2017 AHRCentre Annual Lecture with Prof Philip Alston

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Created: 15/Aug/2017
Updated: 15/Aug/2017

Why does it matter if others have more? How extreme inequality and poverty violate human rights

with Prof Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

Inequality in both wealth and income has reached record levels in many countries and is growing. It threatens the foundations of democracy, along with many of the human rights that we take for granted. In responding to the poverty that accompanies this extreme inequality, governments are often more concerned with finding novel ways to stigmatize those living in poverty than in crafting solutions. What can the human rights movement, which has so far had little to say about such matters, offer in response?

Prof Philip Alston is the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. He is currently John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, and co-Chair of the law school's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice.

Date: Thursday, 10 August 2017