Discuss the Question of Extreme Poverty From the Perspective of Human Rights
By: Ahmet Ufuk Turan
Course: Human Rights and Environmental Protection
Date of Submission: September 18, 2018
INTRODUCTION
Poverty is defined in different forms according to time and place. The phenomenon of poverty, unemployment, deprivation, discrimination, and social exclusion. Extreme poverty, exposure to people who can not find enough food and shelter. These are people who lack health and education. This number is equal to half of the United States population. Poverty can occur for various reasons from country to country or from geography to geography. Environmental causes, economic reasons, political reasons, and social reasons can be considered as the main reasons. Poverty requires a great deal of struggle. Poverty is a huge problem facing societies. This can be seen in every period of history. Poverty actually is a global problem.
POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Poverty, which is opposed to your wealth, that is, misery, hunger, necessity, constant struggle with life, war of survival, basic and compulsory needs unable to be adequately met, unable to have sufficient presence, and deprivation It comes. Poverty cannot be measured only with these. When you think in a broad sense of poverty, in addition to the low per capita national income, average life expectancy, literacy rate, nutrition, utilization of health services, and deprivation of clean drinking water. Poverty changes from country to country. The cultural wealth of the societies, religiosity, the economic structures, the natural resources, the levels of development, and the mental world are decisive influences. The multifaceted dimension of poverty as a social phenomenon makes it difficult to determine its clear boundaries.
Gordon Marshall, in the Sociology Glossary,
“Beyond being a problem that arises from society, as a concept containing. The impoverishment of the two, absolute and relative the author explaining in such a way that the absolute impoverishment of calories besides meeting the needs of a person with contemporary needs such as accommodation, education, to deprive of the basic cultural and social needs of health such as health; relative impoverishment refers to the fact that when compared to others, “(Marshall 1999, p. 206. ).
Poverty is a global problem. Both developed countries and developing countries suffer from poverty. the the number of people who live in poverty is increasing around the globe. Poverty is a huge problem, and governments should take steps to eradicate it.
Economic, political, and social crises that lived intensively in the late 20th-century poverty has become increasingly widespread. With some other effects of globalization, living together in living standards and opportunities have led to globalized poverty, which has increased by diversifying the deprivations of human rights and needs (Burkett 1990).
Poverty can change according to time and place. Although poverty is seen in all countries, it is more serious in underdeveloped and developing countries. Poverty goes on forever in these countries. People pass poverty to their children.
Three historical poverty processes have been experienced since the 19th century. Labor poverty in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then prosperity poverty between 1945 and 1970, and the poverty that is now connected to globalization.
Poverty is generally widespread in three ways. The province of these development initiatives of the World Bank to reduce poverty in its projects; the latter, the more inequality in income distribution by shifting poverty to the problem of inequality on a political dimension.
The third, on the basis of a sociologically weighted interpretation, is an approach that suggests that the poor are an identity problem that needs to be searched in themselves (Payne 2013, p.147).
We can not approach poverty only in material terms; poverty should be examined sociologically. When we examine poverty sociologically, we need to be able to examine it at a macro and micro level. Poverty, when we say, we have to look at what people do and how they live. Lack of culture is a poverty in isolation from the international community. For example, in today's Amazon forests, tribes isolated themselves from the world. This is an example of poverty.
Sociological approach or approaches that will address poverty in a context, from a holistic perspective, macro and micro dimensions, and a critical one that will not lose sight of the relationship between them It is thought that being in the frame will explain the social reality better. Poverty alone is not a problem or result of the problem; it is an industrialized form of misery that has been inherited from the past and passed from one generation to another. This is the main reason for the excessive economic growth between countries. As a result of this chain, unemployment, homelessness, hunger, etc., have come to fruition.
Poverty sources include: an unfair tax system, high interest and rent economy, natural disasters, a large number of disabled people who can not work, ability differences, income from inheritance, monopolization in the market, state incentives, inflation, unemployment, and so on. factors (Cheal 1996, p.122).
