Human Rights Article Twenty-Two: The Right to Social Security

Everyone has the right to social security and to the economic, social and cultural conditions needed to live with dignity.

• Human rights are not only about freedom from abuse.
• They are also about having the basic support people need to participate fully in society.
• When someone loses a job, becomes disabled, grows old, faces a crisis or cannot meet basic needs, there should be systems that help prevent that person from falling into desperation.

What is happening?

• Around the world, millions of people live without reliable social protection.
• A lost job can mean losing housing.
• An illness can push a family into poverty.
• Older people may have little or no retirement income.
• People with disabilities may struggle to access services or employment.
• Parents may be forced to choose between working and caring for their children.
• Informal workers, migrants and people in unstable employment may have little protection when income suddenly disappears.
• In many places, the systems designed to help people are difficult to understand, underfunded or unavailable.
• A temporary crisis can quickly become a permanent setback.

Why is it happening?

• Many social protection systems were built for economies and work patterns that have changed.
• More people now work independently, temporarily, informally or through digital platforms.
• Economic inequality has grown in many societies.
• Public services can be weakened by lack of funding, corruption, poor administration or political conflict.
• Some systems also treat social support as charity instead of recognizing it as part of a functioning society.
• The deeper issue is whether economic systems are designed only to produce wealth — or also to protect human well-being.

Who is affected?

• Anyone can need social protection at some point in life.
• Children.
• Older people.
• People who lose jobs.
• People with disabilities.
• Families experiencing poverty.
• Workers in unstable employment.
• Single parents.
• Migrants and refugees.
• People affected by disasters or economic crises.
• Small business owners whose income suddenly disappears.

When people have no safety net, the effects spread beyond individuals.

• Families become unstable.
• Children lose opportunities.
• Health problems worsen.
• Homelessness can increase.
• Communities become less secure.

Who is already creating solutions?

People and institutions around the world are developing better ways to provide social protection.

• Governments provide pensions, unemployment support, disability benefits, healthcare assistance and family programs.
• Community organizations provide food, housing assistance, childcare and emergency support.
• Worker organizations advocate for benefits, fair wages and protections that follow people across different forms of employment.
• Cooperatives and mutual-aid networks allow communities to share resources and support one another.
• Social enterprises are developing new approaches to housing, healthcare, employment and financial security.

And some governments are experimenting with simplified benefits, universal services and income-support programs designed to make social protection easier to access.

What can we do?

Protect people during transitions. Losing a job, becoming