How can a human rights approach help to define poverty?

Poverty has conventionally been defined in economic terms, focusing on an individual’s or household’s available financial capacity, either absolute or relative. In recent years, however, alternative views have emerged that now recognize that poverty is multidimensional. It can be defined not only as lack of material resources deemed necessary for an acceptable standard of living, but also a denial of other related capacities and opportunities, such as education and physical well-being, as well as less easily quantifiable factors such as lack of dignity, self-respect, freedom or access to power.
Although “poverty” is not specifically and explicitly referred to in any of the international human rights treaties, its existence as a phenomenon is recognized by the human rights community. Both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights refer to the right of every one to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services. In 2001, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights reached agreement on the definition of poverty as:
There is no single standard definition of poverty and the choice of definition remains a country’s national prerogative. Any strategy that is to be sustainable and effective must, however, recognize and address the multidimensional nature of poverty and respond to not only its economic aspects but also other critical elements, be they structural, social or
political, that contribute to its persistence in certain vulnerable groups.

How is health protected by the human rights legal framework?

Human rights recognize that the realization of the highest attainable standard of health depends upon a wide range of distinct, yet interrelated, human rights. The ways in which human rights can have an impact upon health fall into three main areas:
●The violation or neglect of human rights, such as torture, slavery, violence against women and children and exposure to other harmful practices, can lead to ill-health.
●The fulfillment of human rights can reduce a person's vulnerability to ill-health.
● Development policies can bring about the fulfillment of some human rights but may, in some circumstances, violate others.

The right to the highest attainable standard of health, often referred to as the right to health, is enshrined consistently within international law. It encompasses a range of rights from having access to care when ill, to protection against disease or the ill effects of environmental living conditions. Under the right to health, states are obliged to ensure that public health services, as well as medicines and health care staff, are made available to all, are accessible to all, regardless of geographical location or economic status, are acceptable to all cultures, genders and ages and respect the privacy of all individuals.
Furthermore, the quality of the skills of the health personnel, the medicines available and the equipment used should be of a consistent standard for all communities and all individuals within those communities. In addition to the provision of health care, it is generally understood that the fulfillment of the right to health depends upon a number of related human rights that can have a direct impact upon health. These include the right to safe water and sanitation, the right to food and nutrition, the right to shelter, the right to occupational and environmental conditions that do not damage health, the right to health-related education and information, the right to non-discrimination, the right to participate, the right to enjoy the fruits of scientific progress and the right to social security or protection in times of severe hardship.

Declaration on the Participation of Health Personnel in the Death Penalty

(Amnesty International, 1981, 1988)

Amnesty International,

Recalling that the spirit of the Hippocratic Oath enjoins doctors to practice for thegood of their patients and never to do harm,

Considering that the Declaration of Tokyo of the World Medical Association provides that "the utmost respect for human life is to be maintained even under threat, and no use made of any medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity",

Further considering that the World Medical Association, meeting in Lisbon in 1981, resolved that it is unethical for physicians to participate in capital punishment,

Noting that the United Nations' Principles of Medical Ethics enjoin health personnel, particularly physicians, to refuse to enter into any relationship with a prisoner other than one directed at evaluating, protecting or improving their physical and mental health,

Conscious of the ethical dilemmas posed for health personnel called on to treat or testify about the condition of prisoners facing capital charges or sentenced to death, where actions by such personnel could help save the prisoner's life but could also result in the prisoner's execution,

Mindful that health personnel can be called on to participate in executions by, inter alia:

1.determining mental and physical fitness for execution,
2.preparing, administering, supervising or advising others on any procedure related to execution,
3.making medical examinations during executions, so that an execution can continue if the prisoner is not yet dead,

Declares that the participation of health personnel in executions is a violation of professional ethics;

Calls upon health personnel not to participate in executions;

Further calls upon organizations of health professionals:
1.to protect health personnel who refuse to participate in executions
2.to adopt resolutions to these ends, and
3.to promote worldwide adherence to these standards.

This declaration was formulated by the Medical Advisory Board of Amnesty International in 1981 and revised in 1988 in the light of developments on the issue.

Africa needs more than $1bn each year to care for the millions of orphans on the continent, officials say.

By 2010, there will be more than 50 million orphans in just 16 of Africa's 53 countries, said Douglas Webb from the UN's children's agency. ( BBC,16 June,2005)
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Gender-based differences

Discrimination on the basis of sex and gender roles – also called Gender discrimination– remains pervasive.
There are very few countries in the world where women are equal to men from the point of view of legal, social and economic rights, and gender gaps are widespread in access to and control over resources, in economic opportunities, in power and political voice.

Gender
Gender refers to the economic, social and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with being male or female in a particular point in time.
Source: Transforming health systems: gender and rights in reproductive health. WHO, 2001.

Gender equality
Gender equality means equal treatment of women and men in laws and policies, and equal access to resources and services within families, communities and society at large.
Source: Transforming health systems: gender and rights in reproductive health. WHO, 2001.

Gender equity
Gender equity means fairness and justice in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities between women and men. It often requires women-specific programmes and policies to end existing inequalities.
Source: Transforming health systems: gender and rights in reproductive health. WHO, 2001.

Gender discrimination
Gender discrimination refers to any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of socially constructed gender roles and norms which prevents a person from enjoying full human rights.
Source: Transforming health systems: gender and rights in reproductive health. WHO, 2001.

