as the topic for the 6th edition of its Arab Watch Report in an attempt to critically analyze health policies, or rather health systems, in both their institutional and structural dimensions on the one hand and their policy dimensions on the other. Read more
Podcast. International labour standards - Conventions, Recommendations and Protocols - are at the heart of the ILO’s mandate. They play an essential role in creating a level playing field for business and combatting the exploitation of workers. But the global economy is changing faster than ever, and changes in technology, migration and demographics are constantly creating new challenges for regulators. In addition, different countries, with different levels of development, economic systems and cultures, have a wide range of priorities and requirements. So how are international labour standards created and kept fit for purpose. What topics might they need to address next? Listen to the podcast
A centrepiece of this year’s International Labour Conference (ILC) at the ILO was the World of Work Summit: Social Justice for All, led by the ILO Director General Gilbert F. Houngbo, where governments, as well as union and employer representatives, expressed strong support to establish a Global Coalition for Social Justice. Read more
This question-and-answer document by Development Pathways and Human Rights Watch examines the human right to social security, and how universal social security can help protect people from economic shocks and other emerging threats, including climate-related hazards, while building just societies where all rights are realized. It also explains why policymakers should orient their policies toward establishing universal social security systems and avoid narrowly means-tested programs. Read more
Eight Organizations of People with Disabilities (OPDs) in Lebanon, in partnership with the ILO, joined forces to call on national and international, governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to proactively involve OPDs in policymaking and programming related to Social Protection. Read more
The report by Human Rights Watch details how an algorithm developed by the Jordanian government and the World Bank profiles and ranks the income and well-being of Jordanian families to determine who should receive cash assistance. The research funds that this form of algorithmic decision-making is depriving many people of their right to social security even as they go hungry, fall behind on rent, and take on crippling debt. Despite the exclusionary effects of this approach, the World Bank is financing similarly automated systems in seven other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Sixty countries in total have adopted this technology, in part because of the Bank’s promotion of poverty targeting. Read more
Amnesty International is today calling for social security to be made available to everyone worldwide after a series of crises exposed huge gaps in state support and protection systems, leaving hundreds of millions facing hunger or trapped in a cycle of poverty and deprivation.
To guarantee the right to social security, Amnesty International supports the establishment of an internationally administered Global Fund for Social Protection, a concept supported by UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, the UN Secretary-General and the ILO.
The creation of a fund would offer states technical and financial support to provide social security and would aim to build the capacity of national social protection systems to scale up their responses in times of crisis. Read more
By Sarina D. Kidd
This working paper highlights how the international financial institutions (IFIs) shape social security policy in the MENA region.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are two of the most significant IFIs in the MENA region. They have played a critical role in influencing social security policy. Read more
As part of the Human Rights 75 Initiative, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has launched a call for submissions for short stories on social protection.
How has your life, or the lives of those you know, been positively changed by social security laws, policies, measures or practices? Share your experience and be part of our Short Stories on Social Protection call!
Send a brief description by 31 July 2023 to ohchr-socialprotectionHR75@un.org. Your contribution, if selected, will be included as part of the Human Rights 75 spotlight in September. Read more
The International symposium "Improving synergies between social protection & public finance management" co-hosted by the ILO, UNICEF, the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, and the European Union brought together policymakers, social partners, civil society, and development partners from 24 countries to discuss innovative practices and strategies for building sustainable and rights-based social protection.
Many members of the GCSPF participated in the Symposium online, whereas Uzziel Twagilimana (WSM) and Beatrice Di Padua (ITUC) attended physically. As representatives of the GCSPF, Uzziel Twagilimana moderated the Opening and Panel 1: “Extending social protection to all” and Beatrice di Padua spoke at Panel 5: “Joining forces for universal and sustainable social protection and closing remarks”. Read more
Virtual event at the HLPF. The Age-Friendly Cities approach offers a framework to provide adequate and affordable housing, basic services as well as to upgrade slums. Spearheaded by the World Health Organization, approximately 1500 cities and communities already use these principles. The right to live in safety and dignity is at the heart of Age-Friendly Cities.
July 13, 2023 - 13 - 14:30 NY Time. Register here. Read more
This hybrid event at the HLPF will address the role of consciousness in establishing our post pandemic world and in SDG fulfillment with expert speakers and interactive processes that will explore actionable operationalization of the emergent unitive perspective.
Friday, July 14, 11:30am-12:30pm EDT Register here
Virtual event at the HLPF Halfway there, nowhere near in the ECE Region. Taking stock at the mid-term of the 2030 Agenda.
July 17, 2023 - 8 - 9:30 am EST. Register here
Austerity has made millions vulnerable. How can we fund social protection? Listen to international experts in this webinar.
Date: 13 July, Thursday - Time: 11am CET
Speakers: Isabel Ortiz (Director, Global Social Justice Program at Joseph Stiglitz's Initiative for Policy Dialogue) and Professor Ravi Srivastava (Director center for Employment IHD, Delhi) and Rekson Silaban (Employment BPJS Supervisory Board, Indonesia)
Moderators: Tabitha Spence and Chandan Kumar - Organized by AEPF Social Justice cluster Register here
As part of the Human Rights 75 Initiative, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has launched a call for submissions for short stories on social protection.
How has your life, or the lives of those you know, been positively changed by social security laws, policies, measures or practices? Share your experience and be part of our Short Stories on Social Protection call!
Send a brief description by 31 July 2023 to ohchr-socialprotectionHR75@un.org. Your contribution, if selected, will be included as part of the Human Rights 75 spotlight in September. Read more
The International Symposium on Improving Synergies between Social Protection and Public Finance Management, convened by the ILO, UNICEF, the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) and the European Union, brought together policymakers, social partners, civil society, and development partners to discuss the innovative practices and strategies for building sustainable and rights-based social protection systems resulting from the Social Protection & Public Finance Management Programme (SP&PFM).
Launched in 2019, the EU-funded Programme on 'Improving synergies between social protection and public finance management' (SP&PFM Programme) supports 24 countries in achieving gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, and shock-responsive social protection. It also contributes to strengthening the sustainability of social protection financing through advocacy and technical work for increased fiscal space and improved public finance management.
The international symposium reviewed achievements, exchanged country experiences and innovations, and highlighted key research findings. It also looked ahead to how countries can maintain their momentum towards realizing universal social protection.
Information about the “International Symposium on Improving Synergies between Social Protection and Public Finance Management” is available here. The International Symposium was held in Geneva on 27 - 28 June, 2023.
The “Global Forum on Adaptive Social Protection. Protecting lives and livelihoods in times of crisis” provided an opportunity for policymakers, practitioners and social protection experts to jointly examine and discuss the scope and potential of Adaptive Social Protection (ASP) to foster resilience and promote adaptation.
The “Global Forum on Adaptive Social Protection” was hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the World Bank (WB) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in cooperation with partners and with support from socialprotection.org. The Global Forum took place in Berlin from 13 to 15 June 2023. Further information is available here.
Civil Society Call for a Global Fund for Social Protection
Over 200 civil society organizations and trade unions unite to call for a Global Fund for Social Protection to protect the most vulnerable during COVID-19 and beyond.
The programme Improving Synergies Between Social Protection and Public Finance Management provides medium-term support to multiple countries aiming to strengthen their social protection systems at a national level and ensure sustainable financing. The programme aims to support countries in their efforts towards achieving universal social protection coverage.
This initiative is implemented jointly by the ILO, Unicef, and the GCSPF.
