Children, Youth and Environments 19(2), 2009 Rethinking Poverty: Making Policies That Work for Children Moushira Khattab National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, Egypt UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Citation: Khattab, Moushira (2009). “Rethinking Poverty: Making Policies That Work for Children.” Children, Youth and Environments 19(2): 12-19. Keywords: Iran, children’s rights, poverty alleviation, child-friendly policies, child poverty Introduction The fact that child poverty exists in the twenty-first century is an indictment of governments and the international community. The last century witnessed unprecedented social and economic advancement; however, global child poverty has worsened and children continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty. Evidence-based analysis has indicated that social justice can only be achieved if child poverty is eliminated. In turn, child poverty cannot be eliminated unless we adopt a rights approach in our efforts to attain social justice. Poverty is a denial of human rights. The two are inextricably linked, because the issue is about living with dignity. The multifaceted nature of poverty means that its impact goes far beyond inadequate income. Children have the right to adequate food, housing, safe water and sanitation, primary health care, basic education, and protection from violence and abuse. When poverty denies them these things, it can scar their development, physically, emotionally, intellectually. Addressing child poverty is therefore a pre-requisite to the overall aim of poverty eradication. Breaking the cycle of deprivation must start with children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) does not explicitly provide for the right to freedom from poverty. But violations of a number of children’s rights correspond to the severe deprivations of basic human need that characterize poverty. Children are holders of distinct rights and as such their poverty should be defined independently of general poverty. The CRC recognizes children’s rights to survival,© 2009 Children, Youth and Environments Rethinking Poverty: Making Policies That Work for Children 13 development, participation and protection, thus underscoring the holistic nature of children’s well-being. The concept of child poverty can be defined in relation to these rights for, as with different rights, the dimensions of deprivation are interrelated and interdependent. There is no single solution to child poverty. Poverty is by nature complex, affecting many areas of life and infringing on numerous human rights. A human rights approach to child poverty eradication goes beyond the focus of increasing income and toward the recognition of children's individual rights, based on an obligation to fulfill these rights and affect how resources are allocated. There are undoubtedly economic benefits for people and for governments that flow from a commitment to the rule of law and sound human rights policies. And it is increasingly recognized around the globe that the observance of the rule of law is the key to progress in the developing world. Upholding human rights is essential if we are to achieve the prize of eradicating child poverty. A multi-faceted approach is a must. While it is essential to commit resources to addressing child poverty through adequate income distribution and social security, this will not be sufficient. We also need to attend seriously to the issue of children’s citizenship rights, how they are defined, who defines them, how they are realized, and how they are protected. This requires an active concern with the discursive spaces within which the notions of “childhood” and “human rights” are constructed. It is not simply a matter of writing and promulgating charters of rights, though such statements are important. It is also a matter of practice: the way we go about interacting with and about children, what happens in schools, in families, in churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, in government agencies and NGOs. It is also about the media and popular culture, and the dominant portrayal of children as helpless victims, rather than as active participants with citizenship rights and obligations. In all these activities, the ideas of childhood and the ideas of children’s rights are constantly being shaped and reshaped, and it is this construction that leads governments, people and institutions to behave the way they do, often perpetuating child poverty. In responding to child poverty, a...