Contents

Preface 

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations 

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE DRAFT GUIDELINES
BACKGROUND
HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH TO POVERTY REDUCTION
ADDED VALUE PROVIDED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH TO POVERTY REDUCTION 
EXPLANATORY REMARKS ON THE GUIDELINES
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

CHAPTER 2: THE GUIDELINES

I The Process of Formulating Poverty Reduction Strategies in the Human Rights Approach

Guideline 1: Identification of the Poor
Guideline 2: National and International Human Rights Framework
Guideline 3: Equality and Non-Discrimination 
Guideline 4: Progressive Realization of Human Rights; Indicators and Benchmarks
Guideline 5: Participation and Empowerment 

II: Content of Poverty Reduction Strategies in the Human Rights Approach

A. The National Level

Guideline 6: Right to Adequate Food
Guideline 7: Right to Health
Guideline 8: Right to Education
Guideline 9: Right to Decent Work 
Guideline 10: Right to Adequate Housing
Guideline 11: Right to Personal Security
Guideline 12: Right to Appear in Public without Shame 
Guideline 13: Right of Equal Access to Justice
Guideline 14: Political Rights and Freedoms
 

B: The International Level

Guideline 15: Right to International Assistance and Cooperation 

III. Monitoring and Accountability: The Requirements of a Human Rights Approach

Guideline 16: Principles of Monitoring and Accountability
Guideline 17: Monitoring and Accountability of States 
Guideline 18: Monitoring and Accountability of Global Actors

 

 BACKGROUND

1.  Since the reforms introduced by the United Nations Secretary-General in 1997, a major task for the United Nations, and in particular for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has been to integrate human rights into the whole of the Organization's work, including the overarching development goal of poverty eradication. In 2001 the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requested the Office of the High Commissioner "to develop substantive guidelines for the integration of human rights in national poverty reduction strategies". The present document is the outcome of that request. 

2.  Its objective is to provide practitioners involved in the design and implementation of poverty reduction strategies (PRS) with operational guidelines for the adoption of a human rights approach to poverty reduction. As it is widely accepted that poverty reduction strategies must be “country-owned”, the project focuses on the preparation of operational guidelines for States that are integrating human rights into their poverty reduction strategies. However, it is hoped that the guidelines will also be of use to other actors – civil society organizations, national human rights institutions, the United Nations system and other international organizations – that are committed to the eradication of poverty. 

 HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH TO POVERTY REDUCTION

3.  The essential idea underlying the adoption of a human rights approach to poverty reduction is that policies and institutions for poverty reduction should be based explicitly on the norms and values set out in the international law of human rights. Whether explicit or implicit, norms and values shape policies and institutions. The human rights approach offers an explicit normative framework – that of international human rights. Underpinned by universally recognized moral values and reinforced by legal obligations, international human rights provide a compelling normative framework for the formulation of national and international policies, including poverty reduction strategies. 

4.  One reason why this framework is compelling in the context of poverty reduction is that the norms and values enshrined in it have the potential to empower the poor. It is now widely recognized that effective poverty reduction is not possible without empowerment of the poor. The human rights approach to poverty reduction is essentially about such empowerment. 

5.  The most fundamental way in which empowerment occurs is through the introduction of the concept of rights itself. Once this concept is introduced into the context of policy-making, the rationale of poverty reduction no longer derives merely from the fact that the poor have needs but also from the fact that they have rights – entitlements that give rise to legal obligations on the part of others. Poverty reduction then becomes more than charity, more than a moral obligation – it becomes a legal obligation. This recognition of the existence of legal entitlements of the poor and legal obligations of others towards them is the first step towards empowerment. 

6.  The obligations deriving from rights may be analysed by reference to the duties to respect, protect and fulfil. The duty to respect requires the duty-bearer not to breach directly or indirectly the enjoyment of any human right. The duty to protect requires the duty-bearer to take measures that prevent third parties from abusing the right. The duty to fulfil requires the duty-bearer to adopt appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures towards the full realization of human rights. 

7.  Most of the salient features of the human rights normative framework can contribute to the empowerment of the poor in one way or another. These features include the notion of accountability, the principles of universality, non-discrimination and equality, the principle of participatory decision-making processes, and recognition of the interdependence of rights. They are all essential characteristics of a human rights approach to poverty reduction. 

8.   Rights and obligations demand accountability: unless supported by a system of accountability, they may become little more than window-dressing. Accordingly, the human rights approach to poverty reduction emphasizes obligations and requires that all duty-holders, including States and intergovernmental organizations, be held to account for their conduct in relation to international human rights. While duty-holders must determine for themselves which mechanisms of accountability are most appropriate in their particular case, all mechanisms must be accessible, transparent and effective. 

