30th Session of the Human Rights Council
Organized by UNRISD, the ILO and the OHCHR on behalf of the partners of Social Protection and Human Rights, an online resource platform, this is the first of a series of activities taking place over two days to officially launch the platform. For more information about day two, click
here.
Objective
This panel discussion, an official side event of the 30th Session of the Human Rights Council, will examine challenges and opportunities in overcoming discrimination and implementing rights-based social protection systems. The discussion will focus specifically on different social groups which, for various reasons, suffer from discrimination, are exposed to higher levels of risk, are excluded from full participation in society and are unable to fully enjoy their rights, including the right to social protection.
Partners
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
State Support
The side event is sponsored by Chile, Finland and Portugal.
Modality
There will be brief presentations by panellists, which will then form the basis for subsequent debates and questions from the floor.
Participants
The event will bring together the experiences of various national governments, donor agencies, international agencies and non-governmental organizations.
Opening Remarks
Katja Hujo, Senior Research Coordinator, UNRISD
P.N. Bartolo, Ambassador of Portugal
Moderator: Isabel Ortiz, Director, Social Protection Department, ILO
| Panellist | Affiliation |
| Christian Courtis | Human Rights Officer, Human Rights and Social and Economic Issues Section, OHCHR |
| Maya Takagi | Senior Social Protection Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
| Andrés Scagliola | Director of Public Policy, Social Development Department of the City of Montevideo |
| Valeria Esquivel | Research Coordinator, Gender Programme, UNRISD |
| Facundo Chavez Penillas | Human Rights and Disability Advisor, OHCHR |
| Mawutor Ablo | Director, Social Protection, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Government of Ghana |
| Christina Behrendt | Senior Social Protection Policy Specialist, Social Protection Department, ILO |
| Priti Darooka | Founder, Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights |
Background
The
Social Protection and Human Rights platform was developed by UNRISD in collaboration with the former Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, to bridge the gap between the human rights and social protection disciplines and capitalize on the parallel developments in the public discussion.
ILO’s Social Protection Department joined in 2014, allowing the platform to migrate from the UNRISD website to a standalone one. Subsequently, six more partners have joined the initiative. In addition to UNRISD and ILO, the platform partners are:
- Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
- Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
While the fields of social protection and human rights are being driven closer together thanks to increasing awareness of inequality and vulnerability, there are still gaps in designing and implementing effective programmes that provide comprehensive coverage. Although social protection is an internationally recognized right, implementing a rights-based approach to social protection involves a range of overlapping and interdependent rights, which means that assumptions about approaches in both the human rights and social protection fields need to be challenged.
The Social Protection and Human Rights platform was designed to provide policy makers and practitioners with the tools to challenge these assumptions and bridge the gaps: a clear explanation of fundamental principles and relevant instruments, examples of jurisprudence, and an inclusive space for engagement around experiences, best practices and innovative solutions. This is a unique combination of resources that won’t be found elsewhere.
If you would like to attend and do not have a UN badge, please e-mail sp_hr[at]unrisd.org to register.
Remote access to this event
We will be
tweeting key messages live from this side event and welcome your comments and questions, which, time permitting, we may be able to put directly to the speakers.
Photo credit: "School for acrobats" by Julien Hameis (CC BY 2.0 via Flickr)