‘Stumbling zombie-like into a digital welfare dystopia’: Are world governments capable of putting digital technology at the service of equality, non-discrimination, and social and economic rights?

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group Inequality and social rights, New and emerging technologies

The Human Rights Council and the wider UN human rights system have regularly considered the human rights implications of new technologies (e.g. resolution 20/08 on the ‘Promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet’). Over recent years, that interest has intensified . The most recent Council text on the subject – resolution 41/11 on ‘New and emerging digital technologies and human rights,’ adopted …

El relator especial de la ONU sobre la pobreza extrema y los derechos humanos lanza ‘armas de fuego’ contra el fracaso para abordar la pobreza

by Steven L. B. Jensen, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights By invitation, Inequality and social rights, Thematic human rights issues

“El mundo se encuentra en una encrucijada existencial”. Estas fueron las palabras de apertura de la presentación del informe final del Relator Especial sobre Pobreza Extrema y Derechos Humanos, Philip Alston, al Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU, en  julio de 2020. El profesor Philip Alston, uno de los expertos en derechos humanos más distinguidos del mundo, utilizó su …

UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights goes out guns blazing against failure to address poverty

by Steven L. B. Jensen, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights By invitation, HRC BORRAR, Human rights implementation and impact, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Inequality and social rights, SDGs borrar, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues

‘The world is at an existential crossroads.’ These are the opening words in the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston’s final report to the UN Human Rights Council submitted in July 2020. Professor Philip Alston, one of the world’s most distinguished human rights experts, used his five-year tenure to put a spotlight on the …

What do the US protests and the UK’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic tell us about inequality, discrimination and social rights in the ‘Anglosphere’?

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group Blog BORRAR, Blog BORRAR, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Inequality and social rights, Social rights BORRAR, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues

Violence erupts across more than 75 US cities on a sixth night of protests sparked by the death in police custody of African American George Floyd. In London, the UK Government delays the release of an official review of the impacts of COVID-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) Britons. At the end of April one of the UN’s …

Inequality, discrimination and social rights in the ‘Anglosphere’

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group Inequality and social rights, Social rights BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

At the end of April one of the UN’s most high-profile Special Rapporteurs, Philip Alston , finished his six-year mandate on extreme poverty and human rights . Over that time, he completed around a dozen country missions to places including Spain, Malaysia, Lao, Ghana, Saudi Arabia and China. Yet in many ways his tenure as Special Rapporteur was defined by two visits in particular: to the United States (December 2017). and …

What are the human rights priorities of world governments in 2020?

by the URG team Blog BORRAR, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms BORRAR, Inequality and social rights, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

An independent analysis of the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council The High-Level Segment of the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council , held from 24 to 26 February 2020, saw the active participation of more than a 100 world leaders, including, four heads of States, around 90 ministers or vice-ministers, and a number of principals of international organisations. In the statements they delivered to …

¿Cuáles son las prioridades mundiales en derechos humanos para el año de 2020?

by the URG team Asuntos contemporáneos y emergentes BORRAR, Inequality and social rights, Instituciones, procesos y mecanismos de derechos humanos internacionales BORRAR, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

Un análisis independiente del Segmento de Alto Nivel del Consejo de Derechos Humanos Entre el 24 y el 26 de febrero de 2020, el Segmento de Alto Nivel de la 43ª Sesión del Consejo de Derechos Humanos contó con la participación activa de más de 100 líderes mundiales, incluyendo 4 Jefes de Estado, cerca de 90 ministros y viceministros, y …

The UN Human Development Report must go farther on inequality

by Steven L. B. Jensen, Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights Blog BORRAR, Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Inequality and social rights, Thematic human rights issues

This post first appeared on OpenGlobalRights . In December, UNDP launched the  Human Development Report 2019 . It was announced in advance that the new report would reconceptualize human development around the concept of inequality. This framing offers a more holistic take on existing injustices around the world. The report combines income and wealth inequalities with those more traditionally associated with human development such as health …

Inequality a prominent concern for UN human rights monitors

by Steven L. B. Jensen, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights Blog BORRAR, Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Human rights implementation and impact, Implementation BORRAR, Inequality and social rights, Social rights BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

UN human rights bodies are highlighting inequality when making recommendations to states – showing that this issue should be seen and acted on as a central human rights concern. Do human rights have anything to say about material inequality? The question is worth asking, especially in light of recent critiques. In his 2018 book Not Enough – Human Rights in an Unequal World, historian Samuel Moyn argued that “… …

Desigualdad es una preocupación importante para los observadores de derechos humanos de la ONU

by Steven L. B. Jensen, Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights Blog INVALID 6, Blog INVALID 7, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Human rights implementation and impact, Implementation BORRAR, Inequality and social rights, Social rights BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

Los organismos de derechos humanos de la ONU están enfatizando la desigualdad al hacer recomendaciones a los Estados, mostrando que la consideración y acción sobre el tema debe ser una preocupación central de los derechos humanos. ¿Los derechos humanos tienen algo que decir sobre la desigualdad material? Vale la pena hacer la pregunta, especialmente a la luz de críticas recientes. …