9.  The twin principles of equality and non-discrimination are among the most fundamental elements of international human rights law. It follows that the international human rights normative framework has a particular preoccupation with individuals and groups who are vulnerable, marginal, disadvantaged or socially excluded. Thus, the human rights approach to poverty reduction requires that laws and institutions that foster discrimination against specific individuals and groups be eliminated and more resources devoted to areas of activity with the greatest potential to benefit the poor. 

10. A human rights approach to poverty reduction also requires active and informed participation by the poor in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of poverty reduction strategies. The international human rights normative framework includes the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs. This is a crucial and complex human right that is inextricably linked to fundamental democratic principles. A democratic social order based on constitutionalism and free and fair elections is an essential prerequisite for enjoyment of this right. However, effective participation by the poor requires more than a functioning democracy. It calls for specific mechanisms and detailed arrangements at different levels of decision-making that help to overcome the impediments that the poor, and marginalized groups in general, face in playing an effective part in the life of the community. 

11. The international human rights framework recognizes the interdependence of rights – the fact that the enjoyment of some rights may be dependent on or contribute to the enjoyment of others. For example, if the poor are to enjoy the right to participate in poverty reduction strategies, they must be free to organize without restriction (right of association), to meet without impediment (right of assembly), and to say what they want without intimidation (freedom of expression); they must know the relevant facts (right to information) and they must enjoy an elementary level of economic security and well-being (right to a reasonable standard of living and associated rights). 

12. More generally, the human rights framework reflects the crucial interdependence of economic, social and cultural rights, on the one hand, and civil and political rights, on the other. Although poverty may seem to concern mainly the former category of rights, the human rights framework highlights the fact that the enjoyment of these rights may be crucially dependent on enjoyment of the latter category. A human rights approach to poverty reduction is thus holistic in nature, encompassing civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. 

13. Yet another feature of the human rights approach is that responsibility for poverty reduction becomes a universal obligation. While a State is primarily responsible for realizing the human rights of the people living within its jurisdiction, other States and non-State actors are also obliged to contribute to, or at the very least not to violate, human rights. This has important implications for the conduct of international affairs. It calls for an adequate flow of financial and technical assistance from the rich to the poor countries and for active efforts to establish equitable systems of multilateral trade, investment and finance that are conducive to poverty reduction. 

14. While the human rights approach imposes an obligation on duty-holders to work towards poverty reduction, it does not make the unreasonable demand that all human rights must be realized immediately. In recognition of resource constraints, it allows, if necessary, for progressive realization of rights over a period of time and for the setting of priorities among rights in the course of progressive realization. At the same time, however, the approach imposes certain conditions on the conduct of progressive realization and on the act of prioritization so that the human rights agenda does not degenerate into mere rhetoric. For example, the human rights approach demands that minimum essential levels of all rights – or core obligations – should always be respected. 

15. Contrary to yet another common perception, the non-fulfilment of human rights does not necessarily mean that a State is in non-compliance with its international human rights obligations. Provided that it is taking all reasonable measures towards realizing rights that are subject to progressive realization and taking immediate steps to fulfil those meant to be fulfilled without delay, the State cannot be held responsible for the fact that many rights remain unfulfilled at any point in time and hence cannot be said to be in non-compliance with its obligations. It can, however, be held responsible for not taking all measures within its power to ensure progressive realization of rights as expeditiously as possible. To help distinguish cases in which the State should be held responsible from those in which it should not is one of the functions of a proper monitoring and accountability system, which is an essential feature of the human rights approach.[4]

ADDED VALUE PROVIDED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH TO POVERTY REDUCTION 

16. Some poverty reduction strategies already have features that reflect international human rights norms. For example, the emphasis placed on civil society participation in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper approach advocated by the World Bank and the IMF reflects the right of individuals to take part in the conduct of public affairs, as well as the related rights of association, assembly and expression. The introduction of social safety nets resonates with the rights to a reasonable standard of living, food, housing, health protection, education and social security. Anti-poverty strategies that demand transparent budgetary and other governmental processes are consistent with the right to information, while the insistence that strategies are “country-owned” corresponds to the right of peoples to self-determination. 

17. This congruence between features of existing poverty reduction strategies and the international human rights framework gives rise to two important points. First, the departure represented by the introduction of a rights-based approach to poverty reduction should not be overstated. Second, the application of human rights to poverty reduction reinforces some of the existing features of anti-poverty strategies. The value added by the human rights approach to poverty reduction consists both in the manner in which it departs from existing strategies and in the manner in which it reinforces them. The major elements of this process may be enumerated as follows. 

18. By introducing the dimension of an international legal obligation, the human rights perspective adds legitimacy to the demand for making poverty reduction the primary goal of policy-making. The last decade has witnessed a move towards poverty reduction as the focus of international cooperation as well as of national policy-making. The human rights perspective adds strength to this movement by drawing attention to the fact that poverty signifies non-realization of human rights so that the adoption of a poverty reduction strategy is therefore not just desirable but obligatory on the part of States that have ratified international human rights instruments. 