Reproductive rights
Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.
Source: ICPD Programme of Action, 1994, para 7.3

Sex

Sex refers to the biological characteristics which define humans as female or male.[These sets of biological characteristics are not mutually exclusive as there are individuals who possess both, but these characteristics tend to differentiate humans as males and females. In general use in many languages, the term sex is often used to mean "sexual activity", but for technical purposes in the context of sexuality and sexual health discussions, the above definition is preferred.]
Source: WHO Draft working definition, October 2002

Sexuality

Sexuality is a central aspect of being human throughout life and encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, practices, roles and relationships. While sexuality can include all of these dimensions, not all of them are always experienced or expressed. Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, ethical, legal, historical and religious and spiritual factors.
Source: WHO Draft working definition, October 2002

Sexual health

Sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. For sexual health to be attained and maintained, the sexual rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled.
Source: WHO Draft working definition, October 2002

Sexual rights

Sexual rights embrace human rights that are already recognized in national laws, international human rights documents and other consensus documents. These include the right of all persons, free of coercion, discrimination and violence, to:
the highest attainable standard of health in relation to sexuality, including access to sexual and reproductive health care services;
seek, receive and impart information in relation to sexuality;
sexuality education;
respect for bodily integrity;
choice of partner;
decide to be sexually active or not;
consensual sexual relations;
consensual marriage;
decide whether or not, and when to have children; and
pursue a satisfying, safe and pleasurable sexual life.
The responsible exercise of human rights requires that all persons respect the rights of others.
Source: WHO Draft working definition, October 2002

Afghanistan: Women still under attack

Violence against women and girls in Afghanistan is pervasive, said Amnesty International launching its latest report "Afghanistan: Women under attack".

Stop Violence Against Women campaign: It's in our hands

On 5 March 2004 Amnesty International launched a world-wide campaign to stop violenc against women. Governments and citizens everywhere will be pressured to introduce and implement laws that really protect women, whether on the battlefield or at home.

G8 reaches deal for world's poor

Poverty in Africa .

The world's eight richest countries have reached a landmark debt relief deal to alleviate global poverty.
The move provides relief for poor, indebted nations, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, freeing up much-needed revenue.Announcing the deal at a meeting of G8 finance ministers in London, the UK's Gordon Brown said now was "not a time for timidity but a time for boldness".The UK, which will host a summit of G8 leaders next month, has vowed to make poverty reduction a priority. ( Saturday, 13 June, 2005 ,BBC NEWS)
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pic of the day


Children jubilating in Clean Water Festival in Tehran, June 12 ( 13,June ,2005 ;Tehran Times)

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Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

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Millennium Development Goals

By the year 2015, all 191 United Nations Member states have pledged to meet these goals ;

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

More than one million Iranian children live below a poverty line of $1 and $2 a day income, while approximately 14 percent work to contribute to family income and meet schooling costs. (Iran daily ,08/Feb/2005)

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Earthquake in Bam( IRAN,2004)
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Hunger
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Gender equality and Gender equity

Gender equality is the absence of discrimination on the basis of a person's sex in opportunities, in the allocation of resources and benefits or in access to services.

Gender equity refers to fairness and justice in the distribution of benefits and responsibilities between women and men. The concept recognises that women and men have different needs and power and that these differences should be identified and addressed in a manner that rectifies the imbalance between the sexes.

Non Communicable diseases in IRAN

Non-communicable diseases and their related morbidity and mortality are also a significant serious public health problem in Iran.
Given the high prevalence of Non-communicable diseases in Iran, the fact that they constitute most important cause of mortality in the country (46%, based on a report by the Iranian Ministry of Health), the rising prevalence of coronary diseases in the younger population (17% in the fifth and sixth decades, to 28% during the last three years), estimates of the prevalence of risk factors in the society (10%), and the economic burdens of such diseases (costs of hospitalization in teaching hospitals in Isfahan amounting to some 3,750,000 $ in 1989, reaching 19 million and 5 hundred thousand $ in 1994), studies conducted by Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center estimate that NCD-related economic burdens will exceed 50 million $ in 2004.
According to the death registration report in IRAN, the first cause of deaths is CVD. Although CVD is the first cause of deaths, and the risk of getting a cardiovascular disease increases by 1.5 times in people who do not follow minimum physical activity recommendations, over 60% of the global population in Iran is not physically active enough to gain health benefits, especially girls and women , and the population’s sedentary life style is one of the public health problem in IRAN. Several reports have shown that a combination of improper diet, lack of physical activity and tobacco use may be the cause of up to 80% of premature coronary heart disease in IRAN.

Iranian journalist returns to prison

An Iranian investigative journalist, jailed for linking officials to political murders, was back behind bars on Saturday and resuming a hunger strike after vanishing for three days.


Akbar Ganji was granted home leave last month to have medical checks for asthma and back pains.

Iranian authorities said he should have been back in jail on Wednesday but had given them the slip.

On Saturday, Ganji returned alone to Tehran's Evin prison, clutching a hold-all and a bag of medicines.

"Now that I have gone back to prison, I will resume my hunger strike," he told reporters. "All political prisoners must be freed."

He was jailed in 2001 after publishing articles implicating top officials to the murder of political dissidents.

Human rights' lawyer Mohammad Saifzadeh said Tehran's prosecutor had turned down an extension to Ganji's home leave.

"But the reason he did not show up for three days was to protest at the way agents raided his home," he told Reuters.

Gap widens between Iran's rich and poor

Unemployment and poverty are some of the most important issues in Iran today.

world cup

Iran in world cup 2006.
AFC - Iran followed Japan into the 2006 World Cup after a solitary goal win over Bahrain on Wednesday at the packed Azadi Stadium.