INVOLVEMENT OF POOR PEOPLE NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS OF POVERTY ERADICATION EFFORTS, EXPERTS TELL SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

Press Release
SOC/4396

INVOLVEMENT OF POOR PEOPLE NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS OF POVERTY ERADICATION EFFORTS, EXPERTS TELL SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

Participation and involvement of the poor were prerequisites for the success of poverty eradication efforts, the Commission for Social Development was told by experts yesterday afternoon. That was among the conclusions of the first of three panels held as part of the Commission's special session on finding ways to implement the poverty eradication goals of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.

The panel format was an attempt to open the Commission's debate to experts and main actors of civil society in the field of social development. Yesterday's afternoon theme was "promotion of self-reliance and community- based initiatives". Panellists condemned "social apartheid", called for a partnership between the poor and the non-poor, and stressed that persistent poverty seriously jeopardized human rights.

Taking part in the panel discussion were the following: Huguette Redegeld, Vice-President, International Movement ATD Fourth World, France; Caroline Pezzullo, Global Facilitator of GROOTS, United States; Kasa Pangu, Senior Adviser, Health Systems Development Unit, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Atila Roque, Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses; and Else Oyen, Professor of Social Policy, University of Bergen, Norway, and Chair, Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP).

Also yesterday afternoon, the Commission continued its general discussion on the review of its functioning and on strategies and actions for poverty eradication. The representative of the Dominican Republic made a statement. Representatives of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the International Council of Social Welfare and the International Catholic Child Bureau also spoke.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. today, 24 May, to continue its deliberations.

Panel Discussion

Addressing the theme of "promotion of self-reliance and community-based initiatives", a panellist stated that the dominant ethic of exclusion and "social apartheid" had to be combated. He emphasized that the present theoretical tools were too centred in the State and the market, with participation often offered in the form of co-option. Panellists called for a shift from traditional development. It was also emphasized that in order for participation to be real, it had to be sustainable.

Experts called for a partnership between the poor and the non-poor. A panellist gave the example of a Brazilian organization, called the Brazilian Citizen's Action against Misery, which had fought poverty by breaking up the national statistics on the poor into the numbers of the poor and the hungry in each city to come up with totals which were more manageable. Millions of people had been mobilized in the last three years for food distribution by that organization. Its success could be attributed to the fact that it had dealt with poverty from the point of view of ethics, and not of development. It had made people feel responsible for the public goal of eradicating poverty and had built bridges between different sectors of society.

Persistent poverty seriously jeopardized human rights, it was stated. And it was also emphasized that the poor had to be provided with tools to develop their own knowledge, that they should be given full freedom to express themselves and should be provided with access to knowledge and information collected about them. Emphasis was also laid on evaluation of programmes to ascertain effective implementation. The role of the family in combating poverty was highlighted.

Attention was drawn to the need for better access to services at affordable costs. A panellist called for community cost sharing and transparency in the management of health systems. He emphasized the need for interface with community members and said the role of women in health management should be enhanced. Another panellist warned against interference and counter-strategies. There were sizeable gains in the continued existence of poverty which provided cheap labour and a segment of population which did not protest, it was noted. Therefore, it was important that major education programmes to ensure understanding among the non-poor about the problems of the poor be initiated.

During the discussion, questions were asked by Commission members on issues such as the plight of the urban poor and the risk of external assistance being offered with political objectives.

Replying to questions, experts stated that the relationship between donor and recipient communities was complex, as there was a thin line between

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participation and what could be seen as interference in internal affairs. Remarking on the plight of the urban poor, they stated that in urban areas traditional solidarity had broken down and new ways of ensuring participation had to be devised.

Statements

JULIA TAVARES DE ALVAREZ (Dominican Republic) said the provision of good educational programmes and systems could serve as basis for promoting national development and combating poverty. Her country had laid emphasis on education. A non-profit association, Action for Basic Education, had been launched to support educational activities. The importance of basic education to raising productivity, promoting all-round development and improving living standards was now understood. It was also understood that social marketing of education was a worthwhile and cost-effective endeavour to rally the society to invest more in the country's educational institutions. The association was using mass campaigns with slogans stating that "to educate is to live better".

A programme of retraining of retired teachers for pre-school education in the poorest provinces of the country, initiated three years ago, had proved successful, she said. A medical component had been added to the educational programme, including, among others, an oral rehydration project, sponsored by UNICEF, as well as a nutrition project. In order to meet the real needs of the country, various types of consultation had been organized to obtain public views on the problems of education and possible solutions. The national consultation, carried out after the 1990 World Conference on Education for All, had been the technical foundation for the drawing up of a 10-year education plan.

BEATRICE VON ROEMER, of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), said action was needed to ensure that the new global economy benefited the majority. Affiliates of the ICFTU around the world had been urging governments to establish special Social Summit action groups to focus on ensuring that national targets were set to achieve the objectives of that Conference. Poor people wanted and needed the chance to work themselves out of poverty. An environment should be created for communities to see that progress was being made. An essential element for such an environment was respect for basic human rights, including basic labour standards.

She said the trade union movement was particularly concerned about the increasing number of export processing zones where millions of workers, mainly young women, were employed in grossly repressive conditions. The continuing scandal of child labour, which in some countries was spreading into commercial export-oriented sectors, was another area of concern. A three-pronged attack was called for with increased investment in education, targeted particularly on primary school places for girls in rural areas, job creation programmes to

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create adequate wage earning opportunities for parents of poor families and enactment and enforcement of stronger labour laws, including minimum wage for employment.

Poverty eradication entailed the progressive integration of the informal sector into the mainstream of economic activity, she said. The ICFTU was convinced that blind faith in the market was not an answer to the problems the process of globalization was posing to societies. The organization would hold a conference next month to discuss strengthening international solidarity to meet that challenge, she added.

DIRK JARRE, of the International Council of Social Welfare, said the Commission for Social Development should become the key global body for monitoring the follow-up to the Social Summit. For the Commission to play a key role in the implementation of the Summit's outcome it would need to strengthen itself. Commission members should be represented at a high political level and the Commission should meet annually. The officers of the Commission should be elected at each previous session and a small non- governmental consultative group should be established. Calling for an enabling environment for social development, he said a high priority should be accorded to monitoring and to mobilization of resources. Also, special emphasis should be given to monitoring at the regional level.

DENNIS O. CALLAGAY, of the International Catholic Child Bureau, said that the strengthening of families and eradication of poverty were linked. The Programme of Action adopted by the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development had stressed that all social and economic policies had to be family oriented. Long-term poverty had devastating effects on families. In fact, when poverty and unemployment hit, the family was the last safety net. In addition, consumerism and materialism had also hit families. The family was cross-sectional and was an ideal beginning for an integrated approach. The Commission should encourage the participation of family focused non-governmental organizations in its deliberations.

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