Extreme Poverty as Human Rights Violation

Despite decades of progress, today more than 700 million individuals are still struggling in extreme poverty — defined as living on less than $1.90 per day. Extreme poverty is itself a massive violation of the human right to an adequate standard of living; in addition, it often infringes on other social, civil and political rights, such as the right to education and equal political participation. Considering that extreme poverty in our affluent world is avoidable, it is hardly disputable in academia that extreme poverty is a matter of justice. However, most citizens in the Global North continue to see this dire issue as one of mere charity. This chapter explores what potential the human rights discourse on extreme poverty has to shift the way Northern publics understand and relate to extreme poverty from the charity paradigm to the justice paradigm. After surveying how extreme poverty as human rights violation morally implicates the Global North in various ways, this chapter argues that any attempt to inform and engage the public on their moral duties concerning extreme poverty must be mindful of certain pitfalls if the ultimate purpose is to facilitate a desired charity-to-justice paradigm shift.