IASSW Advocacy Statement on Human Rights

The International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), an NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC, welcomes the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals and the considerable improvements reflected in comparison to the MDGs. We especially applaud the continued emphasis on poverty eradication, inclusion of a goal to reduce inequality, and attention to achieving gender equality.

We endorse the emphasis on environment and sustainability. We are concerned, however, that the Open Working Group Outcome document on the Proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is surprisingly muted, indeed almost silent, on human rights. Although there is weak acknowledgment of human rights in the chapeau, the SDGs do not mention rights, and there is only sparse rights language in the targets enumerated in the document. This is particularly disappointing after the High Level Panel identified ensuring universal human rights as a component of the five transformational shifts it recommended. As Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Philip Alston said, “the results to date are stunningly meagre. Human rights as such have been thoroughly marginalized. “

The global profession of social work is committed to advancing human rights for all people. Our Statement of Ethical Principles and Global Standards for Education and Training of the Social Work Profession are grounded in human rights principles. Furthermore, the profession’s Global Agenda for action urges universal implementation of the core human rights treaties of the United Nations.

In the Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986, Article 1 explicitly recognized the link between rights and development: “1. The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.” The Declaration called on states to “take steps to eliminate obstacles to development resulting from failure to observe civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.” In the decades since 1986, governments have made important commitments to protect and fulfill rights through ratification and implementation of important core treaties that address the issues of the SDGs. Through failing to recognize and reinforce the extensive human rights commitments already agreed by member states, the Outcome Document diminishes the important work and remarkable achievements of the United Nations and member states in human rights. The post-2015 Agenda will be strengthened with robust linking of human rights and a right-based approach to poverty eradication and other development goals.

The International Association Of Schools Of Social Work

Est. 1928