WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

UN Women - http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2013/2/fighting-inequality-from-the-basics

 

IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SECURITY, SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY

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

Full Report available only in Spanish

Direct Link to Full 39-Page 2013 Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY in English: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2013/1/combatiendo-desigualdad-summary%20pdf.pdf

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.

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ILO WORLD SOCIAL PROTECTION REPORT 2014-2015 - 362 Pages - 190 Countries + - CONSIDER FOR WOMEN

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_245201.pdf

Executive Summary - Multilingual Translations: http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/world-social-security-report/2014/WCMS_245131/lang--en/index.htm

MORE THAN 70% OF THE WORLD POPULATION IS NOT ADEQUATELY COVERED BY SOCIAL PROTECTION.

A new ILO report presents the latest social security trends and finds that most people lack adequate social protection at a time when it is most needed.

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Website - UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty & Human Rights

The new Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty is Mr. Philip Alston

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx

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OLDER PERSONS & SOCIAL PROTECTION - OLDER WOMEN

 

http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G10/125/83/PDF/G1012583.pdf?OpenElement__

 

The importance of social protections, social security, for WOMEN, and very much for older women, and for gender equality, is noted throughout this Report.

 

The 2010 annual report written by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, Ms. Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona, addresses the role that social protection systems play in reducing extreme poverty and contributing to the realization of human rights of older persons. In particular, the report focuses on the relevance of social pensions.

The world population is ageing, to the point that the number of persons over 60 years of age is likely to increase by 200 percent by 2050. The phenomenon of poverty in old age is increasingly catching the attention of analysts and policy-makers. Considering the vulnerability of older persons, States must take appropriate measures to establish social security schemes that provide benefits to all older persons without discrimination of any kind and ensure equal rights for men and women.

Social pensions consist of cash benefits received by persons above a given age that do not require prior compulsory contributions from beneficiaries, employers or the State.  Social pensions are an important dimension of social security systems. Today, many people worldwide work outside the formal employment sector and traditional informal support systems for older people are changing under the pressure of increased longevity, widespread poverty, the impact of HIV/AIDS and migration. Contributory pension schemes (e.g. employment-based pensions) only reach a minority of all older persons.

In this report, the independent expert calls on States to recognize that social pensions are critical elements for the progressive realization of the right to social security for older persons. The report also provides recommendations on how to ensure that non-contributory pensions comply with core human rights standards. Finally, it addresses the role of international assistance and cooperation in the field of social security.

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