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12 - Economic Inequality and the Right to Social Security: Contested Meanings and Potential Roles

from Part III - Socioeconomic Rights and Economic Inequalities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2021

By
Beth Goldblatt
Edited by
Gillian MacNaughton ,
Diane Frey  and
Catherine Porter
Gillian MacNaughton
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Boston
Diane Frey
Affiliation:
San Francisco State University
Catherine Porter
Affiliation:
Lancaster University
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Summary

The right to social security, widely referred to in international human rights law, including in International Labour Organization conventions, is also found in more than half of all constitutions in the world (Jung et al. 2014). Social security is prominent in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); “social protection” is explicitly stated in three targets. The term “social protection” is often used synonymously with social security and at other times used as a broader concept with social security as a core component (Goldblatt 2016, 8–9). Goal 1 to “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” includes Target 1.3: “Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable” (UNGA 2015, 15). While the target requires social protection for “all” this idea of equality of access in ending poverty does not necessarily ensure that economic inequality will be addressed as there may still be significant differences of income and wealth within the society once this target is met.

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Chapter
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Human Rights and Economic Inequalities , pp. 295 - 315
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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