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Grouping Extreme poverty and social cohesion
of INGOs represented at the Council of Europe
May 18, 2007; Jean-Pierre Gollé
For discussion; draft translation from the French original
The contribution of NGOs to the fight against poverty in Europe
What do we know about poverty in Europe? Who are the persons most affected by this tragedy? How do NGOs contribute to the fight against poverty? What are their actions? How do they contribute to change the way society looks at persons who experience poverty in their daily lives so that the dignity of each person is respected, including the most fragile, the most excluded? These are some of the questions that this note seeks to answer.
The objectives of the note are both modest are ambitious. The objective is modest because we simply seek to present the findings of the various studies and practical experience of NGOs active in many different countries in Europe . The first objective is therefore to present a synthesis based on information provided by NGOs represented at the Council of Europe and active in the Grouping Extreme poverty and social cohesion . We are aware that the information collected if far from giving a complete picture of the varied actions of NGOs. Our hope is that this note will encourage other NGOs to make their actions better known, in particular in countries of Eastern and Central Europe.
The objective is also ambitious because syntheses of NGO actions in the field of poverty eradication are rare, and too often under-estimated. Our hope is that this note will be enriched in the future by further exchanges between NGOs and help make more visible their contribution to the building a more social Europe.
To set the stage, we start by taking stock of the state of poverty in Europe based on statistical studies of several international institutions. We then review several main actions of NGOs in their fight against poverty and draw lessons related to these actions. Next, we review the varied contributions of NGOs to policies to eradicate poverty and that helped better understand the complexity and dynamic of the poverty process and helped identify basic conditions for in-depth action. In conclusion, we identify several themes that appear to us as essential to effective policies to eradicate poverty. The table of content is provided on the last page (page 20).
I. Poverty in Europe – some indicators
a. The difficulty of measuring poverty
What is poverty? How to measure it? To analyse a situation, it is necessary to understand it well. For a long time, the concept of poverty was reduced to a monetary dimension; a person was considered poor if his or her income was not sufficient to ensure a minimum standard of living. Thanks in large part to NGOs, researchers understood over the past thirty years that poverty could not be reduced to a measure of income. NGOs have shown the complex and dynamic nature poverty and helped improve the framework for public policies. Through their understanding of qualitative aspects of poverty, NGOs showed the limits and inadequacy of purely quantitative indicators used by the international community. They helped establish a firmer basis for a better understanding and measure of poverty. This work remains insufficiently known by politicians and institutions; it should be pursued further and with the participation of persons who experience poverty.
Thanks to NGOs, the notion of poverty has evolved from a very narrow concept defined in terms of income to a broad concept that reflects the multidimensional aspects and the dynamics of poverty . Poverty is now recognized as the result of the combination of several insecurities or handicaps that affect several aspects of daily life such as access to housing, health care, education, culture, justice, to name just the main ones. When these insecurities last, they reinforce each other and prevent those concerned from assuming their responsibilities and from asserting their rights by themselves. Hence, those affected move from poverty to extreme poverty characterized by the accumulation of insecurities over a long period; they become excluded from society and no longer consider themselves subjects or holders of rights.
This progress in the defining poverty helped understand better the concepts of interdependence and indivisibility of human rights. Indeed, poverty hinders or even prevents access to social rights. A person testifies how the accumulation and combination of insecurities are mutually reinforcing and push the person ever deeper into poverty. « Without housing, without drinkable water, without minimum resources, it is simply not possible to be in good health, to ensure that children go to school, to participate in local activities or even to see his family respected. » In other words, to be poor can compromise access to good health, education, and public life; poverty compromises the free exercise of one’s rights and fundamental liberties that each human being should be able to enjoy.
Despite some clear progress in the design of poverty indicators, we must admit that Europe still does not possess satisfactory indicators of poverty. Therefore, let us work with what exists. Two main types of indicators are available, indicators of absolute poverty and indicators of relative poverty.
- Indicators of absolute poverty are based on the notion of a threshold of monetary poverty under which a person is considered poor, his income level not being sufficient to cover basic living needs. The World Bank, the United Nations and several countries such as Russia rely on such absolute indicators for their work and international comparisons.
- Indicators of relative poverty are also monetary indicators, but, instead of relying on a minimum threshold of income, they are based in terms of an income level considered representative in society, such as the average income or the median income of households. Such concepts of relative poverty are used by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, which sets the poverty threshold at 60 per cent of the median income in each country.
These absolute and relative indicators most used allow international comparisons, but remain limited to a monetary approach of poverty. Since they do not reflect the multidimensional aspects of poverty, they provide a partial and incomplete view of poverty.
