ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the work that the human rights bodies of the United Nations have carried out to clarify the link between poverty and human rights. It discusses the existing normative framework for addressing poverty through a human rights approach. The chapter addresses the possible effects that a link between human rights and poverty may have on efforts for poverty alleviation. Everyone's right to adequate food is firmly established in the relevant international human rights instruments. As food is a basic need for human survival, the struggle to ensure even the very minimum availability of food will for poor people overshadow their efforts to tackle other imminent problems such as health care, housing and education. Non-discrimination is one of the most fundamental aspects of human rights. The United Nations Charter provides for human rights protection without distinction as to race, sex language or religion, and non-discrimination clauses are central in all international human rights instruments.
