Advancing Social Justice In Europe and Worldwide

Social protection is a universal right which is affordable (also for poor countries) and which works to accelerate progress towards sustainable and inclusive development.

Social protection consists of a range of different measures: measures of prevention, based on the principles of social insurance and solidarity enabling people to cope with certain risks; measures of protection, based on social assistance and directed at the poorest and most vulnerable members of society; measures of promotion aiming at investing in people’s capacities making it possible for all to develop their full potential; and policies that relate to power imbalances in society that encourage, create and sustain vulnerabilities (transformative element).

What we do

We work with our members, the Global Network and the European Working Group on Decent Work and Social Protection in Development Cooperation:

• to raise awareness on the right to social protection for all
• to gain support from donors to provide financial and technical support to developing countries to develop and/or scale up their social protection systems according to national plans and priorities.

We do so through projects (funded by the EU and UKAid) and advocacy work in Brussels and in countries where the Global Network is present.

What we want

• The EU to recognise that social protection is a fundamental human right rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Labour Organisation Convention 102.
• The State to play a key role in ensuring that the right to social protection becomes a reality for all.
• The acknowledgement of civil society organisations as key actors in the development, monitoring, evaluation and, where relevant, implementation of social protection systems and policies.
• To raise support for the UN Social Protection Floor Initiative (SPFI) among EU institutions and international development actors in line with the ILO Recommendation R202.

Photo: © LEF