Furthermore, it should be acknowledged that in many countries the official measure of poverty does not correspond to the perception by people of their own poverty situation. Often, a greater proportion of population considers itself poor than that shown by official indicators. In Russia, for example, and according to data provided by the Rosstat Institute at the end of 2003, about 44 % of the population considered itself poor (subjective indicator, reflecting perceptions by people), a proportion more than double that of the official estimate of absolute poverty.
b. What do the indicators tell us, even if they are imperfect?
European Union
The proportion of the poor in the European Union (25 countries) is estimated by EUROSTAT at 16 % in 2004 , women being more affected (17 %) than men (15 %). There are large differences between countries: countries with relatively low levels of poverty of which Nordic countries and Hungary (about 11 %); countries with average levels (14 to 17 %) of which France, Belgium, Germany, Poland; and countries with higher levels of which countries of the south of Europe with proportions of 19 to 21 % (Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal) Ireland and Slovakia (21 %), and Turkey (26 %).
World Bank
A study of the World Bank provides interesting information on poverty in Eastern and Central Europe . The study uses the concept of absolute poverty (income level of less than $ 2.15 per day), a concept not directly comparable with relative indicators of EUROSTAT. According to the study, the proportion of poor persons in Eastern and Central Europe increased from 1/25 (4%) in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin wall and the transition from a planned to a market economy to 1/5 (20%) in 1998, reflecting the fall in output and the major structural reforms. With the resumption of growth from 1988 and the application of institutional reforms, the proportion of poor persons would have decreased to 1/8 in 2003 (13% of population, or about 60 millions fewer poor); the decrease concerned all countries except Poland, Lithuania and Georgia, with poverty prevalent mainly in rural areas.
As indicated above, it is difficult to compare levels of poverty through income measures in countries where standards of living are very different . Other indicators are therefore needed, such as, for example, access to hot water and toilets. The proportion of households without direct access to hot water is estimated at 2% in France against 30% in Poland, 23% in urban Russia and 47% in Romania . The rate of non-availability of toilets within the living unit is 2% in France, 16% in Poland, 17% in urban Russia and 33% in Romania.
What are the key messages coming out of these informations? Despite increased wealth and growth in Europe, poverty continues to afflict a great number of Europeans. Some progress is being made in the fight against poverty and in the design of indicators, but the scandal of poverty remains as ever for civil society.
II. The main fields of action of NGOs
NGOs act in many different ways to fight against poverty, from emergency programs for persons in distress to support actions to enable persons to rebuild their lives if necessary and find their place in society as actors and thus recover their fundamental right to a dignified life. NGOs also seek to inform the public and to mobilize society to eradicate poverty. They often work in partnership with public institutions and local structures to facilitate access by the poor to different social services.
Examples of actions against poverty:
The European Conference of Churches
Poland
Social centers for persons in difficulty and centers for young persons
Scholarship program and summer camps for young persons
Assistance to persons addicted to drugs
Medical assistance, distribution of medicine
Assistance to old persons
Czech republic
Centers for the homeless and unemployed
Collection and distribution of clothes
Slovakia
Housing center for homeless persons
Food aid
Distribution of clothes and medicine
Assistance to Romas Hungary
Shelters for persons in difficulty, old persons, drug addicts and homeless.
Assistance to Romas
Latvia
Assistance to street children
Collection and distribution of clothes
Bulgaria
Assistance to Romas and Turk minorities
Social centers
Medical assistance
Romania
Food aid
Support for youth at school
Reinsertion programs for women unemployed
1. Situations of extreme poverty
Extreme poverty refers to situation where several insecurities, difficulties exist at the same time and for a long time, leading to social exclusion. Programs designed to help persons in such situations therefore need to include numerous components and be delivered over an extended period of time, recognizing that the notion of time is not the same as for other persons in society. Persons who have lived for years in very precarious housing conditions, for example in caravans or ad-hoc shelters, cannot join a social housing project without preparation. Rejoining society after months or years of social exclusion requires that the person finds some self-esteem, some dignity, an ability to express his views orally and to relate to others.
The two examples provided below at the family housing project (Cité de promotion familiale) at Noisy-le-Grand (France) and the Barka Foundation (Poland) illustrate programs that are both comprehensive and respectful of the human dignity and help excluded and poor persons to reintegrate society. These programs show practically the necessity to work on several fronts, from the reconstruction of the person to access to work, housing, community life, health, education, etc. Since fundamental rights are interdependent, actions to help and accompany those in need are also interdependent.
The Center for the promotion of family life at Noisy-le-Grand, France
The center seeks to enable families who experience extreme poverty to move from a situation of no access to social rights to a situation where they can reconquer their rights and exercise their social and family responsibilities, and, after some time, to become autonomous. Families with a long history life of wandering are in danger of break up. The center is a pilot project between a public social housing programs (Société de logements d’Emmaüs) and ATD Fourth World Movement; it welcomes some 35 families for periods that can last up to several years.
