No.1
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•
some 700 million people, or 10 per cent of the
world’s
population, are poor today, and
•
a billion people have been lifted out of poverty
since 1990, when the poverty rate stood at
36 per cent.
The 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals were
designed to tackle the dual challenge of poverty
eradication and environmental preservation. SDG 1 is
End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
While
recognizing various dimensions of poverty, it essentially
adopts the standard of $1.90 per day.
SDG 1 and the
UN definition of poverty
Briefing for MPs on UN processes
Tuesday, 20 October 2020, 9
–10
a.m. (New York)
Members of Parliament following development and economic issues
English and French
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvdeqtpjItH90A8DbFp5vIgLGHN24B48h5
How many people around the world live in extreme poverty, unable to enjoy basic human rights?
Using the World
Ba k’s
International Poverty Line of $1.90 per day:
The international community should stop hiding behind
an international poverty line that uses a standard of
miserable subsistence. The UN should have the courage
of its convictions and acknowledge that the scale of
global poverty is far more accurately reflected in its own
indicators and reporting.
–
Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur
In his last report as UN Rapporteur on extreme poverty and
human rights—The
parlous state of poverty eradication
(July 2020)—Professor Philip Alston makes the case for adopting a
stronger definition of poverty. He notes that a yardstick of $5.50 per day more accurately captures the real condition of
poverty, where some 3.4 billion, or 46 per cent of the
world’s
population, were poor in 2015. The UNDP’s
multidimensional poverty index has the global poverty rate at about 23 per cent—more than double the 10 per cent
estimate. As Alston observes, these much higher poverty baselines make it virtually impossible to eradicate poverty by
2030. The
triu phalist
narrative of the international community—that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, poverty was
going steadily down—is not supported by the facts. The Alston report poses tremendous challenges to the United
Nations, governments and parliaments alike, and calls for a much deeper set of policy reforms than currently proposed.
This first briefing for parliamentarians on United Nations processes will offer an opportunity for parliamentarians to learn
more about the
Orga izatio ’s
definition of poverty and its implications for poverty eradication by 2030.
Leading questions
Should the UN adopt a more realistic official definition of extreme poverty to assess progress on SDG 1?
Are UN prescriptions for eradicating global poverty commensurate to the task?
Featuring
Prof.
Philip Alston,
former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
Dr.
George Gray Molina,
Head of Strategic Engagement and Chief Economist, UNDP
Ms.
Barbara Adams,
President, Global Policy Forum
Q&A
Parliamentarians
For information:
IPU Observer Office at the United Nations,