19. Recognition of the principles of equality and non-discrimination, which is a central premise of the human rights approach, helps to highlight the fact that a great deal of poverty originates from discriminatory practices – both overt and covert – at the international, national and local levels. This recognition calls for the reorientation of poverty reduction strategies from a tendency to focus on narrow economic issues towards a broader strategy that also addresses socio-cultural and political-legal institutions that sustain the structures of discrimination. 

20. Recognition of complementarities between civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights, on the other, adds impetus to the process of strengthening and broadening the scope of poverty reduction strategies. In particular, it helps dispel the misconception that civil and political rights and freedoms are luxuries and relevant only to relatively affluent societies. Accordingly, the human rights approach demands that measures be taken to ensure civil and political rights are integral components of poverty reduction strategies. 

21. Unlike old-style approaches to poverty reduction, the human rights approach attaches as much importance to the processes whereby developmental goals are achieved as to the goals themselves. In particular, it emphasizes the importance of ensuring people’s participation, especially participation by the poor and otherwise marginalized groups, in all aspects of decision-making. The importance of participation is being increasingly recognized. The human rights approach reinforces this recognition by drawing attention to the fact that participation is valuable not just as a means to other ends but also as a fundamental human right that should be realized for its own sake. 

22. Making trade-offs among alternative goals in the light of social priorities and resource constraints is an integral part of any approach to policy-making. The human rights approach is no exception, but it offers the poor better protection by ruling out certain kinds of trade-offs that are potentially harmful to them. In particular, it rules out any trade-off that leads to retrogression of a human right from its existing level of realization or to non-achievement of certain minimum levels of realization that have been identified as core obligations. 

23. Perhaps the most important source of added value in the human rights approach is the emphasis it places on the accountability of policy-makers and other actors whose actions have an impact on the rights of people. Rights imply duties, and duties demand accountability. It is therefore an intrinsic feature of the human rights approach that institutions and legal/administrative arrangements for ensuring accountability are built into any poverty reduction strategy. 

24. In sum, the human rights approach has the potential to advance the goal of poverty reduction in a variety of ways: (a) by urging speedy adoption of a poverty reduction strategy, underpinned by human rights, as a matter of legal obligation; (b) by broadening the scope of poverty reduction strategies so as to address the structures of discrimination that generate and sustain poverty; (c) by urging the expansion of civil and political rights, which can play a crucial instrumental role in advancing the cause of poverty reduction; (d) by confirming that economic, social and cultural rights are binding international human rights, not just programmatic aspirations; (e) by adding legitimacy to the demand for ensuring meaningful participation of the poor in decision-making processes; (f) by cautioning against retrogression and non-fulfilment of minimum core obligations in the name of making trade-offs; and (g) by creating and strengthening the institutions through which policy-makers can be held accountable for their actions. 

 EXPLANATORY REMARKS ON THE GUIDELINES

25. The word “guideline” is understood differently by different people and institutions. The set of Guidelines presented here should be seen as elaborating and clarifying certain principles that should guide the process of formulating, implementing and monitoring a poverty reduction strategy if it is to be consistent with a human rights approach. The expectation is that once the principles are understood, the actors involved in poverty reduction will be able to implement them in practice, keeping in view the specificities of their own context. In other words, this is not a manual that purports to teach in a mechanical, comprehensive and directive way how to implement human rights in the context of poverty reduction.  

26. While the principles of the rights-based approach to poverty reduction enunciated in these Guidelines are broadly applicable to both rich and poor countries, the primary focus is on poverty in poorer countries. In part, this is in recognition of the obvious fact that poverty is a much more serious problem in these countries. But it is also partly because poverty in rich countries has special features that need to be addressed separately. Perhaps these Guidelines could be expanded in the future to address those issues. 

27. The Guidelines presented here do not address all aspects of human rights with equal emphasis, because they are formulated for the specific context of poverty reduction, which is only a part of the broader human rights agenda. The rationale of the choice of rights, of the relative emphasis placed on different rights, and of the targets, indicators and strategies to be found in these Guidelines should be understood in this context. 

28. The choice of human rights to be addressed in these Guidelines was based on a judgement as to which rights are most relevant to the context of poverty. This judgement was in turn guided by the understanding that human rights can be relevant to poverty in different ways.[5] Of special significance in the context of poverty reduction are rights that have either constitutive or instrumental relevance. 