Participants take charge of their apartment and those responsibilities of any tenant such as paying rent, taking care of the unit, establishing relations with neighbors. Starting from the access to housing, other actions are undertaken at the center to become autonomous and learn skills required to exercise their rights and obligations in all areas of daily life (education of children, health, culture, social and professional life.)
Each family signs a contract which sets the rules and undertakings for the family and the center. Activities include programs of community development (the link with the neighborhood being very important), a pre-school program, a cultural center, various activities for professional reinsertion, training and culture
The Barka Foundation, Poland
The foundation was established in 1989 near the city of Poznan; it offers structures for social integration for the most excluded. It welcomes homeless persons, former drug addicts, persons with social problems and other persons excluded from society. The foundation offers a roof, a social center, a structure where each participant can rebuild confidence in life and dignity. The main characteristic is mutual help. Participants attend workshops for professional training, programs to recycle goods and restore old items, and various services to help others in the local community. The foundation currently operates some 30 centers in Poland, housing more than 750 homeless persons and training each year about 5000 persons. Its most recent project is a social housing program which provides small individual houses that come in kits built out of wood and that are ready to be installed by the future residents. The Barka model is reproduced in Ukraine and Belarus. A center for Polish migrants is also operated in the United Kingdom (www.barka.org.pl)
What are the main messages and lessons coming from these examples? The importance of respecting the dignity of the poor; the active participation of those targeted by the program, who thereby become actors of their future; the necessity to work on several fronts to eradicate poverty (access to housing, a job, a social life, education, etc.) and the critical role of the partnership with other institutions not only public but also local structures such as neighborhood associations.
2. Groups that suffer most from poverty
Several groups of population are particularly affected by poverty. Based on actions most often cited by NGO representatives at the Council of Europe, we have identified the following groups: children and youth, families, migrants and women.
a. Children and youth
Children constitute a group most affected by poverty in Europe. Eurostat estimates that in countries of the European Union, some 20 % of dependant children below the age of 16 years were living in poverty in 2005, compared with 16 % for adults. Countries most affected include Slovakia (30 %), Italy (26 %), Spain (24 %), Poland (23 %), Ireland and the United Kingdom (22 %). Poverty of children is also prevalent in countries of Eastern and Central Europe not members of the European Union.
A study by the European Anti Poverty Network EAPN identifies several factors for the poverty of children: social and family changes and the increasing number of single-parent family, changes in labor markets (slow growth, migrations of non specialized workers and job insecurity) and changes in social policies which become harder for beneficiaries.
Based on the input of NGOs, the study shows the following:
- Children poverty is not only a violation of fundamental rights of children, but it constrains the future well being of European societies.
- Health problems of parents impact negatively on their children. Poverty and social exclusion of parents hurt the cognitive development and education of children.
- It is essential to recognize the poverty of parents and to provide parents with the key role in the future development of their children by giving them the help they need.
- Poverty must be seen as a form of violence towards children.
Dynamo and street children
Dynamo international was created by Dynamo Belgium, an organization of assistance to young persons in difficulty. It specializes in street work and deals mostly with underprivileged persons.
Dynamo identifies three main groups of street children: those who live in the street during the day and live with their parents; those who temporarily left home and those who go through a crisis; and those who permanently live in the street, often in a clear break with society. Many of these children are exploited (prostitution, slavery, begging, human trafficking)
Some key recommendations made by Dynamo and its partners :
- Recognize street work as a social necessity, and invest resources in actions that contribute to create social relations between people
- Encourage prevention and education
- Promote cooperation and prevention actions between countries
- Support of social networks despite the unfavorable tight environment.
Precious children, precious parents
The study presents what children and their parents teach us on the poverty of children in 10 European countries. Four aspects of youth are addressed: the importance of family life, the challenge for schools to be a place for development and success, the need for children to participate in the world of children, and the importance of building friendships and of supporting networks for children and their families.
Some of the main political messages from the study:
Include children and their families in programs of knowledge and their monitoring.
Recognize and support children in their strategies
Invest in the family as a network for social links and competence
Support professionals to contribute to the evolution of practices
Better understand the links between the protection of the child and the fight against poverty.
