22.09.22
UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - MMM's intervention to the Council stresses the need to recognize the central role that unpaid family care work plays in our economy and society, and identifies the Right to Development as the perfect framework to bring about the necessary systemic changes. A transition to an economy that serves the wellbeing of people and the planet is the way forward. And this begins by recognizing the unpaid work of caring as a collective responsibility.
The following is the oral statement as delivered by our representative to the UN in Geneva, Karen Thorsen.
As rightly stated in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to development, the Covid-19 crisis has had a disproportionate impact on women, worsening existing and deep-rooted inequalities and discriminations.
It was also an eye-opener:
We now face a unique opportunity to redress these systemic failures – by putting Care and Education at the centre of recovery policymaking.
This means:
The Right to development is the perfect framework to move beyond the ‘GDP growth’ narrative and prioritize the long-term wellbeing of people and the planet in all policy-making.
It is time to transition to a wellbeing economy – with care and education at its heart.
This oral statement was delivered during the discussion which took place during the 51st session of the Human Rights Council following the presentation of the annual thematic report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
See also:
→ our 2020 HLPF side-event report on ‘Care and Education: cornerstones of sustainable and just economies’
→ information on the Right to Development by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
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Mothers play an essential role in families by ensuring their loved ones are nourished, educated, and healthy, but their unpaid care work often leads to economic and social injustices, known
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UN New York / HLPF - Register now to join us online for our High Level Political Forum side-event.
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