A/64/279 I. Introduction 1. In resolution 8/11, the Human Rights Council calls upon the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty to contribute to international efforts related to the elimination of poverty. 2. In 2009, the independent expert participated in the tenth special session of the Human Rights Council on the theme “The impact of the global economic and financial crises on the universal realization and effective enjoyment of human rights”. She also sent a written contribution to the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development. During the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council, the independent expert presented a report which analyses cash transfer programmes from a human rights perspective. 3. The present report analyses why there has been a revival of interest in social protection in recent months, and how this has translated into practice. It argues that human rights principles and standards need to be considered as a priority in this respect. 4. First, the report offers an overview of the impact of the global financial crisis on the enjoyment of human rights. It then describes the existing human rights framework for social protection systems and indicates the requirements for adopting a human rights-based approach in order to assist the implementation of these initiatives. It also describes recent initiatives announced at the international level to enhance social protection. The report concludes with recommendations for the enhancement of social protection systems using a human rights-based approach. II. The urgent need to fulfil long-standing commitments 5. In recent months, millions of people on every continent have been rapidly pushed into poverty and extreme poverty as a result of the downturn in the financial markets in developed countries and the resulting slowdown of the global economy. 1 6. The unprecedented impact of the current global economic and financial crisis on the poor is very alarming. This crisis demonstrates the urgent need to establish and expand social protection systems around the world in order to protect those already living in poverty and to prevent yet more people being pushed into a life of poverty. Human rights standards provide a normative framework that demand the adoption of social protection measures and provide guidance for their design, implementation and evaluation. 7. The crisis has had devastating consequences on the enjoyment of human rights, especially among vulnerable groups, and this demands immediate attention and action. The rapid rise in levels of poverty is not an unpredictable accident. The failure of States to protect people against economic hazards, and the fact that 80 per cent of the world’s population have little or no access to adequate social protection __________________ 1 4 See, for example, World Bank, Global Monitoring Report 2009: a development emergency (Washington, D.C., 2009), pp. 1 and 2. 09-45276