Protection of children in Eastern Europe, Nobody’s Children Foundation
Poland, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Macedonia, Ukraine
The foundation Nobody’s Children Foundation launched in 2005 a project in the above countries seeking to improve the system of child protection against abuse and violence. The objective is to strengthen the competencies of professionals and to make parents and children aware of child abuse issues. The project establishes a system of support and protection for children by working in networks and in partnership with concerned institutions. The role of partner NGOs is to denounce violations of the rights of the child, to establish programs of violence prevention and to participate in their evaluations
Prostitution and abuse of minors– against the exploitation of misery
At the initiative of the International Abolitionist Federation, the Grouping Extreme poverty and social cohesion adopted a motion in late 2006 in which NGOs denounce the increasing number of poverty and exclusion cases, in particular poverty, of women, children, migrants, and the exploitation of persons most fragile: prostitution, proxenetism, crimes against children, traffic of human organs, traffic of migrants, clandestine work, etc.
NGOs ask that the voice of the most excluded be heard and be taken into account by those in position of political and social influence, that education to health and sexuality be a permanent reference for all because such education is necessary for a world without violence, that the fight against all types of trafficking be intensified, that prostitutes be considered legally as victims, and that rich countries develop actions that enable persons from poor countries to live and work decently in their countries, toward a economy of solidarity.
b. Families
States, the Council of Europe and NGOs all recognize the important role of families for social cohesion and the fight against poverty. The legal instruments of the Council of Europe and its Social cohesion strategy describe the family as the basic unit of society with rights to social, legal and economic protection to ensure its development.
Families face multiple structural changes in Europe as elsewhere, among which the decline and aging of population, a greater variety of family models (more single-parent and multiethnic families) and an increasing participation of women in the labor force. Despite these changes, the family in its various forms remains the base of our societies.
NGOs emphasize the following points in their work and actions related to families who experience poverty.
- The family is the privileged place to learn solidarity and to build social relations
- The family unit is the last defense against poverty
- Families who experience poverty should be recognized as actors in the fight against poverty and their contribution and experience are necessary to design policies concerning them
- All social actors must work together and “with”, not “for” families.
The Council of Europe, in association with NGOs, has worked extensively on family issues. The studies and policy recommendations emphasize the need to consolidate and develop the support to families through general measures, support for positive parenting , support services for parents and parents at risk of social exclusion.
The Council of Europe has also worked on the specific theme of families who experience poverty. The expert committee on family and the child (2005-7) studied the case of families at risk of social exclusion. The main conclusions of the expert group (to which NGOs participated) are summarized below, together with other examples of NGO actions related to families.
Poverty and families : A study by Caritas Europe
The study focuses on the precarious situation of poor families in 42 European countries .
Families most affected by poverty:
- Single-parent families, in particular those headed by a single mother
- Large families
- Families with one or more members suffering from a chronic or mental illness or dependent on drug or alcohol.
- Migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers
- The unemployed and those with job insecurity
Among the recommendations:
- Evaluate the impact on poor families of any proposed legislation, particularly related to employment, education and health
- Address the issues of single-parent families including by improving pre-school structures and support
Parentality in situations of social exclusion
The Committee of experts on family and the child of the Council of Europe studied situations of parentality in Europe, including families who experience poverty and those at risk of social exclusion. The committee report formulates the following recommendations for families who experience poverty :
- Appropriate means should be given to support parents to enable them to develop the competencies necessary to exercise their parental responsibilities towards their children
- It is essential to develop a partnership between professionals, parents and their children.
- The contribution of informal resources, traditional educational networks and community support actions should be encouraged.
- Projects which provide for the participation of parents and families in various networks are important; it is also necessary to support structures that enable parents to share their experience with other parents who face similar situations.
- Parents should be treated with respect and play an active role as actors and contributors rather than as receivers of assistance.
- Professionals play a critical role in facilitating parental access to services – to inform parents is not sufficient; professionals should speak « with » and not « at » parents.
- Each service provider should work in partnership with parents.
NGO study: When poverty separates parents and children
This case study focuses on 6 countries on 4 continents ; it presents the dramatic choices that very poor families are forced to make when they do not receive the support necessary to remain together (parents requesting the placement of their children because they do not consider themselves fit to raise their children, children pushed to commit crimes, child labor, drugs or even prostitution
Too often, the approach is to remove the children from their family « for their own good ». The study shows that such solutions are not the ones the children want and that separating children from their parents is not in the interest of children in the long run.
The study shows that the best way to support children is to enable parents and children to be actors of their own future.
c. The feminization of poverty
Women constitute a group particularly affected by poverty, and it has become common to speak of the feminization of poverty. According to Eurostat, the poverty risk (after social transfers) in the European Union is 16 %, of which 15 % for men and 17 % for women. The rate for women is significantly higher than that for men in Germany, Austria, Ireland, Estonia, Bulgaria, and Czech Republic. Poland is one of rare countries where the poverty rate for women is lower that for men.
