Social Security As A Human Right

Provides a guide to social security issues considered by the Court of Human Rights and shows how the provisions of the Convention have been interpreted by European national courts. Elaborates on the concept of victim of violation, the right to life, rights in the case of inhuman or degrading treatment, and the prohibition of slavery and forced labour. Discusses social security as a possession, the respect for private and family life, home and correspondence, and the right to marry and have a family. Covers issues of non-discrimination, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and of association, the liberty of movement, and freedom of residence. Considers access to the courts, and the relationship between the Convention and EU law.

Annex and addenda 1 and 2:.

An International Expert Workshop on the Right to Social Security was held in April 2005 at the German Institute for Human Rights, whose purpose was to highlight specific issues of the right to social security which should be addressed by the Committee when drafting a General Comment on article 9. The results of this workshop are published in this volume providing an insight into the current challenges on social security as a human right.

There is no mention in the European Convention on Human Rights of rights in the field of social security. Nevertheless, the Convention does protect certain of these rights which come into its area of application and this study sets out to explain how. It also examines recent developments in the relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights which, as well as affording procedural guarantees, has widened and strengthened the material protection of specific rights. In addition, examples are given of measures taken in the member states following judgments of the Court in cases concerning social security. This sort of judgment is becoming more common, giving the Convention an ever-expanding social aspect which has an important impact at national level.

The Global Citizenship Commission was convened, under the leadership of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the auspices of NYU’s Global Institute for Advanced Study, to re-examine the spirit and stirring words of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The result – this volume – offers a 21st-century commentary on the original document, furthering the work of human rights and illuminating the ideal of global citizenship. What does it mean for each of us to be members of a global community? Since 1948, the Declaration has stood as a beacon and a standard for a better world. Yet the work of making its ideals real is far from over. Hideous and systemic human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated at an alarming rate around the world. Too many people, particularly those in power, are hostile to human rights or indifferent to their claims. Meanwhile, our global interdependence deepens. Bringing together world leaders and thinkers in the fields of politics, ethics, and philosophy, the Commission set out to develop a common understanding of the meaning of global citizenship – one that arises from basic human rights and empowers every individual in the world. This landmark report affirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and seeks to renew the 1948 enterprise, and the very ideal of the human family, for our day and generation.

The right to social security, found in international law and in the constitutions of many nations, contributes to the alleviation of poverty globally. Social security and its articulation as a human right have received increased attention in recent years both in response to austerity cuts to welfare in developed countries and as a means of lifting millions out of poverty in developing countries. Women, disproportionately affected by poverty in all parts of the world, stand to gain from a right to social security that takes cognisance of gender discrimination and disadvantage. This book interprets and redefines the right to social security from a gender perspective. Drawing on feminist theory, the book formulates a conceptual approach and a set of principles for a substantively equal, gendered right to social security. In so doing, it challenges the relationship between the right to social security and traditional conceptions of work that exclude women’s labour including their caring roles. It argues that the right must have application at the transnational level if it is to address the changing nature of women’s work due to globalisation. The book applies the framework and principles it develops to a study of international law focusing on the work of key United Nations human rights bodies. It also demonstrates the value of this framework in its analysis of three countries’ social security programmes - South Africa, Australia and India. In combining feminist thought on the nature of work and care with equality theories in developing the right to social security from a gender perspective this book expands the capacity of the right to advance gender equality and address gendered poverty.

Infused with relevant personal narratives and photographs, Social Work and Social Welfare provides a global, human rights perspective on social welfare policies that are at the forefront of controversy in today's world (e.g. immigration policies, environmental sustainability, health care, housing, food insecurity, and income/wealth inequality). Structured around one of the concepts students struggle with the most—the research question—this book begins with how to understand the role of good questions before demonstrating how questions underpin good research designs and how social research can be framed as asking and answering questions. Perfect for undergraduate students new to methods, it teaches students how qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research can be used to answer these questions.