Poverty and human rights
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However, there are several sectors of the population mired in poverty and vulnerable, such as migrants. The migration to cities is a widespread phenomenon that affects several countries of the region, both within their territories and even beyond their borders. In Peru there has been a serious process of depopulation from rural areas to urban areas and a rapid phenomenon of migration abroad.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Latin American migration to developed countries, mainly to the United States, has become an important phenomenon. According to the 1960 census, migration was estimated at 1 million people, but in the 2000 census, it was estimated at 14.5 million people (census figures for each decade), without counting illegal immigrants4 .
The people of Peru are fully immersed in this unstoppable process of seeking better living conditions. Migration of Peruvians increased six-fold, from 46,596 in 1990 to 319,766 in 20055 .
The vulnerability of people due to their poverty is commonly manifested through exclusion and intensified dramatically after becoming illegal migrants and vulnerable to the risk of being trafficked, which is a modern form of slavery, while they continue to suffer the effects of widespread violation of their human rights.
In the context of an advisory opinion, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has stated that migrant workers have labor rights even if they are illegal migrants.
Also, this statement brings us to another important concept: that the fight against discrimination is a jus cogens norm of international law that cannot be reversed.
This statement is key to strengthening the link between poverty and human rights, which was previously mentioned at the beginning of this intervention.
For the poor who are living in a situation of disadvantage, especially for the extreme poor who are still mired in extreme poverty facing globalization, economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights are of particular importance.
Doctrine and jurisprudence on human rights have taken an important step towards breaking down the division between political and civil rights (so-called first-generation rights), and economic, social and cultural rights (so-called second-generation rights) which are programmatic in nature. This division, which facilitated the violation of social, economic and cultural rights by the States, has been replaced by the concepts of interdependence and complementarities, which give due importance to the full enjoyment of all human rights.
Today, it is especially important to ensure the full enjoyment of social, economic and cultural rights by the poor. This can be seen by many actions carried out internationally. At the universal level, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on the iconic date of 10th December 20086 , recognizes the Committee that ensures compliance with the Covenant and its power to receive complaints against states violating the commitments expressed therein. At the American level, it is worth mentioning the Plan of Action of the Fourth Summit of the Americas, held in Mar del Plata, Argentina on November 5, 2005, which urges Member States to consider signing and ratifying the San Salvador Protocol on economic, social and cultural rights and to collaborate in the development of progress indicators in the area of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR).
In this regard, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted a series of resolutions aimed at establishing guidelines for the preparation of the periodic reports that must be submitted by the States on the steps they have taken to ensure compliance with the Protocol of San Salvador. The General Assembly through resolution AG/RES. 2074 (XXXV-O/05) adopted the "Standards for the Preparation of Periodic Reports pursuant to Article 19 of the Protocol of San Salvador"7. As a result of this momentum, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in compliance with a mandate presented a document entitled "Guidelines for Preparation of Progress Indicators in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights", which will serve not only as a basis for the design of an internal evaluation mechanism for the review of each State's national reports, but also clearly defines indicators for measuring State Party compliance with the Protocol of San Salvador.
The path to ensuring the full enjoyment of all human rights by those affected by poverty and extreme poverty has already begun. Let us hope it is irreversible. However, there is still a long ways to go. The achievement of this goal is a shared responsibility among us all.
And now at the end of this speech, I would like to share with you the words of Madam Louise Arbor, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which I think are particularly relevant today:
"… By tackling poverty as a matter of human rights obligation, the world will have a better chance of abolishing this scourge in our lifetime … Poverty eradication is an achievable goal."
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