We may be intelligent, but do we have the experience? If we do, it depends whether we learn-from and apply our experience! (F. Stern) Those who cannot remember the past…
Effective action requires not just an enthusiasm, but calls for a close rapport with the disgruntled so as to get them organized. (A. Robbins) 1. You may often have asked…
Some have calculated that, with current development trends remaining the norm, poverty will be eradicated in something like 70 or more years. ________ * : I agree with those who…
I have often been asked what is the most serious form of human rights violation in the world today, and my reply is consistent: extreme poverty. (Mary Robinson) 1. By…
Allow me to present these reflections in the form of bullets • A truly women-centered approach to human rights (HR) has to depart from the principle that there are an…
Communities –and not academics setting cut-off points– are the best qualified to identify the poor among themselves thus judging relative poverty. 1. In our work in health, we see equality…
The availability and allocation of budgetary resources says a lot about whether, how, and to what extent a government is committed and determined to implement its disparity reduction and thus…
People that happen to be poor need jobs and a livelihood; to agonize about inequality is, for them, a luxury. (M. Klein, World Bank) 1. Both Structural Adjustment and the…
1. Public sector interventions impinge on a vast array of human rights issues. Quite predictably, these interventions reflect the distribution of power in our societies. Therefore, changes have systematically benefited…
Disclaimer: i) The empowerment of some entails the dis-empowerment of others –usually the current holders of power. ii) Empowering people can well trigger repressive actions by these current holders of…