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Excluding people from participating in policy making can prevent them from achieving basic human rights. Social exclusion takes away their voice, autonomy, and their right to have a say over what ought to happen in their lives. People living in poverty are often excluded in this way.
A side event during the 2017 High Level Political Forum, “Participation: What a day to end poverty can accomplish,” discussed the issue of participation of people living in poverty and how it is a key concept to the 2030 Agenda. The event set a good example for full participation, as it featured speakers from the UN system, civil society, and people who have lived in poverty.
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Ms. Kimberly Tyre, a human rights and anti-poverty activist, gave a moving address about her experiences. As a mother of 4 she discussed the difficulties in obtaining basic needs, and the stereotyping and humiliation she faced while living in poverty. She described one incident when she had been hospitalized for 6 days only to find her children were taken away by social services by the time she was discharged. She was not be able to see her children again for 6 months, based on the sole fact that she was poor.
Experiences like these made Ms. Tyre become an anti-poverty activist. She found herself working with ATD Fourth World and a national research team against poverty in the United States. Although she did not have the theoretical knowledge, she knew what poverty was because she had lived it. Ms. Tyre knows her insight is valuable, and she strives to make others feel the same.
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Every year on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October, the UN and other stakeholders are making strides to ensure a variety of voices are included, like Ms. Tyre. The United Nations invites speakers who have personal experience living in poverty to share their insights. ATD Fourth World argue that these stories can be problematic, as they are often tied to private experiences of suffering, which makes their participation seem less like genuine involvement and more like an emotional stimulant for the issue.
Yet, these personal voices bring life to rooms of the UN and help member states, civil society, and international civil servants know the significance of their work. By growing up in poverty these people share so much more than their personal stories and provide a unique perspective on how to address the issue.
Ms. Isabelle Pypaert-Perrin, the Director General of ATD Fourth World, emphasized the importance of recognizing the experiences of people like Ms. Kimberly Tyre. She argued that participation is a human right for everyone and that it could be a transformative tool to eradicate poverty. She also stated that to create a socially inclusive environment it is crucial to give people living in poverty the feeling of belonging, because when they feel like they belong they are ready to act as agents of change and as spokespeople to share their vital insights. This happens when people are invited to participate and play a leading role in contributing to the progress of humanity and the eradication of poverty.
See also the interactive report by by ATD (All Together in Dignity) Fourth World.
For more information on the work of the UN on Poverty Eradication please visit, social.un.org/poverty
Source: UNSDN, ATD Fourth World