Poverty alone does not affect unfair income distribution or taxation. Natural disasters, wars, and monopolies in the country are some of the factors.
The most important factors affecting poverty in the world are given below. Lack of material (food, food and beverages, fuel, clothes, etc, the needs for treatment); free or substituted public services deprivation (such as health, roads, education, infrastructure, transport, housing services); wealth and income deprivation. (Townsend 2014, p.189.)
Poverty can be diversified economically, politically, culturally, environmentally, and socially. The most obvious occurrence of poverty is environmental causes. For example, poverty can be seen in a region that is not suitable for energy production and agriculture. Unemployment is a major factor for economic reasons, and it is also necessary to consider the waste of food. Political policies are the causes of poverty. In general, misguided policies, low support for afforestation, bad use of the industry, pollution, and poverty. The lack of support given by the education system leads to the growth of a poor generation.
Corruption in the in-country administration and ambiguous policies can be seen. These reasons are the most important reasons in countries like Nigeria, and a country that is exploited does not have the right to consume its existing resources. Causing people to live in abundance. The main reason for social reasons is excessive population growth. A country that is unconscious about birth control can lead to excessive population growth and distorted urbanization. Brain migrations can leave communities poor. In addition, wars, genocides, and societies can be left in need for a long time.
On the other hand, poverty can be examined in two stages: one is absolute poverty, the other is relative poverty. Absolute poverty is the inability of households to have a future that can last their life, or that they can not afford the cost of basic materials and housing. Relative poverty is lower than the total welfare level of the individual. In relative poverty, households do not make enough use of the prosperity created in society.
According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), poverty is not a decrease in the income level of the lonely people; illness, ignorance, basic social deprivation of services; briefly, a multidimensional concept that affects human life(UNDP Report 2008).
On September 6th-8th, 2002, the UN Millennium Summit pledged to lift poverty. But it is argued that imperialism exists in a world and that it can be achieved in a race of international economic growth. There are many colonial states in the world today. They are using cheap labor and are using the resources of poor countries to cause poverty. Another example is that the US has not yet signed the Kyoto protocol, which causes global pollution. These are known but undesirable causes.
Poverty can be destroyed at a certain level. The two most important steps that governments can take eradicate poverty are to provide access to education and to support entrepreneurs.
The first step that governments should take to end poverty is to increase access to education. When people are educated, they know more about the world and themselves. Educated people can read and learn. They can find solutions to their problems. They can develop new tools and methods. Education enables people to improve their lives. If all the people in a society are educated, they will be able to eliminate poverty gradually.
Secondly, governments should support entrepreneurs in order to eliminate poverty. Entrepreneurs are people who try to find solutions to everyday problems. They create new jobs and opportunities, and they improve the living conditions in a society. Entrepreneurs provide employment and thus decrease poverty in a society. Therefore, they should be supported by the governments through incentives and tax reductions.
Poverty was first seen in village life and later in city life. People in rural areas migrated to the city, and the city began to face the problem of poverty. Poverty, the biggest problem facing the world today, is not only an economic problem, but above all, it is a human and social question. With this process, cities, unemployment, and income distribution have been under the influence of the processes that feed the phenomenon of poverty, such as the increase of imbalance, the emergence of social and spatial polarization, the decline of the idea of social justice, and the narrowing of the field of public service. With the increase and diversification of poverty, today's cities become increasingly intensified, embodied, and problematic areas of extremes. In urban areas, urban poverty is on the rise as the most important problem area that capitalism brings along with modernization, globalization, and class inequalities based on it.
With the acceleration of globalization, the concept of poverty is no longer considered within national borders. The situation in the poor countries is associated with a major globalization process. The fact that the income situation of the middle class gradually begins to deteriorate in every country, rent income is prevented to make real investments, the share of capital as a factor of production is higher than that of labor, employment security is threatened by the deterioration of the employment structure, and inequalities between wage levels, etc. Between countries and within countries, in the presence of a number of intermediate variables that reinforce the negative effects of globalization policies that increase inequality and injustice, the situation is gaining "grave" dimensions. These intermediate variables include national and international migration and asylum cases, demolitions, war and terrorist incidents, unemployment, and economic crises.
