Four billion people do not have access to the rule of law. Living outside of the shelter of the law makes it harder to escape poverty. For example a poor person may obtain a loan and make small investments if his or her property is registered and property rights are respected. Labour rights that are enforced can make the difference between keeping or losing a job.
A draft of a first substantive GA resolution on Legal Empowerment of the Poor was presented Friday 23 October. Negotiations on the resolution is expected to last a few weeks.
The concept of Legal Empowerment of the Poor had not previously been considered by the UN General Assembly (GA). That’s why last year's Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit a report to inform deliberations among UN Member States.
It followed up on a Commission chaired by Madeleine Albright and the Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto. It presented the case that Legal Empowerment of the Poor should be a key ingredient in the fight against poverty in a report last year.