The concept of poverty feminization has evolved along with social changes. In the 1970s, the concept referred mostly to single women raising a family (today, it is estimated that four out of five single-parent families are headed by a women) ; later, the concept was used to reflect the large number of women employed in low-paying jobs and more recently is has been used to show that there are more women than men who experience poverty.
It should be noted that poverty indicators based on income and applied to women are not very relevant. Indeed, in households where the woman does not work, the income is generated by the man but it is the woman who manages the budget, and in so doing, she gives priority to the children, then to the man, and last to herself.
The feminization of poverty is present in several challenges and tragedies facing our societies: migrations, human trafficking and prostitution, and deceases such as AIDS.
Fighting against the feminization of poverty
The first two priorities of the INGO Grouping Gender-Parity in 2005 et 2006 were human rights and violence towards women and the feminization of poverty.
At a hearing in front of the Commission for gender equality of the Parliamentary Assembly in March 2006, Mrs. Karine Henrotte, President of the Grouping Gender-Parity, stressed the need for the following actions
- The importance of reconciling work and family life ; promoting services to support parents, including through day-nurseries
- The fight against women discrimination at work and in society
International Council of Women and poverty , Kiev
At a workshop during their general assembly in September 2006, members of ICF discussed situations of poverty, stressing the point that poverty is a violation of human dignity that excludes the poor from society. Participants at the workshop stressed the importance of participation by the poor to those programs that concern them, and that the approach should be bottom up. They identified 5 elements to eradicate poverty: peace, education, training of girls and young women so that they can become autonomous, access to knowledge and access to micro-credit.
d. Migrants
According to the World commission on international migrations, there were 56 millions migrants in Europe in 2000, of which 5 millions in irregular situation. Close to half the migrants were women. European countries that welcome most migrants are Russia (13 millions, or about 20 % of world migrants), Germany and Ukraine (7 millions).
Migrants are among those persons most at risk of poverty. Many NGOs accompany migrants and work to support their integration in Europe. The following examples illustrate the work of NGOs as well as types of actions and issues.
Migrant integration : Forum of INGOs at Messina, Novembre 2005
The objectives of the forum were to give a sense of responsibility to NGOs about migrations, to reflect on obstacles and good practices for integration, to promote the legal instruments of the Council of Europe, and to present recommendations for action. Participants debated concepts such as integration, assimilation, communautarism, multiculturalism, noting that migrants are often parents and children. They underlined the critical role of women in the integration of migrants, women often being first the victims of human rights violations.
The integration of migrants being a mutual adjustment process for migrants as well as for the receiving society, integration policies must facilitate adjustments of both parties and contribute to mutual understanding of respective cultures and values. Migrants must be recognized for their cultural heritage and should not be discriminated against on account of their differences and the challenge presented by their integration. Young migrants should be able to be proud of their roots. School and employment are privileged places for integration.
Participants were made aware of the difficulty and necessity to integrate all migrants, men, women, and children, not only for migrants but also for the construction of Europe. They noted that the values and legal instruments of the Council of Europe provide essential tools to support the integration of migrants, and undertook to make them better known.
As a follow up to the forum, NGOs issued the declaration of Messina which calls on different actors to implement targeted actions to better contribute to the integration of migrants. Member countries should sign and ratify the legal instruments of the Council of Europe, (without which these instruments are useless) and NGOs are encouraged to demonstrate more determination and commitment in concrete actions which contribute to integration..
Migration, a passport for poverty?
Caritas Europa published in June 2006 the third part of a major study on poverty, called “Migration – a passport for poverty? Study on poverty and exclusion of migrants in Europe ».
The report identifies poverty traps in several sectors, employment, housing, education, health, and participation to public life, and shows what it calls the « domino effect » through which poverty perpetuates from generation to generation.
Many countries make a difference between the right to reside and the right to work, preventing some migrants from access to employment and thereby pushing them towards insecure forms of employment and the likelihood of discrimination by unscrupulous employers. Migrants have difficulty qualifying for social housing (increasingly operated by the private sector in Europe), having access to health care (most countries do not provide migrants with basic care and assistance in case of medical emergencies), access to education and training, and access to public life (no right to vote). These difficulties are exacerbated by discriminatory practices, or even exploitation over many years. Migrants most at risk of poverty are those in irregular situation and asylum seekers.
The recommendations of Caritas :
- Guarantee the ratification and application of international and national laws to migrants
- Open channels contributing to the regular migration of workers
- Establish social policies inclusive of migrants
- Strengthen education policies as a privileged tool for reducing poverty
- Promote the participation of migrants to public life.
Integration of migrant women in Italy – IAC program in Milan
The International Association of Charities (IAC) organizes different actions for the promotion and integration of Arab women at the Vincenziano Center in Milan. Activities include weekly meetings to share experiences and training in Italian culture (history, religion, literature, emergency services). These programs have allowed participants to better understand others and the local culture, to live together and to help others, and to understand that they often share the same aspirations for dignity.
