New York - Amnesty International on Thursday called on policy makers to emphasize human rights over income in the global fight against poverty. "Poverty is the world's worst human rights crisis," said Irene Khan, the AI secretary general, in launching a book entitled The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights.
The book, with a foreword by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, argues that poverty eradication requires respect of basic rights of individuals to have access to health care, education and housing in addition to economic, social and cultural rights.
"Any successful poverty alleviation strategy must empower the poor to claim their rights, so that they can control their destiny and can hold desicion makers to accounts," the book said.
The Unheard Truth is part of AI's global campaign known as Demand Dignity, launched in Kenya in June, to call for an end to human rights violations which contribute to worsening of poverty.
