Demand Dignity

Poverty is not inevitable. The billions of people who live in poverty are shut out, ignored and denied security by the actions and failures of the powerful. This is a human rights crisis.

2008 was marked by a global financial crisis and the numbers of people living in poverty and subjected to human rights abuse are likely to grow. Whatever plan is pursued, whatever projects are prioritized, whatever aid package is agreed, any solution to poverty without human rights at its core will fail to have a long-term impact.

Protecting the rights of those living poverty, the right to health, the right to education, the right to housing and the right to live to live without fear of persecution, repression and discrimination, is not just an option – it is an essential piece of any solution.

Global poverty – exacerbated by the financial crisis – has created a burning platform for human rights change. Amnesty International is launching a new campaign in 2009. Under the banner of "Demand Dignity", we will mobilize people to seek accountability  for human rights abuses that drive and deepen poverty.

We will challenge discriminatory laws, policies and practices, and demand concrete measures to overcome the factors that impoverish and keep people poor.

Add your voice and call on governments and corporations around the world to respect and promote the right of the most vulnerable women, children and men to live free from want and free from fear. Visit demanddiginity.org