29. The idea of constitutive relevance of human rights derives from our understanding of what it means to be poor. According to a widely accepted view, a poor person is one who is deprived of basic capabilities – such as the capability to be free form hunger, to live in good health, to be literate, and so on. In the language of rights, one may say that a poor person is one for whom a number of human rights remain unfulfilled – such as the rights to food, health, education and so on. Such rights have constitutive relevance for poverty if a person’s lack of command over economic resources plays a role in causing their non-realization. Some human rights are such that their fulfilment will help realize other human rights that have constitutive relevance for poverty. For example, if the right to work is realized, it will help realize the right to food. Such rights can be said to have instrumental relevance for poverty. The same human right may, of course, have both constitutive and instrumental relevance. These Guidelines address the rights that are considered to be most relevant to poverty – on either constitutive or instrumental grounds or on both. 

30. The Guidelines are divided into three sections. Section I sets out the basic principles of a human rights approach that should inform the process of formulating a poverty reduction strategy. Section II sets out the human rights approach to determining the content of a poverty reduction strategy. It identifies, for each of the rights relevant to poverty reduction, the major elements of a strategy for realizing that right. Here the rights are classified under two broad headings – national and international – depending on the level at which action will have to be taken. Section III explains how the human rights approach can guide the monitoring and accountability aspects of poverty reduction strategies. Like the principles discussed in Section I, accountability is also one of the basic principles of a human rights approach to poverty reduction. But because of its special significance in the context of human rights and poverty reduction, it is singled out for discussion in a separate section. 

31. In Section II of the Guidelines, the discussion of each right is structured around four parts. Part A outlines the relevance of the right in the context of poverty. Part B sketches the scope or content of the right as set out in international human rights instruments. For ease of reference, boxes reproduce some of the most relevant international human rights provisions; they also refer to recent world conferences, as well as the most relevant General Comments or Recommendations adopted by United Nations human rights Treaty-bodies. (General Comments and Recommendations offer guidance to State parties on the contours and content of human rights and the measures that might be taken to better secure their implementation.) Part C identifies key targets in relation to each right and lists, for each target, some indicators that will help assess the extent to which these targets are being achieved over time. Part D sets out key features of a strategy for achieving the specified targets. Some brief comments are in order regarding the targets, indicators and strategies identified in these Guidelines. 

32. For each right, the targets were derived from the scope of the right as set out in international human rights law (and discussed in Part B under each right). The choice of targets was guided by the following question: given the scope of the right, what are the major targets whose fulfilment would ensure realization of that particular right for the poor? Achieving these targets, for all the rights that are relevant to poverty, should be the ultimate goal of the human rights approach to poverty reduction. Many of the targets draw upon, and are similar to, those set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2000. 

33. These targets may not all be achievable immediately – they may be subject to progressive realization. Nevertheless, a human rights approach to poverty reduction requires States to move as expeditiously as possible towards fulfilment of the targets. In the light of progressive realization, States should identify appropriate indicators, in relation to which they set ambitious but realistic benchmarks (i.e. intermediate targets) corresponding to each ultimate target, so that the rate of progress can be monitored and, if progress is slow, corrective action taken. Thus, indicators measure progress towards both intermediate and ultimate targets. 

34. Several points relating to indicators are worth noting. First, the construction of human rights indicators is an ongoing enterprise and this document does not claim to have entirely resolved the matter. Nonetheless, an attempt has been made to derive from the existing literature, including that on Millennium Development Goals, a set of indicators that seem most appropriate for the targets in question, keeping in view the context of poverty. It is important to bear this poverty context in mind when inquiring why certain targets and indicators have been chosen, and not others. 

35. Second, even in the context of poverty, the proposed list of indicators is by no means exhaustive. At the same time, it is not expected that all the indicators proposed here are applicable to all countries at all times. The list is intended for reference only. Each country must decide for itself which indicators are most appropriate for its specific circumstances. 

36. Third, while using the indicators, it should be borne in mind that the objective is to indicate the conditions of the poor, and of specific disadvantaged groups among the poor, and not the average condition of the population as a whole. Some indicators are such that even if they refer to the overall population, any improvement or deterioration indicated by them will basically reflect changes in the condition of the poor – for example, the proportion of all children with access to primary education, or the proportion of homeless people in the country. Other indicators do not have this property – for example, the rate of specific crimes against women. These will have to be disaggregated to reflect the condition of the poor and of specially disadvantaged groups among them, e.g. poor women, minorities, indigenous peoples and so on. Exactly what type of disaggregation is appropriate will depend on the nature of the target in question and the particular circumstances of the country. 

37. Fourth, most of the indicators proposed in these Guidelines have a striking resemblance to the standard indicators of socio-economic progress. So this raises the question, in what sense can they be characterised as human rights indicators? In brief, a human rights indicator derives from, reflects and is designed to monitor realisation or otherwise of a specific human rights norm, usually with a view to holding a duty-bearer to account. Thus, because there is overlap between human rights targets and socio-economic progress, there is likely to be a resemblance between human rights indicators and the standard indicators of socio-economic progress - although it should be observed that some human rights indicators, especially those relating to civil and political rights, do not usually figure in measures of socio-economic progress. Essentially, what tends to distinguish a human rights indicator from a standard disaggregated indicator of socio-economic progress is less its substance than (i) its explicit derivation from a human rights norm and (ii) the purpose to which it is put viz human rights monitoring with a view to holding duty-bearers to account. 