2. Some remarks on countries of Eastern and Central Europe
NGOs represented at the Council of Europe have increasing ties with local associations in Eastern and Central Europe, but their work and challenges in these countries are not well known. This note is an opportunity to focus on actions in these countries.
The change from a controlled and centralized economy to a market economy in the 1990s shattered social structures and generated new challenges and tragedies for the most fragile. Within the former planned and centralized system in the 1950-80, the State was responsible for and delivered all social services. State enterprises provided free of charge nearly all services in kind such as housing, heating, water, home electricity, and access to education, culture and health. With the transformation to a market economy and the bankruptcy of numerous public enterprises, access to social services was no longer totally free. Added to these changes, national populations were aging (particularly in Russia), pensions lost their purchasing power year after year, unemployment increased, there were large inflows of migrants, and access to social services become ever less subsidized; the very poor could not maintain their access to social services for lack of means and public support.
The restructuring of economies in Eastern and Central Europe enabled these countries to resume growth after many years of recession during the transition. But it also gave rise to a growing gap and large inequalities between those who could and knew how to operate in the new structures and those who lived under precarious and difficult conditions and without social protection. Pensionners and those unemployed were among those most affected. NGOs often had to complement and sometimes replace state services to help those most in need. Another challenge was to establish new relations with public authorities and to ensure the independence needed for their actions.
The difficult construction of social services in Eastern Europe
According to a study by UNCCAS , local public authorities must often face tremendous social needs without having sufficient resources. In Slovenia, the State establishes the framework for general social services and their financing, and local governments manage individualized services and support to old and handicapped people. In Koper, a city of 54,000 inhabitants and the largest port in the country, the local government is rather privileged by a more favorable social structure than other localities. It is responsible for its own organization and relies on the private sector and NGOs for the delivery of services. Other localities are not so privileged and do not have the human capital necessary to establish and run social programs; as a result, there are large inequalities between localities.
East-West Forum for a European Community, Germany
The forum, also called Haus Neudorf, is the result of a partnership between ATD Fourth World Movement, friends grouped in an association, local residents and local authorities in the Uckermark region, Land of Brandebourg. At crossroads with Poland, the region is mostly rural , with many residents moving to large cities and with a high unemployment rate (30 %). The forum was established in this area to provide exchanges and training for all interested, regardless of nationality, age and social background.
Haus Neudorf is based on the ideal of justice and commitment of young persons through exchanges and meetings of young persons from different countries in Europe (workshops, travel study, seminars, internships) ; the objective is that participants meet others from different origins, to run projects together and think about how they can become involved in their local communities. In association with other partners, Haus Neudorf also welcomes small groups of persons who experience a difficult life. The team that manages the house also contributes to local life and its opening to other localities in Germany, France, Poland and Russia.
The house organizes each year several events for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, with seminars attended by local citizens, persons who experience poverty and political leaders.
Access to social rights - Cooperation between NGOs and public authorities
Moscow, September 2006
NGOs participated at the European conference « guaranteeing social rights » organized by the Council of Europe, INGOs and the International Federation for Peace and Reconciliation. More than 100 representatives of Russian NGOs, international NGOs, and Russian public authorities debated for two days on the issue of access to social rights and the necessary cooperation between civil society and public authorities..
Several workshops focused on issues of family and children, health, old and handicapped persons, consultation mechanisms between NGOs and public authorities, and international cooperation.
Russian NGOs discussed their actions and challenges, among which the severe problem of street children (abandoned or orphans due to regional conflicts, juvenile delinquency, handicapped children), violence to women, the great difficulty for handicapped persons to have access to their fundamental rights, and access to information on social rights and available support structures.
Participants stressed the importance of collaboration between all actors to ensure access to social rights, and the need for NGOs to establish networks to better influence public authorities and society.
III. Main contributions of NGOs
This section describes the main contributions of NGOs to the fight against poverty. We have grouped items under the following themes : the knowledge and understanding of poverty, essential to ensure that policies are based on a firm and solid basis ; the link between poverty and human rights, and the implications for social policies ; the political role of NGOs in changing societies and in the monitoring of commitments taken by the European community.
1. Knowledge and understanding of poverty
One of the most important contributions of NGOs has been to change the way society and researchers view poverty and persons who experience poverty. As indicated at the beginning of this note and building on their direct knowledge of persons who experience poverty, NGOs demonstrated the multidimensional aspects and dynamics of poverty. They showed how different insecurities (lack of housing, unemployment, lack of access to health, education, and justice) mutually reinforce each other and progressively push those concerned ever more deeply in poverty and exclusion. Today, it is admitted that poverty is much more that just a lack of monetary means.
