The Oxfam Poverty Report

The UN Charter of 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out a moral framework for a system of rights and obligations upon which the new world order was to be built. Yet, over 50 years on, the basic rights enshrined in the Charter are being violated all over the world. Only the privileged benefit from advances in human welfare and technology as the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. One in four of the world’s people live in absolute poverty, denied basic rights such as clean water. Armed conflict affects millions and the global environment is under threat, yet there is a lack of political will to address the ongoing emergency of poverty.This report draws on Oxfam’s experience of working in over 70 countries to examine the causes of poverty and conflict. It identifies the structural forces which deny people their basic rights through case studies from Africa, Asia and Latin America.