Ursula Kulke, Senior Regional Social Security Specialist, ILO Regional Office for Arab States,

1. Arab Forum “Towards a New Welfare Mix? Rethinking the Roles of the State, Market and Civil Society in the Provision of Basic Social Services”19 and 20 December 2012Beirut, UN House, Committee Room II Agenda item 5: Obligations and Capacities of Governments “The Social Protection Floor: State Commitments and Obligations” Ursula Kulke, Senior Regional Social Security Specialist, ILO Regional Office for Arab States, Beirut - Lebanon

2. Structure of the presentation • Right to social security and social services • The Social Protection Floor, the core content of these human rights • Principles for the extension of social protection • Implementation of a national Social Protection Floor • Financing possibilities

3. Social and economicnecessity of social protection systems • We know from more than one century of history of the modern welfare state that social transfers and services are powerful policy instruments to combat poverty, insecurity and inequality and ...to achieve the MDGs, i.e. social transfers are a social necessity • Social transfers and services are an economic necessity to unblock the full economic potential of a country, only people that are healthy, well educated and well nourished can be productive • There is now widespread acceptance that social protection/ security serve associal and economic stabilisers in times of crisis • Countries with existing systems are in a better positionto cope with the social and economic fall-out than those who have to introduce new ad-hoc measures

4. Social securitya basic human right • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948): • Article 22: Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security(..) • Article 25, para. 1: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment , sickness, disability, widowhood, old-age or lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. • Article 26: Everyone has the right toeducation. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. (..) • Through the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UN Member States have recognized social security and social services as basic human rights 3

5. Social securitya basic human right 2. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (1966): • Article 9: The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance • Article 10, para. 1: The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that the widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family (..) • Article 11, para. 1: The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family (..) • Article 12, para. 1: The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. • Article 13, para. 1: The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education.

6. Social securitya basic human right • 160 UN Member States have ratified, acceded or succeeded the relevant Articles of the ICESCR • All Arab States have ratified, acceded or succeeded the relevant Articles of the ICESCR, as follows:Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, oPT, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen • Through ratification, accession or succession these UN Member States have committed themselves to work towards social security and social protection for everyone • Thus, member States need to have the political will of implementing these rights 5

7. Social security …. a basic human right … • What legal obligations arise out of the ratification, accession or succession of the ICESCR for UN member States? • Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was the first international body which proclaimed that every human right has a minimum core content, without which the right would become meaningless. • The Committee also equated the minimum core content with • a presumptive legal entitlement, • a nonderogable obligation, and • an obligation of strict liability. 6

8. Social security …. a basic human right … • What legal obligations arise out of the ratification, accession or succession of the ICESCR for UN member States? • In 2008 the Committee stressed in its General Comment on the Right to Social Securitythe need for • Progressive implementation of the right to social security while maintaining • A core obligation of State parties to ensure the satisfaction of a core group of social risks and contingencies throughimmediate implementation • And yet, still 75-80% per cent of the global population do not enjoy a set of social guarantees that allows them to deal with life’s risks…… 7

9. Implementation of the Right to Social Security • While the basic human right to social security was adopted as such in 1948 by the UN, the ILO, as the UN agency specifically charged with setting international labour standards, had been given the primary responsibility since its creation in assisting member States in the realization of the right to social security • The ILO, based on its int. Social security standards and assistance to member States found that a Social protection Floor should constitute the minimum core content of social security and social protection

10. The Social Protection Floor (SPF)–Initiative .. • In April 2009, the UN Chief Executives Board (UN CEB) agreed on nine joint initiatives to confront the crisis, among them the Social Protection Floor Initiative • The SPF Initiative aims at jointglobal and local UN action lead by ILO+WHOto promote access to essential services and social transfers for the poor and vulnerable. It includes: • A basic set of essential social rights and transfers, in cash and in kind, to provide a minimum income and livelihood security • Geographical and financial access to essential public services, such as health, water and sanitation, education, social work

11. Concept and vision of the Social Protection Floor • The SPF is a global and coherent social policy concept that promotes nationally defined strategies for the provision of a minimum level of access to essential services and income security for all. • For such purposes, the SPF promotes a holistic and coherent vision of national social protection systems, rights-based, as a key component of national development strategies. • The SPF corresponds to a set of basic social rights, services and facilities that the global citizen should enjoy, for a life in dignity, across the life cycle. • The SPF Concept tries to provide a logical and coherent framework for the core content of the basic social rights in times of crisis and beyond

12. The components of the UN Social Protection Floor

13. The Social Protection Floor: we see four nationally-defined guarantees TRANSFERS in cash or in kind Outcome-oriented approach taking account of national conditions, priorities and institutions

14. The Social Protection Floor can be achieved by different delivery systems national choice nationally guaranteed outcomes

15. Principles to be guaranteed by the State for the implementation of the right to social security

16. Excursion: WB Safety Nets or UN Social Protection Floors?

17. Definition and adoption of a comprehensive national social protection strategy

18. The new Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) Lays down the objectives, scope and principles Provides guidance to Members to establish, implement and maintain social protection floors as fundamental element of their social security system and as part of their extension strategies, to ensure higher levels of social security protection Lays down the main principles for extending social security coverage Determines the four elements of the social protection floor and the principles for determining the content of the minimum guarantees, including regular review Recommends the alignment of social protection policies with national strategies and priorities Provides guidance regarding the regular progress monitoring of social protection floors and the achievement of other national social security extension strategies

19. Financing strategies Domestic resource mobilisation Increase the efficiency of tax collection Reduce waste Broaden tax base Reduce tax evasion and avoidance Introduce self financing insurance systems (largely health care) Increase overall tax rates International resources (transitional financing) Modified social security oriented budget support ? Project financing to build national delivery capacity International financing of health care goods and services People-to-People Partnerships: Global Social Trust A new/old Fund finance the start-up of basic social security schemes ?

20. Successful SPF Experiences: Argentina • Asignación Universal porHijo (AUH) (Universal Child Allowance) • Coverage: 85% of Argentinian girls and boys • Impact: Reduced poverty (-22%) and extreme poverty (-42%) India • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Wage employment programme) • Coverage: 52.5 million households (50% of womenparticipants) • Impact: Increase in minimum wages for agricultural workers, decreased out-migration from villages, women’s empowerment Thailand • Universal Coverage Scheme (Universal health care) • Coverage: 80% of the population • Impact: 88,000 households (2008) were prevented from falling below poverty line

21. Successful SPF experiences: Brazil • BolsaFamilia(Conditional cash transfer) • Coverage: 26% of the population • Impact: Reduced the poverty gap by 12% between 2001 and 2005 • The Rural Social Insurance Programme(Non-contributory pension for the rural poor) • Coverage: 80% of agricultural workers – 66% of rural population • Impact: Reduction of 4 million poor people South Africa • Child Support Grant (Means-tested non-contributory cash transfer) • Coverage: 10 million children • Impact: Reduced the poverty gap by 28.3% 20

22. THANK YOU