On 5 November 2012, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepulveda, presented her report to the United Nations General Assembly. Her report analysed the obstacles to access to justice for persons living in poverty and provides recommendations to States on how to remove existing barriers.
According to the UN expert, access to justice is a human right in itself and all States have an obligation to ensure that people living in poverty have full and effective access to justice systems.
The Special Rapporteur provides a comprehensive analysis of some of the key obstacles that individuals living in poverty face in accessing justice. These obstacles include; a lack of financial resources, ignorance of legal rights, fear of reprisal or stigmatization, as well as inadequacies within the judicial system. Societal prejudices and stereotypes against the poor exacerbate these obstacles further.
Ms Sepulveda’s report highlights the particular problems faced by women, children, the elderly, minority groups, and persons with limited mobility, in seeking legal redress.
The Special Rapporteur welcomed the adoption of the Guiding Principles on extreme poverty and human rights by the UN Human Rights Council in September 2012 noting that the guidelines were “a practical tool for policy-makers to ensure that public policies (including poverty eradication efforts) reach persons living in poverty and respect and uphold all their rights”.