New York (Web Desk): International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is being observed today (Tuesday) across the globe.
Theme for the day this year is "decent work and social protection, putting dignity in practice for all".
According to the United Nations (UN), this year's theme calls for universal access to decent work and social protection as a means to uphold human dignity for all people, and to emphasize that decent work must empower people, provide fair wages and safe working conditions, and fundamentally recognize the inherent value and humanity of all workers.
Similarly, universal social protection is urgently needed to guarantee income security for everyone, prioritizing society's most vulnerable members.
The theme is also a call to political leaders and policymakers to use human dignity as the guiding compass in all decision-making processes, to ensure the advancement of fundamental human rights and social justice over the pursuit of corporate profits.
As per the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty can be traced back to 17 October 1987. On that day, over a hundred thousand people gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger.
They proclaimed that poverty is a violation of human rights and affirmed the need to come together to ensure that these rights are respected. Since then, people of all backgrounds, beliefs and social origins have gathered every year on October 17th to renew their commitment and show their solidarity with the poor.