Roberto Bissio spoke on behalf of the GCSPF during the side event: “Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030” held on July 10th.
"Social Protection is a Human Right. Every right has a right holder and a duty bearer. We know who the right holders are: every human being, particularly those more in need of social protection: The right to be protected and cared is a right of children, the elderly, the sick, the people with disabilities.
But who is the duty bearer? Societies organize social protection in many different ways, but they all have in common the unwritten rule that says that caring for people is a responsibility of women. A sacred responsibility even. While no government is held liable for not providing social protection or essential services, women are judged to be sinful by omission, socially ostracized and even criminally prosecuted if they fail to properly care for family and community members.
The caring duties of women are fulfilled too often without any pay or recognition and when paid the task to care for the people we most love such as our children and parents barely deserves a minimum salary and most often than not without any form of contract or the formal protection of social security.
We need more resources, yes. We need to collect taxes and to build capacity, but we also need a change in paradigm, towards a caring system that orients and coordinates the programs of education, health and social development, starting with a recognition of the right to be cared and the duties of the state in that regard."
“Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030”
On Monday, 10 July, 1:15-2:30 pm in the ECOSOC Chamber. Organized by Finland, Malawi, the ILO and the World Bank and co-sponsored by the Social Protection Inter-Agency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B), and the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF).
The preliminary agenda combines two elements (1) the Global Partnership on USP 2030 and (2) financing social protection.
Download the invitation here, the programme here, and Mr. Bissio's statement here (pdf version).
The video of the side event is available here and the video of Mr. Bissio's intervention here.
