Poverty: a social construct

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Workshop on the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights in the context of the fight against inequalities in the recovery from the pandemic of COVID-19
(6-8 February 2023)

Poverty is not just the lack of income and monetary resources, but also the deprivation of virtually all economic, social and cultural rights: access to healthcare, training, housing, work, participation in decision-making.

At the root of poverty lie inequalities, which are a product of the orientation of policies in the economic and social fields. In other words, poverty is a social construct.

Read CETIM’s oral declaration in French