In addition, absolute poverty on earth is a tremendous tension. In 1990, the UN set a goal of a thousand-year development with a great desire and commitment. One of the most important was to reduce the proportion of the population living in absolute poverty, defined as living below 1.25 per day, by the first half of 2015. In fact, this goal has been accomplished. Another goal was to reduce the number of people who do not have clean water facilities, and this was a success. The main reason for this lay under the changes in India and China, which have the world's largest and widest population. In 1990, 51% of the population in India was in absolute poverty. When the figures come to China, the situation is getting bitter. In 1981, 65% of China's population was in poverty. This is the major change in the free market and trade-friendly politics, starting in 1980 for China, 1990 for India, and 2000 for other countries in the world. Countries have paced the world economy. They took off their horse glasses and headed for free trade. It reduces the control mechanism of the state, investors, buyers, sellers, and traders. They moved away from the free market, private property planning, and economic control mechanisms. As a result, a massive economic revolution has been made, and a major reduction in poverty has occurred. Although reduced, there are people living below $ 1.25. It is the World Bank. Indeed, it is clear that the World Bank and other leading multinational institutions have recently conducted numerous reviews of poverty and are working to develop new strategies and policies to combat poverty globally. According to UNICEF and the World Bank, around 385 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty. This number is two times larger than the adult population. Rapid Poverty: A Research on Children ", 19.5 percent of children in developing countries, or in other words, 385 million children, spend an average of $ 1.90 per day (about $ 6) or less in 2013, are reported to belong to working families. The rate of adults living in extreme poverty is 9.2 percent. (World Bank Annual Report 2017)
Ana Ravenga, vice-president of the World Bank on Struggle Against Poverty and Equality, said in his statement that the magnitude of the number of children living in extreme poverty has shown the importance of investing in children from early ages. The report was prepared in the light of data from 89 countries, in other words, the group representing 83 percent of the population of developing countries. In reports that more than 50 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa and 36 percent of children in South Asia are forced to live in extreme poverty. It appears that four out of every five children living in extreme poverty live in rural areas. (World Bank Annual Report 2017)
10% of the world's population has 70% of the world's income. With poverty, it shows a great disparity between countries and regions. There is a huge income gap because, on average, the poor countries show a slower development than the rich countries. While the income of the richest 20 countries in 1960 was 18 times higher than the income of the poorest 20 countries, this rate doubled in 1995 to 37 times. The industrialized sector, which constitutes a quarter of mankind, has 85% of the world's wealth.
According to the World Bank report, the number of poor populations has generally declined since 1990. While the total number of poor people in 1990 was 1 billion 920 million, it is estimated that these figures will decrease to 411 million by 2030. However, the sub-Saharan Africa region and the Middle East and North Africa countries do not have a regular decrease in the poverty rate. Although there have been some good developments in the fight against poverty in general, the existence of the phenomenon of poverty continues. (World Bank Annual Report 2017)
International organizations in poverty alleviation around the world play a major role. These include the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. These programs show great work. The main tasks of these organizations are.
In order for the World Bank to be effective in preventing poverty, promoting economic growth, making it advantageous for the poor, increasing the effectiveness of non-governmental organizations, protecting the environment, and working on the basic issues, such as regulating the debts of the relevant country to the World Bank.IMF and World Bank, Heavy Debt Load Projects such as the HIPC Initiative and the Multidimensional Debt Mitigation Initiative (MDRI), are also making efforts to alleviate the debt burden of the poorest countries with the heaviest debt burden. Thus, the problems of the countries with debt problems grow more, and the economic development of these countries (Hulme 1992, p.74).
The role of the United Nations (UN): According to the United Nations Development Program, from the fact that the basic necessities necessary for survival can be met, health, freedom, self-esteem, self-esteem, and lack of opportunities for human development (Ritzer 2016, p.131).
