Franciscans InternationalFI and partner ATD Fourth World launch their Handbook and video tonight, September 21, at the UN!
FI and ATD Fourth World are particularly looking forward to the launch of this publication since it is possibly the first time that a set of UN principles has been translated into concrete suggestions for everyday people to take action.
Download your copy here, as of 6pm!
After the UN published the Guiding Principles on Extreme poverty and Human Rights in September 2012, FI and ATD Fourth World agreed that a handbook was needed to translate the legal language of the Guiding Principles into concrete suggestions to help those working at local level to better understand the implications of human rights for people living in extreme poverty.
Making Human Rights Work for People Living in Extreme Poverty: A Handbook for implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights is the result of a two-year participatory process involving dozens of organisations and individuals worldwide. The purpose of the handbook is to assist those working directly with people living in extreme poverty to understand their situation from a human rights perspective, and to suggest actions that can be taken with local governments and other sectors of society to ensure that their rights are respected and protected. Beneficiaries include social workers, community organisers, teachers, or urban planners working for the State but also for NGOs, religious institutions, or community associations.
The handbook has been commended by Ms. Magdalena Sepulveda, former UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights and author of the Guiding Principles on Extreme poverty and Human Rights. In the foreword of the handbook, she confirms that “this excellent and comprehensive handbook […] is extremely timely [and] makes an important contribution to the implementation of the Guiding Principles”.
Read the press release here.