38. Some remarks should be made to clarify the strategies proposed in connection with each right. First, the intention is not to offer a complete strategy for implementing the right in question. A strategy is offered only to the extent that it is relevant to poverty reduction. Even in the context of poverty, the idea is not to formulate comprehensive and detailed prescriptions, but to identify some broad principles that follow from human rights concerns. The details are to be worked out by the people engaged in preparing poverty reduction strategies, and these details are bound to vary depending on the context. 

39. Second, for each right the proposed strategy consists of two distinct types of recommendation. First, there are recommendations that follow directly and clearly from the explicit human rights laws and their elaboration by the UN human rights Treaty-bodies. Second, there are recommendations that may not be explicitly stated in any treaties or human rights jurisprudence, but are considered to be consistent with the spirit and intention of the law. In general, a prescriptive tone is adopted here for the first set of recommendations, while the second is presented rather as a set of suggestions. It should be understood, however, that when the prescriptive tone is used it is only because the recommendations are in the nature of legal obligations. Moreover, these obligations have not been imposed from outside; they have been voluntarily incurred by States with a view to upholding the dignity and freedom of their people. The prescriptive language is intended merely to remind States of what they have voluntarily undertaken to do. 

40. Third, even taking the prescriptive and suggestive elements together, the proposed strategy for any particular right cannot be regarded as comprehensive in any sense. This is partly because of the interdependence of human rights discussed earlier. Thus, the strategy proposed for implementing the right to food will not succeed for everyone unless progress is made in realizing the right to work, because most people who are not directly involved in food production have to work to purchase food from the market. Furthermore, successful implementation of any right will depend on the institutions for participation, monitoring and accountability – issues that are common to all rights and have therefore been discussed in separate sections instead of being repeated for each right. Thus, the strategy proposed for each right has to be seen as part of a comprehensive approach rather than as being adequate in isolation. 

41. Fourth, a comprehensive approach does not prevent a State from prioritizing among rights. It is not expected that any country will find it feasible to implement all the recommendations with respect to all the rights simultaneously and immediately. Each State is free to set its own priorities and take up some of the recommendations for immediate implementation, while deferring others, so long as it abides by the principles of progressive realization discussed in Guideline 4. In choosing priorities, however, each State should be alert to the interdependence of human rights so as to maximize the effectiveness of its policies. 

 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS 

42. These Guidelines address large, complex, multisectoral issues of far-reaching importance. Clearly, this document represents one stage in a long-term project. While the Guidelines draw on some practical experience, they should be subjected to a piloting process and revised accordingly. In this way, they can be refined and become increasingly operational. 

43. United Nations specialized agencies, programmes and other bodies have a wealth of material and expertise bearing upon the issues addressed in this document. Thus, they are in an excellent position to help States formulate, implement, monitor and evaluate strategies, policies, programmes and projects that reflect these Guidelines. It is to be hoped that the various United Nations agencies and programmes will coordinate closely with a view to assisting States that may wish to use the Guidelines as a way of enhancing their poverty reduction strategies.

I The Process of Formulating Poverty Reduction Strategies in the Human Rights Approach

Guideline 1: Identification of the Poor  

44. Any strategy for poverty reduction has to begin with identification of the poor. This task is composed of two steps: (a) identifying the attributes that are deemed to constitute poverty, and (b) identifying the population groups that possess these attributes.  

45. Identifying the attributes of poverty: From a human rights perspective, poverty consists in the non-fulfilment of a person’s human rights to a range of basic capabilities – to do and be the things he or she has reasons to value. Capability failure is thus the defining attribute of poverty.  

46. Since poverty denotes an extreme form of deprivation, only those capability failures should count as poverty that are deemed to be basic in some order of priority. As different societies may have different orders of priority, the list of basic capabilities may differ from one society to another.  

47. However, empirical observation suggests a common set of capabilities that are considered basic in most societies. They include the capabilities of being adequately nourished, avoiding preventable morbidity and premature mortality, being adequately sheltered, having basic education, being able to ensure security of the person, having equitable access to justice, being able to appear in public without shame, being able to earn a livelihood, and taking part in the life of a community. The present Guidelines deal with this common set. But each country must ascertain, through a participatory process, which other capabilities its people consider basic enough for their failure to count as poverty. 

48. Identifying the poor: Once the basic capabilities have been identified, the next step is to identify the population groups that suffer from inadequate achievement of those basic capabilities. This task is informationally demanding, especially since poverty is to be measured in terms of a range of attributes. Innovative mechanisms will have to be designed – probably using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods – to elicit the necessary information in a cost-effective way. The preferred method will depend on the particular circumstances of a country. If the current capability of the country is not adequate to elicit the desired information, steps should be taken to develop the capability as expeditiously as possible. 

