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Website of the UN Special Rapporteur
on Extreme Poverty & Human Rights:
International Day for Eradication of
Poverty: 17 October 2013 - Special Rapporteur on Extreme
Poverty Statement
GENEVA (17 October 2013) – The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda, urged States to recognize
and value unpaid care work, and ensure it is better supported and more
equitably shared between women and men.
“The unequal distribution of unpaid care work, fueled by
damaging gender stereotypes, is a major human rights issue,” she warned on the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. “I call on States to tackle
the deep-rooted causes of gender inequality and women’s greater vulnerability
to poverty.”
“It is unacceptable that, in the 21st century, unpaid care
work such as cooking, childcare, looking after frail older relatives and
fetching water and fuel, which heavily contributes to economic growth and
social development, is not better valued, supported or shared”, said Ms. Sepúlveda.
The Special Rapporteur stressed that State policies must
place care as a social and collective responsibility and ensure that the
necessary public services and infrastructure – including childcare, healthcare,
water and energy provision - are in place, especially in disadvantaged areas.
She noted that in both developed and developing countries,
women work longer hours than men when unpaid work is taken into account, but
receive lower earnings and less recognition for their contribution.
“When women undertake a disproportional amount of unpaid
care, they ended having very little time to enjoyment their rights to
education, decent work on an equal basis with men. This entrenches women’s
poverty and social exclusion”, the independent expert said.
“Poverty cannot be eradicated without concerted action on
the specific obstacles women face,” Ms. Sepúlveda said, stressing that “the
fact that most countries around the world do not recognize and guarantee the
rights of care-givers or distribute the costs of care more evenly across
society is a major barrier to women’s ability to lift themselves out of
poverty”.
“To commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of
Poverty, I wish to remind States and others that efforts to end poverty must
include valuing, supporting and redistributing unpaid care as an essential part
of the strategy,” she said.
“Anti-poverty and development initiatives- including the
post-2015 global development agenda - cannot afford to ignore unpaid care
work,” she concluded.
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WOMEN
- POVERTY - CRISES - RIGHTS: POWER POINT
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Link
to Comprehensive List, Including CEDAW: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/IStandards.aspx
EXTREME POVERTY - INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
Eliminating poverty and promoting human rights are inter-related objectives voiced by many international treaties and commitments. The persistence of extreme poverty and the recurrence of violations of civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights are mutually reinforcing. ________________________________________________________