The UN is also cooperating with many organizations related to poverty. UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization(WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations (UNFPA).and Social Development. ( Gordon, D., Spicker, P., 1999, p.108)
In addition, microeconomic credit applications are being made in the internal economic policies of the countries. It is a very small amount of credit for poor families to register for jobs and to grow small businesses. In addition, financial assistance to very poor people is aimed at being stable by finding them. Unlike banks, they give unsecured loans to their customers. In order to reduce poverty, social assistance and incentive funding should be provided, and family benefits and educational benefits should be provided. In addition, special-purpose aids must be provided. We can say that opening the soup kitchen is like helping the victims of natural disasters. Health assistance and employment projects are the biggest help. Voluntary health services are provided in many places, especially in Africa.
CONCLUSION
Poverty, as old as human history, shows itself differently in developed and developing countries, and the causes and dimensions of poverty vary. Factors that cause poverty are closely related to both the problems experienced by countries at the macro level and the living conditions at the micro level of the individual. Ever since poverty has become a global problem, it has not been seen as a problem only in underdeveloped and developing countries. Indeed, it is a question that must be addressed in developed countries. If the poverty line is examined and determined in terms of absolute poverty, it may not be poor in some countries, where there is no need to consider the poor.
This approach is based on evaluations made outside the poor. There is always a poor segment in society in relative poverty. Poverty is a multidimensional question, so multidimensional approaches are needed. In order for the poor to free themselves from poverty, large-scale employment policies must be applied. It is their own labor that will save them from poverty, and therefore, the labor market needs to be evaluated functionally.
In addition to these, while trying to end poverty, it is necessary to protect from the events that will produce poverty. The battles that the countries are fighting in the economic growth, the continuation of imperialism, the establishment of colonial nations, and the hunger of the peoples there are among the reasons. Today, the occurrence of civil wars causes the emergence of refugees, which increases poverty. When all these events are accounted for, 2 billion people are facing poverty, according to the anti-global humanitarian report.
Many countries have different reasons for being poor. The wars in some countries, the colonies in some countries, are injustices in some countries. The most important point that needs to be emphasized is justice; countries can be won by the sword, but they are lost if they are not governed by justice. Today in Vienna, when music and arts are hungry, people in Syria, Somalia, and Myanmar are hungry for basic needs. Justice consciousness must first be developed for the elimination of poverty. Poverty is a systemic concept, and a systematic solution is needed to eradicate poverty. The relations of interest must be ignored, and the social justice understanding must be accepted and implemented. International organizations and the governments of the world need to support them. It should not be built on the misery of other people all over the world for the happiness of some people.
Bibliography
Burkett, Paul, 1990. Poverty Crisis in the Third World: The Contradictions of World Bank Policy. Monthly Review, Vol. 42, No. 7.
Cheal, David, 1996. New Poverty: Families in Postmodern Society (Contributions in Sociology). London: Greenwood Press. p.122.
Gordon, D., Spicker, P., 1999. The International Glossary on Poverty. New York: IPSR Books. p.108
Hulme, David, 1992. Making a Difference: NGOs and Development in a Changing World. New York: Routledge. p.74.
Marshall, Gordon, 2009. A Dictionary of Sociology (Oxford Paperback Reference). Oxford: OUP Oxford; 4th Revised edition. p.206.
Payne, K. Ruby, 2013. A Framework for Understanding Poverty: A Cognitive Approach. Texas: Aha Process Inc. p.147.
Ritzer, George, 2016. Essentials of Sociology. London: Sage Publications. p.131
Townsend, Peter, 2014. International Analysis of Poverty. New York: Routledge. p.189.
The World Bank Annual Report, 2017.‘’ http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/annual-report/fiscal-year-data ‘’ ‘’ 17 August 2018 ‘’.
UNDP Annual Report, 2008.’’ http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/corporate/undp_in_action_2008.html ‘’ ‘’ 15 June 2018 ‘’.