49. Whatever method is actually used to identify the poor, the human rights approach demands that it should be guided by a couple of special considerations. 

50. First, the objective of the exercise should not merely be to come up with a number, such as the proportion of poor people in the population, but to know who these people are. Thus it is necessary to identify specific groups – in terms of various characteristics, such as gender, geographical location, ethnicity, religion, age or occupation – in which poverty is entrenched so that the problem of poverty can be addressed at as disaggregated a level as possible. 

51. Second, special efforts must be made to identify those among the poor who are especially deprived (e.g. women) and vulnerable (e.g. people living with HIV/AIDS). When resource constraints call for the setting of priorities, it is the entitlement of these groups that should receive prior attention. This is necessary for the sake of equality, which is an essential principle of the human rights approach. 

Guideline 2: National and International Human Rights Framework 

52.  While the documents spelling out poverty reduction strategies PRS are not legal instruments, they must be consistent with, and informed by, the State's national and international human rights commitments for two reasons: (i) this will enhance the strategy’s effectiveness; (ii) otherwise some features of the strategy may be unlawful. 

53. This has significant implications for States as well as for those responsible for policies and programmes that impact on States. All parties should use a State's national and international human rights commitments as the normative foundation on which PRS are constructed. 

54.  When beginning to prepare or review a PRS, a State should expressly identify: 

(i) National human rights law and practice in its jurisdiction, for example human rights provisions from the constitution, bill of rights, anti-discrimination laws, freedom of information legislation as well as the main human rights case law;

(ii) The international and regional human rights treaties, including relevant ILO Conventions and the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education, it has ratified; 

(iii) Other important international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 

(iv) Commitments entered into at recent world conferences insofar as they bear upon human rights, including the United Nations Millennium Declaration (2000). 

55.  Given its responsibility to ensure that its human rights commitments inform the formulation and implementation of its PRS, a State should ensure that: 

(i) Its human rights commitments are expressly referred to in the PRS; 

(ii) Those responsible for formulating and implementing the PRS receive basic human rights training so that they are familiar with the State's human rights commitments and their implications; 

(iii) Individuals are appointed with particular responsibility for ensuring that the State's human rights commitments are taken into account throughout the formulation and implementation of the PRS (e.g. departmental human rights officers);

(iv) Processes are designed, and put in place, to ensure that the State's human rights commitments receive due attention throughout the formulation and implementation of the PRS (e.g. arrangements to secure the preparation and scrutiny of ex ante and ex post human rights impact assessments). 

56. Because the relevance of a State's human rights framework is not confined to the State itself, all those responsible for policies and programmes that impact upon a State should: 

(i) Ensure that they do not make it more difficult for the State to implement its human rights commitments to individuals and groups within its jurisdiction;

(ii) Use their best endeavours, within their mandates, to help a State fulfil its national and international human rights commitments.

Guideline 3: Equality and Non-Discrimination 

57. The right to equality and the principle of non-discrimination are among the most fundamental elements of international human rights law. The right to equality guarantees, first and foremost, that all persons are equal before the law, which means that the law shall be formulated in general terms applicable to every human being and enforced in an equal manner. Secondly, all persons are entitled to equal protection of the law against arbitrary and discriminatory treatment by private actors. In this regard, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on the grounds of  race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability and health status, including HIV/AIDS, age, sexual orientation or other status. 

58. The poor are usually victims of discrimination on various grounds such as birth, property, national and social origin, race, colour, gender and religion. Depending on the particular circumstances of each society, poverty may affect primarily members of certain socially disadvantaged classes, or of certain ethnic or religious groups, women, elderly people or indigenous persons, but in most cases poverty is aggravated by some sort of discrimination. If Governments are responsible for such discrimination, they are under an obligation immediately to prohibit and cease all discriminatory laws and practices. If discriminatory attitudes are caused by traditions among the population (that are usually deeply rooted), Governments shall adopt and enforce laws prohibiting any discrimination by private actors. In both cases, Governments must, in addition, take special measures to afford effective protection to their most vulnerable, discriminated and socially excluded groups, including the poor, against discrimination by governmental authorities as well as by private actors. 

59. Inequalities and discrimination may assume various forms, including explicit legal inequalities in status and entitlements, deeply rooted social distinctions and exclusions, and policies of indirect discrimination. It is therefore important to look at the effects rather than the intentions of measures and laws. For example, while there might be no intention to discriminate against women when the term "breadwinner" is included in social security law, if the practical application of this term primarily disadvantages women, it may constitute indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex. 

