Amnesty International: Overlapping Crises Leave Hundreds of Millions in Need of Universal Social Protection.

Amnesty International, the globally recognized human rights organization, has released a briefing urging states to provide social security coverage for all individuals worldwide. The report titled “Rising Prices, Growing Protests: The Case for Universal Social Protection” presents the alarming statistics of 55% of the world’s population without even the most basic social protection. The lack of social security has left people exposed to sudden economic shocks, climate change, or other upheavals. The report highlighted how crises such as rising food prices, climate change, economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis that resulted in increased social unrest and protests.

Amnesty International Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard, emphasized how universal social protection can address the violations of economic and social rights that are often at the heart of grievances and protest. The briefing calls for international creditors to reschedule or cancel debts and for tax reforms to help ensure funds are available to improve social protection. Universal social protection should provide coverage such as sickness and disability payments, healthcare provision, pensions for older people, child support, family benefits, and income support. The cost of offering basic social security protection in all low income and low-to-middle income states is estimated to be US$440.8 billion a year, an amount that is less than the US$500 billion estimated to be lost annually by states to tax havens around the world.

The report called on states to work together to guarantee the right to social security. Amnesty International supports the establishment of an internationally administered Global Fund for Social Protection, which would offer states technical and financial support to provide social security. The creation of such a fund would aim to build the capacity of national social protection systems to scale up their responses during a crisis.

The lack of adequate social security can be catastrophic for the growing numbers of people struggling to afford food. The World Food Programme (WFP) says 349 million people worldwide are in immediate danger from a shortage of food, and 828 million go to bed hungry every night. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out almost four years of progress in poverty reduction and pushed an additional 93 million people into extreme poverty, living on less than US$2.15 a day.

The report also highlights how high levels of debt, and the cost of servicing it, mean that heavily indebted states often lack the financial capacity to realize social security aspirations. Debt cancellation or rescheduling would free up substantial funding in many countries to pay for social protection. According to Oxfam, low-income countries spend four times more on debt repayments than they do on health service provision, and 12 times more on debt payments than on social protection.

In conclusion, the report by Amnesty International highlights the severe consequences of inadequate social security measures. The report urges states to act urgently and provide universal social protection coverage, enact tax reforms and clampdown on tax abuse, and work together to ensure the right to social security for every individual. The report also suggests the establishment of an internationally administered Global Fund for Social Protection, which could provide technical and financial aid for national social protection systems, and contribute to reducing social tension, promoting recovery, and reducing poverty and income inequality.

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