Fiscal Constraints and Human Rights: Is there a ‘Right’ Way to Scale Down Social Programmes?

Abstract

This report, produced for the World Bank, focuses on the question of under what circumstances, if any, and, if so, how, social programmes can be scaled down in compliance with human rights standards. The social programmes under consideration are primarily ‘social assistance’ programmes, defined by the World Bank as ‘non-contributory transfers in cash or in-kind [that] are usually targeted at the poor and vulnerable’ and, to a more limited extent, social insurance. For the purposes of the report, ‘human rights’ are understood to be the obligations imposed by international human rights law standards, particularly those set out in and derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

From a human rights perspective, social programmes link directly with the right to social security, including social insurance, the right to an adequate standard of living, as well as the right to social protection (which is a combination of both of those rights). These rights, the content of which is well-established in international human rights law, are the main focus of the analysis in this report. Social programmes also have implications for the enjoyment of a wide range of other human rights, including the rights to life, to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and to equality and non-discrimination. These are addressed as appropriate. Finally, and crucially from the perspective of the analysis of this report, social assistance programmes are fundamental to ensuring the rights of socially vulnerable and marginalised groups, including children and disabled people. In turn, human rights provide a people-centred, human dignity-oriented lens that offers an important additional perspective to social protection programmes – and those considering adjustments to them.

Keywords: World Bank, , Human Rights, Social Protection, Social Programmes, Austerity, Retrogression, Vulnerable Groups, Economic and Social Rights, Equality and non-discrimination, Financial Crisis, Economic Crisis, Privatisation