60. Not every distinction constitutes discrimination since it might be based on reasonable and objective criteria. A law or policy that was originally considered reasonable might become discriminatory over time because of changing social values within a given society. As societies gradually became more gender- and ethnicity-sensitive, they also tend to become more poverty-sensitive. Whereas poverty might have been regarded in earlier times as a kind of "natural phenomenon“, it is looked upon today as a social phenomenon aggravated by discrimination, which in turn requires corresponding anti-discrimination or even affirmative action by Governments. A human rights approach to poverty provides the necessary tools for identifying the roots of poverty that lie in discriminatory practices and for developing appropriate strategies to deal with them.   

61. As discrimination may cause poverty, poverty also causes discrimination. In addition to their race, colour, gender or social origin, the poor are also subject to discriminatory attitudes by governmental authorities and private actors because they are poor. The twin principles of equality and non-discrimination require States to take special measures to prohibit discrimination against the poor and to provide them with equal and effective protection against discrimination. As the poor are among the most vulnerable groups in every society, a PRS must start by addressing the special needs of the poor not to be discriminated against, according to the particular circumstances of the society concerned. Given that the most common discriminatory practices deny poor people equal access to fundamental services and human rights such as the rights to food, education, health or justice, the respective State obligations, targets, indicators and strategies will be dealt with in the relevant Guidelines below.

Guideline 4: Progressive Realization of Human Rights; Indicators and Benchmarks 

62. Poverty is so deeply entrenched in many societies that it is unrealistic to hope that even with the best of intentions it can be eliminated in a very short time. Equally, one must accept the reality that it may not be possible to fulfil all human rights immediately. Since the realization of most human rights is at least partly constrained by the availability of scarce resources, and since this constraint cannot be eliminated overnight, the human rights approach explicitly allows for progressive realization of rights. 

63. The idea of progressive realization has two major strategic implications. First, it allows for a time dimension in the strategy for human rights fulfilment by recognizing that full realization of human rights may have to occur in a progressive manner over a period of time. Second, it allows for setting priorities among different rights at any point in time since the constraint of resources may not permit a strategy to pursue all rights simultaneously with equal vigour. 

64. The recognition of a time dimension and the need for prioritization are common features of all approaches to policy-making. The distinctiveness of the human rights approach is that it imposes certain conditions on these features, so that the pursuit of human rights is not reduced to mere rhetoric in the name of progressive realization. 

65. The recognition of a time dimension is accompanied by certain conditions aimed at ensuring that the State does not take it as a licence either to defer or to relax the efforts needed to realize human rights. In particular, the State is required to do the following. 

66. First, the State must acknowledge that with a serious commitment to poverty reduction it may be possible to make rapid progress towards the realization of many human rights even within the existing resource constraint. This will often be true of “respect” obligations with regard to most rights, which require political will more than economic resources (see Introduction, para. 6). Even for “protect” and “fulfil” obligations, which would typically be more dependent on resources, it may be possible to make rapid progress by improving the efficiency of resource use – for example, by scaling down expenditure on unproductive activities, and by reducing spending on activities whose benefit goes disproportionately to the rich.  

67.  Second, to the extent that the realization of human rights may be contingent on a gradual expansion in the availability of resources, the State must begin immediately to take steps to fulfil the rights as expeditiously as possible by developing and implementing a time-bound plan of action. The plan must spell out when and how the State hopes to arrive at the realization of rights. 

68. Third, the plan must include a series of intermediate – preferably annual – targets. As the realization of human rights may take some considerable time, possibly extending well beyond the immediate term of a Government in power, it is with regard to these intermediate targets (or benchmarks) rather than the final target of full realization that the State will have to be held accountable. 

69. Fourth, as a prerequisite of setting targets, the State will have to identify some indicators in terms of which targets will be set. In practice, a bundle of indicators will be needed for each human right, and they should be specified separately, at levels that are as disaggregated as possible, for each subgroup of the poor population. Realistic time-bound targets will have to be set in relation to each indicator so as to serve as benchmarks. 

70. With regard to prioritization, the human rights approach does not in itself offer any hard and fast rule, but it does impose certain conditions on the process and substance of prioritization.

71. The process of setting priorities must involve effective participation of all stakeholders, including the poor. Value judgements will inevitably enter the process of setting priorities, but the rights-based approach demands that they should do so in an inclusive and equitable manner. This implies that the process of resource allocation must permit all segments of society, especially the poor, to express their value judgements with regard to priorities. It also implies that just institutional mechanisms must be put in place so that potentially conflicting value judgements can be reconciled in a fair and equitable manner. (See Guideline 5 for more on participation.)  

72. The substance of prioritization must be guided by the following principles. First, no human right can be given precedence over others on the ground of intrinsic merit, because from the human rights perspective all rights are equally valuable. However, different rights can still be given priority at different stages of progressive realization on practical grounds. For example, a country may decide to give priority to a right that has remained especially under-realized compared with others, to a right whose fulfilment is expected to act as a catalyst towards the fulfilment of other rights, or to a right which a country may feel especially well equipped to deal with first in view of its tradition, experience and so on. 

