Amnesty International supports Global Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Amnesty International activists take part in global events on 17 October
People living in poverty are far too frequently excluded from discussions about how to improve their lives, said Amnesty International on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
The organisation said that the vicious cycle of poverty and human rights abuse could only be broken if people living in poverty were able to speak out and be heard.
It urged governments to adopt policies that enable people living in poverty to be part of decision-making, as well as better analysing how human rights violations drive and deepen poverty.
Widney Brown, Amnesty International's Director of International Law and Policy, said:
"A key focus of this year's International Day is ensuring that people living in poverty are at the centre of discussions about solutions.
“Too often decisions are made in which the people whose lives are most impacted are not even consulted, which makes the eradication of poverty ultimately less possible.
"States need to dismantle barriers which obstruct people's access to education, health care, food, clean water and sanitation. They must also address discrimination against people who endure human rights violations and who have the least access to justice, including indigenous people, Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights, Children's rights and people with disabilities."
Amnesty will host events which speak out against poverty and inequality in places ranging from the United Nations headquarters in New York, to countries including Belgium, Turkey, Australia and the UK.
Amnesty International has produced a film about Michael Nyangi, from the Kibera slum area in Kenya. Michael runs the Lomoro Microfinance organisation, which works within six different slum areas in Nairobi. A qualified accountant, Micahel Nyangi created Lomoro five years ago when he was 23. It now has 150 members and helps people to start small, income-generating projects. Michael also lives in Kibera, one of the biggest slum areas, which is home to 1.5 million people.
The film is to be shown at the United Nations in New York on 17 October as part of events to commemorate the day, and so his views, and those of his neighbours, can better be heard.
On International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, thousands of Amnesty International supporters will take part in worldwide protests:
Amnesty International UK will host the British Premiere of the film, ‘The End of Poverty? Think Again.’
Where: The Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London
When: 18.30
To book: www.amnesty.org.uk/events
Amnesty International is taking part in the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty as part of the Global Campaign against Poverty (GCAP) and with the anti-poverty organisation ATD Fourth World.