This progress in understanding poverty influenced the work of researchers and institutions, which have sought to develop indicators that reflect better the complex nature of poverty. The United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe have all developed indicators that try to include several aspects of poverty; such efforts are important but continue to place most of the emphasis on quantitative indicators at the detriment of qualitative aspects which indeed are difficult to measure.
2. Poverty and human rights
NGOs have played a critical role in the understanding that poverty conditions are a violation of human rights. Studies at the Council of Europe, the United Nations in Geneva (Human rights council; formerly the Commission for human rights) and other places where legal issues are reviewed have contributed to show that poverty denies those who experience it from their fundamental rights. The poorest have taught us to understand the concept of indivisibility of human rights. Extreme poverty does not allow the free exercise of fundamental rights such as the right to housing, health, education, culture, justice, to cite only a few. When these insecurities continue, they compromise the chances of the persons to fulfill their responsibilities and to recover their rights by themselves. These persons no longer feel that they have rights.
Arguing that poverty conditions represented a violation of human rights was not well received in the 1980s. However, how not to question the relevance of international and national treaties when persons experiencing poverty were denied their rights ? Now, poverty is seen as a violation of human rights, and this notion is included in numerous treaties , including the revised European social charter which sets the right to the protection against poverty and social exclusion in its article 30.
This message is also engraved in the commemorative stone laid in 1993 in front of the Council of Europe. The stone contains these words from Father Joseph Wresinski: « Wherever men and women are condemned to live in poverty, human rights are violated. It is our solemn duty to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. »
Why is it so important to link poverty and human rights? Human rights are the fundamental rights necessary to guarantee human dignity, and represent the highest level of international law. They apply to all human beings and have therefore universal value. By placing the fight against poverty at the level of human rights, this fight moves from the level of assistance and charity to the higher level of international justice. Fighting to eradicate poverty becomes an obligation of social justice The fight against poverty and human rights are no longer two distinct projects, but projects that reinforce each other .
To tell the law is good, but what is the value of a law that is not effective? This brings us to the question of access to social rights, a subject well treated at the Council of Europe, with the active participation of NGOs. A major achievement of the Council of Europe and NGOs has been the publication of the report “Access to social rights in Europe ». This report analyses access to social rights with a focus on access to housing, social protection, employment, health and education. It reviews obstacles to access, provided examples on ways to overcome these obstacles, identifies general principles to improve access to social rights, and sets guiding principles for an intersectorial approach to access to social rights.
A key principle attached to human rights is the right of participation. Without participation, it is not possible to exercise one’s rights as a citizen. Participation is necessary to ensure access by all to fundamental rights. This right means that persons concerned by a policy have the right to participate in the design, implementation and monitoring of the policy.
This right to participation is recognized by the international community and in major treaties, but is rarely applied. The revised Social cohesion strategy of the Council of Europe (2004) includes the right to participation and specifies that the voice of those excluded should be heard.
Examples of effective participation by poor persons to programs and policies concerning them are rare. One such example is the hearing of families who experience poverty by the Group of experts on family and children of the Council of Europe in February 2006 in the context of the work on parenting and children at risk of social exclusion.
To arrange for the participation of poor persons to programs concerning them is not easy but necessary. What right do we have to speak in the name of others? Why prevent society of the contribution, knowledge and experience of those who live in misery and fight daily against poverty and its consequences? Organizing participation requires that a number of obstacles and insecurities be overcome on all sides. It implies building a relationship of equality, where all partners are free to bring their experience, opinion, thoughts and reflexions, as the following study shows.
The challenge of participation – “What we say should change our lives” »
This study is the result of exchanges over several years and several countries with persons experiencing poverty and other partners (of which the European Union and the Council of Europe). It seeks to identify critical conditions for the effective participation of the poorest.
Why include the poorest?
– It is their right, and for them the opportunity to act as citizens
– The poorest are the first experts on poverty; their knowledge and experience should enrich policies.
How to include them? Some practical examples
- Organize meetings in a way which respects the dignity and equality of each participant.
- Start from a shared will to build a society that respects the rights of each person.
- Treat the poorest as real partners
- Understand the importance as a partner of the community around the poorest
- Value those efforts and actions already undertaken by the persons, and seek to make the joint work during the project a training opportunity for all participants
- Involve professionals and those who accompany the poorest
- Respect the rhythm of each participant and recognize differences among them
- The poorest need to be accompanied and supported
- All participants should be co-responsible for results and involved in follow up actions.
