2023-05-10 01:06:00
- Amnesty International supports the establishment of a Global Social Protection Fund under international management to guarantee the right to social security for all people
In Spain, the universality of the right to health is not fully guaranteed
Amnesty International today called for social security available to everyone, anywhere in the world, after a series of crises have exposed huge gaps in state aid and protection systems. and hundreds of millions of people have been exposed to hunger or trapped in a cycle of poverty and deprivation.
In a document published today and titled Rising prices, growing protests: arguments in favor of universal social protection, The human rights organization also calls for relief from international debt and urges States to reform their tax systems and prosecute tax fraudin order to free up a significant amount of funds with which to pay for social protection.
“A set of crises has come to show how ill-prepared many States are to provide the population with essential help. YoIt is impressive to think that more than 4,000 million people —that is, around 55% of the world population— do not have access to even the most basic social protection, despite the fact that the right to social security was already enshrined in 1948 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
The aforementioned document shows how the rise in food prices, climate change and the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine are fueling a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and causing more and more social unrest. and protests.
Likewise, the text urges States to guarantee that social security coverage —for example, benefits for illness or disability, medical care, pensions for the elderly population, child support, family benefits and income assistance— is available to anyone who may need it.
In addition, the document describes how, in many States, the lack of social security has left communities more exposed to sudden economic shocks, the consequences of conflict, climate change or other shocks. The consequences of these crises – including widespread hunger, rising unemployment and outrage at declining living standards – have led to protests around the world that have often been brutally suppressed.
“Universal social protection can address violations of economic and social rights from which claims and protests often stem. Rather than view peaceful protest as an attempt by the population to claim their rights, the authorities have often responded to demonstrations with unnecessary or excessive use of force. Peaceful protest is a human right, and Amnesty International fights to protect protest,” said Agnès Callamard.
The report calls on international creditors to renegotiate or cancel debts to facilitate better financing of social protection. In addition, the text highlights that, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO)the cost of providing basic social security coverage in low- and lower-middle-income states is estimated to be US$440.8 billion per year, less than the US$500 billion that, according to Tax Justice Networkthe States stop receiving annually due to tax havens.
Amnesty International urges states to work together, use all their resources and reform their tax systems to stop the evasion and loss of essential income in order to guarantee the existence of funds with which to improve social protection.
“These crises have left the population prostrate, and when we talk about solving the world’s problems, there is rarely a simple solution, but what we do know is that States must take the prosecution of tax fraud seriously,” he argues. Agnes Callamard.
To guarantee the right to social security, Amnesty International supports the establishment of a Global Social Protection Fund under international managementa concept that has been endorsed by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the UN Secretary General and the ILO.
The creation of this fund would make it possible to offer the States technical and economic aid so that they, in turn, can offer social security and, ultimately, it would strengthen the capacity of national social security systems to increase their responses in times of crisis.
In Spain, the Draft Law on measures for the cohesion, universality and quality of the National Health System has been blocked in Congress for more than a year and with it the possibility of guaranteeing universality in access to health for migrants in an irregular administrative situation and legally regrouped people in Spain.
Amnesty International has requested on numerous occasions together with REDER and Yo si
Universal Health to the parliamentary groups that approve this Project and can finally correct the gaps in Royal Decree-Law 7/2018 that does not guarantee equal access to health without discrimination.
“It is time for the authorities to fully comply with the recommendations of numerous international organizations that have urged a legal reform that ensures equal access and enjoyment of the right to health for all people regardless of their skin color or age. ethnic origin or their administrative situation,” says Esteban Beltrán, director of Amnesty International in Spain.
The lack of adequate social security can be catastrophic for the growing number of people who can barely afford to eat.
He World Food Program (WFP) It states that, worldwide, 349 million people are in imminent danger of food shortages, while 828 million go to bed hungry every night.
It’s more, according to the 2022 Sustainable Development Goals Reportthe COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out nearly four years of progress in poverty reduction, plunging 93 million more people into extreme poverty, on less than US$2.15 a day to live on.
The lack of effective measures to mitigate inflation and scarcity has caused the population’s living standards to enter a downward spiralwhich has contributed to the outbreak of protests around the world, such as those that have recently taken place in Iran, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka.
Rising food and other basic items have hit populations in low-income countries particularly hard, but increased use of food banks in richer countries shows that the cost of living and food affordability crisis is widespread.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major grain producer, has dealt a devastating blow to the world’s food supply, leading to the FAO Food Price Index to its highest levels since records beganin 1990. Likewise, climate change and the constant increase in fertilizer prices have also had an impact on agricultural production. According to the FAO, Drought is the single largest contributing factor to reduced yields.
Amnesty International is part of a growing coalition of experts and civil society organizations that is calling on states to gradually offer universal social protection and materialize the benefits that this will entail.
Specifically, Agnès Callamard has affirmed that “the fact of protecting the population from suffering losses due to disturbances —from natural catastrophes to economic regressions— can have transformative effects both for society and for the State that offers this support, by reducing social tensions and conflicts and promote recovery. In this way, boys and girls can continue in school, while healthcare improves, poverty and income inequality are reduced and, ultimately, all of society benefits economically.
We cannot continue to look the other way as inequality soars and those who struggle against adversity are left to suffer. Tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance—whether by individuals or companies—deprive states, and especially low-income countries, of needed resources.”
High levels of indebtedness and the cost of debt repayment often prevent the most indebted countries from having the financial capacity to realize their social security aspirations. Low-income countries spend four times more on debt repayment than on health care services and 12 times more than on social protection, according to Oxfam data.
For his part, he IMF annual report It states that around 60% of low-income countries are over-indebted or at high risk of being so, with which they could go into default. Debt cancellation or renegotiation would free up considerable funds in many countries to pay for social protection.
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