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http://www.wunrn.com

 

http://www.unwomen.org/publications/espanol-combatiendo-la-desigualdad-desde-lo-basico-piso-de-proteccion-social-e-igualdad-de-genero/

 

SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOOR & GENDER EQUALITY

 

Author(s) / Editor(s): Rebeca Torada; Larraitz Lexartza and Juliana Martínez Franzoni

February 13, 2013 - The focus of this report is the indispensability of the human right to social security in contributing to integration and conquering inequalities, which must be tackled across the board from a platform of national protection.

The report offers a framework and a set of methodological tools for analyzing the social protection floor in Central America and the Dominican Republic with a gender perspective, focusing primarily on the basic guarantees of social security, but with a holistic approach of the social protection floor, as has been conceptualized by the United Nations System. This implies the integration of maternal and child health, basic economic protection for women during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum, and the care of minors and dependents, as key elements of social security.

Also presented are a series of strategies to build and reinforce national social protection floors, analyzing the current context in relation to opportunities and challenges to expand and transform existing policies, and to develop methodological and technical initiatives in order to consolidate these strategies at a national level. This begins with an assessment of the situation, taking into account the current plans and their fiscal capacity, so as to identify gaps in protection, evaluate the cost and sustainability of available options, and lastly, create specific measures that constitute the national social protection floor.

Direct Link to Full 39-Page Summary in English:

http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/combatiendo-desigualdad-summary.pdf

 

Full Report Available in Spanish:

http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/combatiendo-desigualdad.pdf

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UN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL & CULTURAL RIGHTS COMMITTEE

 

GENERAL COMMENT NO. 19 - The Right to Social Security

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/comments.htm

 

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights publishes its interpretation of the content of human rights provisions, in the form of general comments on thematic issues.

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http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10474&LangID=E

 

UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTREME POVERTY URGES COUNTRIES TO FOCUS SOCIAL PROTECTIONS ON GENDER INEQUALITIES

 

 

NEW YORK (25 October 2010) - Social protection systems with a gender focus can increase women’s participation in economic life, provide them with income security in old age and improve nutritional levels and food security, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty told the General Assembly today.

Warning that “poverty is not gender-neutral,” Magdalena Sepúlveda urged states to “devote increased attention to gender equality while designing, implementing and evaluating social protection programmes within a human rights framework.”

Women are more vulnerable to poverty because of discrimination and gender inequality. Therefore, “the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals greatly depends on the strengthening of women’s enjoyment of the full range of their human rights, including gender equality and women’s empowerment,” she noted while presenting her report on human rights and extreme poverty.*

She acknowledged that in recent years, many countries have put in place or strengthened social protection initiatives to address the persistence of extreme poverty. Such social protection measures were essential to accelerating progress on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Special Rapporteur warned, however, that some social protection schemes specifically targeting women within households could, if badly designed, exacerbate or contribute to inequalities.

“Social protection programmes must be complemented by other social policies aimed at increasing women’s economic autonomy such as ensuring access to education, land, productive resources and credit, fair inheritance rights, full legal capacity, justice and freedom from all forms of violence,” she stressed.

Social protection measures must also acknowledge the role played by women as providers of care, without reinforcing patterns of discrimination and negative stereotyping.

“Social policies must encourage a better balance in the way men and women share household responsibilities, in particular the care of children and older persons,” she said.

In her report to the General Assembly, Sepúlveda highlights the importance of social protection measures in facilitating the achievement of the MDGs and provides recommendations on the core elements of a rights-based social protection system, including the meaningful integration of gender-related concerns.

Magdalena Sepúlveda is the Special Rapporteur on the question of human rights and extreme poverty since May 2008. She is a Chilean lawyer currently working as Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Geneva. She has extensive experience in economic, social and cultural rights and holds a PhD in international human rights law from Utrecht University.