Female Bloated Stomache

World Day of Human Rights in 2010 (it's already been celebrated!)

The World Human Rights Day, celebrated on December 10, 2010, was dedicated this year to all those involved in the defense of human rights to put an end to discrimination. In this short article we would like to put emphasis on a particular and sometimes overlooked aspect of the larger situation of discrimination in the world: poverty.

Today, poverty prevails as the gravest human rights
challenge in the world. Combating poverty, deprivation and
exclusion is not a matter of charity, and it does not depend
on how rich a country is.
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.

Louise Arbour United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights

Fighting poverty is a requirement not an act charity

Poverty is one of the most common violation of human rights. The relationship between human rights and poverty should be obvious: if we think the victims of discrimination or persecution, are often among the poorest people in the world. However, even if we think of the poor of our cities, discrimination with respect to the right to education, health services, at home or at work is very high, simply because the poorest do not have the means to access these services. Despite this, very rarely think about the fight against poverty in terms of combating discrimination and human rights, poverty is too often perceived as inevitable and tragic situation, where the only ones responsible are the poor themselves regarded as unfortunate, lazy and not worthy.

away from our myopic eyes, the reality is quite different. Poverty is caused discrimination as unequal access to resources to the social and cultural divisions, inequalities of gender and class, factors are summarized in the denial of rights and human dignity to people.

Surely governments have the primary role in developing policies aimed at poverty reduction in terms of combating discrimination, but also us through our attitudes, our choices of consumption, living and charitable giving can do much, we could be like "drops in the ocean."