A/HRC/17/34
G.
Improving the collection of data and poverty monitoring systems
88.
The sheer surprise with which the most recent crises took the international
community is telling not only of the rapidity of transmission of the crises, but of the
inability of States to predict and prepare for shocks and to understand the multiple
dimensions of poverty. In order to better inform policy debates on how best to
prioritize the human rights of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, States need to
be able to identify them more accurately and efficiently and to assess their needs. To
this end, States should work towards creating mechanisms that provide better
information about the incidence and substance of deprivation and inequality. This
includes instituting means of gathering larger quantities of better quality
disaggregated data on the impact of the crises and of recovery policies. Data should be
disaggregated according to several dimensions, such as gender, age, geographical
location, ethnicity and health status. It is also crucial that, in the face of rising food
prices, States monitor in a timely manner the development of local food prices in
order to ensure prompt and appropriate policy responses.
H.
Increasing participation and creating a national dialogue
89.
A human rights-based recovery from the successive crises must be one in which
all segments of society play a significant role. The human rights principles of
participation, transparency and accountability require States to create and maintain
mechanisms by which individuals can meaningfully and effectively contribute to,
provide feedback on and claim redress from policy measures that affect their
enjoyment of human rights.
90.
In order to satisfy their human rights obligations and thus ensure participation
and transparency in policy formulation, States should construct permanent structures
and pathways for consultation with individuals, civil society, community
organizations, grass-roots movements and the academic community. They should also
take measures to invest in the capacity of these groups to contribute to and participate
in policy formulation.
91.
Increasing participation in policymaking allows States to assess more
adequately the root causes of deprivation in any given community, the structural
challenges to poverty alleviation, the local cultural, ethnic or societal obstacles to
successful poverty reduction, and the best means of reaching the most vulnerable. It
therefore increases the likelihood that policies will be effective in reaching the poorest
members and segments of society and will improve their degree of enjoyment of
human rights.
I.
Ensuring an environmentally sustainable recovery
92.
States should only adopt legal and policy measures that are compatible with the
sustainability and prosperity of communities in both rural and urban areas. Climate
change and environmental degradation will continue to endanger the lives and
livelihoods of the poorest and most disadvantaged, many of whom rely on natural
resources as a basic means of survival. Activities undertaken by rural populations,
such as agriculture, aquaculture, fishery and forestry, are severely exposed to climate
change.
93.
States need to focus efforts on a recovery that can prepare for and mitigate the
effect of future climatic crises, through, for example, social protection programmes
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