"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life."
A third of the world lives on less than $2 a day. Nearly one billion people go to bed hungry each night.
With her new book The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights, Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, argues that poverty is the world's worst human rights crisis.
Any plan to eradicate poverty, the book states, requires respect of economic, social and cultural rights – such as health care, education and housing – alongside civil and political rights.
Amnesty International calls on world leaders and policy makers to shift the debate on poverty from economics to addressing the human rights problems that impoverish and keep people poor.
During World Habitat Day, Monday, October 5th, we reflect on the basic right that all people have to adequate shelter.
This year, Amnesty International is shining a light on the crisis of forcible evictions in Africa. Years after being forcibly evicted, millions of people remain homeless and destitute. Governments across Africa have acted in violation of regional and international law, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
With little hope of receiving compensation or re-housing in the near future, many families are driven deeper into poverty every day.
Three years after the murder of an American video journalist, Amnesty International still believes that the truth about his death has not yet come out.
Brad Will was shot and killed in Oaxaca City, Mexico, on October 27, 2006 as he filmed a clash between members of a local protest movement and officials of the local governing party.
According to the latest forensic evidence, it is highly unlikely that Juan Manuel Martínez - the man who has been held in custody for Will's death for over a year - could have committed the crime. Amnesty International believes that the Mexican government is using Martínez as a scapegoat so it will appear that progress is being made in Brad Will's case. Such actions at best violate international fair trial standards, and at worst, allow Brad Will's real killer to remain at large.
October 23 - November 15 2009 Regional Conferences: Come join other AI activists in your region for an exciting weekend to celebrate and strengthen the human rights movement.
October 27, 2009 The Unheard Truth: Amnesty International invites you to a conversation with Larry and Irene Khan the author of "The Unheard Truth". San Francisco, California
Call for Human Rights