3. Political role of NGOs
NGOs represented at the Council of Europe contribute to sensitize and question European political leaders so that Europe places social cohesion and the fight against poverty at the heart of its policies and programs. The web site of INGOs reflects their multiple and varied actions. Here are some examples:
- NGOs addressed and questioned Heads of States and Governments at their 3rd Summit in Warsaw in May 2005. Among the themes, NGOs noted the irreplaceable role of the Council of Europe for a Europe without divides ; they called on Heads of States to reaffirm that social cohesion, the eradication of poverty, and the refusal of social exclusion are among the main priorities of the Council of Europe. The Action Plan adopted by Heads of States includes the following statement: “To guarantee social cohesion: the essential task is to define together remedies and solutions that could prove effective in the fight against poverty and exclusion. To ensure equitable access to social rights and to protect the most vulnerable groups”
- NGOs regularly remind officials of the Council of Europe of the above declaration (CDCS, Parliamentary Assembly, for example) and member country representatives.
- NGOs support the objectives of the Council of Europe and its values in their work in the field and in the context of their national activities and public campaigns.
- NGOs also contribute to bring together different social actors in some countries. A recent example was a seminar on the participation of civil society in Romania to the construction of Europe, organized in the context of the Romanian presidency of the Committee of Ministers in Bucarest in May 2006
NGOs are also very active at the European Union . In 2000, the European Union adopted the Lisbon strategy seeking to reinforce social cohesion in Europe. The Union has set common objectives for the fight against poverty and social exclusion and decided that these objectives would be implemented by each country in the context of National Action Plans. To incite countries to work together, to share practices and to improve the impact of policies, an Open Method of Coordination was established. The fight against poverty and social exclusion was thus identified in 2000 as an essential element of European Union policies, with the objective of giving a decisive push to the elimination of poverty.
The Lisbon strategy was revised in 2005, with the focus on employment and growth policies, and incorporating the National Action Plans in Programs of Structural reforms which relate mostly to employment and growth policies. Numerous NGOs interpreted the change as signaling the weakening of European social objectives. NGOs reaffirmed that growth is no guarantee against poverty and exclusion ; they called on Heads of States to maintain the eradication of poverty among priority objectives of the Strategy At the 2007 Spring Summit, Heads of States reaffirmed the social dimension of the Lisbon strategy and insisted that « the social objectives common to member States should be more taken into account in the Lisbon Agenda. »
In the context of the Social Agenda 2005-2010, the European Commission has proposed to designate 2010 as the year of the fight against poverty and social exclusion, and thus to renew the political commitment taken by the Union in 2000 and to give a decisive push to the eradication of poverty by 2010.
NGOs also contributed to the drafting of the proposed treaty to establish a Constitution for the European Union. The project, currently stalled, includes among the objectives the fight against social exclusion, but the fight against poverty does not appear among the objectives for the Union. It only appears among the objectives relating to relations with the rest of the world. NGOs consider that the European Union cannot affirm its will to eradicate poverty in the world without affirming the same will for actions within its borders.
Another role for NGOs is the monitoring and control of public policies and actions to ensure that social commitments undertaken by States are met. One such clear example is the role of NGOs to ensure that commitments under the Revised European Social Charter are applied by member States.. In 2006, two NGOs presented two collective complaints for non respect of commitments undertaken by a country under Articles 30 and 31 of the Revised European Social Charter. ). NGOs are in regular contact with the European Commissioner for Human Rights on situations in Europe where human rights are not respected. NGO s have similar actions at the European Union where they monitor closely the national action plans and other commitments taken by member States.
IV. Conclusion
The main messages coming out of this synthesis of NGO actions in the fight against poverty and social exclusion are the following:
- Poverty remains a tremendous scandal.
- European policies should place among its main priorities the fight against poverty and social exclusion. Actions should be coordinated at the European level.
- Social commitments undertaken by States should be implemented in practice.
- Persons who experience poverty should be able to participate in programs and policies that concern them, from design to implementation and review.
- Civil society, public authorities and social services should work in partnership in their actions to eradicate poverty.
In summary, Europe should give a higher and better coordinated priority to social policy and the fight against poverty.
The Contribution of NGOs to the fight against poverty in Europe
Table of content
I. Poverty in Europe : some indicators 2
a. The difficulty of measuring poverty 2
b. What do the indicators tell us, even if they are imperfect? 3
II. The main fields of action of NGOs 4
1 Situations of extreme poverty 5
2 Groups most affected by poverty 6
a. Children and youth 6
b. Families 8
c. Feminization of poverty 10
d. Migrants 12
3 Some remarks on countries of Eastern and Central Europe 13
III. Principal contributions of NGOs 14
1 Knowledge and understanding of poverty 15
2 Poverty and human rights 15
3 Political role of NGOs 17
IV. Conclusion 19