This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
Ottawa (17 Oct. 2022) — The United Nations has made Dignity for All in Practice the theme for the 2022 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The choice of the theme reflects the reality that living in poverty denies people the right to live in dignity.
And while “the ways the poorest people are treated are a measure of the respect in which human dignity is held in our societies,” too often programs to assist people living in poverty are deliberately designed to strip them of their dignity. This includes social assistance rates that are set at such a low level that even paying for food and shelter is a struggle.
Poverty a product of policy choices, not a lack of resources
As the United Nations statement on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2022 points out, poverty and inequality are “the result of deliberate decisions or inaction that disempower the poorest and marginalized in our societies and violate their fundamental rights.”
Enough food is being produced to feed everyone in the world, but 811 million people don’t have enough to eat. Our economic system gives billionaires so much money that they can afford vanity trips to space, while 2 billion people don’t have access to clean drinking water.
When governments implement policies that increase income inequality, poverty increases. To eliminate poverty, we have to take concrete steps to reduce income inequality, such as improving workers’ rights and strengthening global tax fairness agreements.