73.  Second, while allocating more resources to the rights that have been accorded priority at any given point in time, care must be taken to ensure that the rest of the rights maintain at least their initial level of realization. This restriction follows from the principle of non-retrogression of rights – no right can be deliberately allowed to suffer an absolute decline in its level of realization. 

74. Third, notwithstanding the recognition of resource constraint, the international human rights system specifies some core obligations that require States to ensure, with immediate effect, certain minimum levels of enjoyment of various human rights. For example, a State has a core obligation, derived from the rights to life, food and health, to ensure that all individuals within its jurisdiction are free from starvation. These core obligations must be treated as binding constraints – i.e. no trade-offs are permitted with regard to them.

Guideline 5: Participation and Empowerment 

75. As States have primary responsibility for fulfilling the human rights of the people living in their respective jurisdiction, it follows that any poverty reduction strategy must be a country-driven process. Country ownership should thus be an essential attribute of any poverty reduction strategy. 

76. However, country ownership should not be interpreted narrowly to mean ownership on the part of the Government alone. The strategy has to be owned by all relevant stakeholders within the country, including the poor. This can only be possible, however, when all stakeholders, including the poor, participate effectively in all stages of the process. 

77. Active and informed participation by the poor is not only consistent with, but also demanded by, the rights-based approach because the international human rights normative framework affirms the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs. 

78. One may distinguish four stages of participation: preference revelation; policy choice; implementation; and monitoring, assessment and accountability. 

79. The stage of preference revelation is the initial stage of any process of policy formulation. Before policies can be formulated, people must be enabled to express what their preferences are, i.e. what objectives they want to achieve. 

80. The stage of policy choice refers to the stage at which policies are formulated and decisions taken regarding the allocation of resources among alternative uses. As different patterns of resource allocation will serve the interests of different groups of people differently, a conflict of interest is inherent in any process of policy formulation. In whose favour this conflict is resolved depends very much on who can participate effectively in the process. Traditionally, the poor are left out, as they do not possess enough political or financial power to make their interests count. A human rights approach must take steps to alter this situation, by creating a legal-institutional framework in which the poor can participate effectively in policy formulation. 

81. The point is not that the poor should take part in all the technical deliberations that underlie policy formulation. But they must be allowed to take part in the process of setting priorities and benchmarks that will guide such deliberations. In practice, this means that when alternative policy options are being explored by experts, the implications of these options for the interests of various population groups must be made transparent to the general public, including the poor, so that they can have an opportunity to argue for the options that serve their interests best. 

82. Although the implementation of policies is primarily the responsibility of the executive arm of the State, opportunities must be created to enable the poor to exercise their right to participate in the implementation stage as well. Such opportunities are more likely to arise in community-level activities, which in turn are more likely to flourish within an institutional framework of representative local government. Decentralization of government and a deepening of democracy are therefore essential components of the human rights approach to poverty reduction. 

83. The final stage of participation is the stage of monitoring and assessment of the success or failure of policies so that the State and other duty-bearers can be held accountable for their obligations. It is an essential feature of the human rights approach that the people who are affected by policies are able to participate in monitoring and assessing their success or failure and then take part in the procedures for holding the duty-bearers accountable. Appropriate institutional arrangements are needed for such participation to be possible. (This issue is discussed further in Section III on Implementation, Monitoring and Accountability.) 

84. It is not enough for the poor merely to participate in decision-making processes; they must be able to participate effectively. In order to ensure this, two sets of preconditions have to be satisfied. 

85. First, while the practice of democracy is an essential precondition for the enjoyment of the right to participate, electoral democracy is not all that is needed. Devising specific mechanisms and detailed institutional arrangements through which the poor can effectively participate at different stages of decision-making is an essential component of the human rights approach to poverty reduction. 

86. The second precondition is empowerment of the poor themselves so as to make their participation effective. In part, this empowerment will depend on the realization of a minimum degree of economic security without which the poor are unlikely to be able to resist established structures that perpetuate their poverty. Capacity-building activities are also essential in order to empower the poor. Human rights education can play an effective role in this process. 

87. In addition, however, empowerment requires simultaneous efforts to promote a range of other human rights. For example, if the poor are to be empowered to participate meaningfully in the conduct of public affairs, they must be free to organize without restriction (right of association), to meet without impediment (right of assembly), to say what they want to without intimidation (freedom of expression) and to know the relevant facts (right to information). Furthermore, poor people must be allowed to receive support from sympathetic civil society organizations (including the media) that might be willing to champion their cause. For this to be possible, the State must create the necessary legal and institutional framework in which an independent civil society can flourish. (See Guideline 14 on political rights and freedoms.)