Philip Alston Profile picture
Professor @NYULaw and Chair @HumanRightsNYU. Former UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty (2014-2020) and extrajudicial executions (2004-2010).
Jul 11, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read
During my visit to #Malaysia last year, I criticized the excessively low national poverty line, a statistical sleight of hand that erased poverty in the country.

The government has now doubled the absolute poverty line, raising the poverty rate from 0.4% to 5.6%. My response: Malaysia's government has taken a courageous step towards bringing its poverty line closer to reality. The line announced today is more than double the previous one and results in an official poverty rate 14 times higher than previously acknowledged.
Jul 6, 2020 8 tweets 3 min read
Today I am releasing my final report as UN Special Rapporteur. I find that global poverty is rising, and that a decade of misplaced triumphalism has exacerbated the worst impacts of the pandemic.

My statement: chrgj.org/2020/07/05/phi….

The full report: chrgj.org/wp-content/upl…. COVID-19 is projected to push hundreds of millions into unemployment, hunger and poverty. But the international community’s abysmal record on tackling poverty, inequality and disregard for human life far precede this pandemic.
Jul 1, 2020 5 tweets 3 min read
In April, I joined UN experts in calling on Secretary General @antonioguterres to take action to address the UN's failure to provide justice to #cholera victims in #Haiti. The SG's stunningly cynical reply is now public. My response below. 1/5 The UN appears to be offering Haitian cholera victims little more than platitudes. I am grateful to @antonioguterres for his reply, but dismayed by the lack of response to allegations that victims have not been assisted. 2/5
Apr 30, 2020 20 tweets 8 min read
1/ Today marks the end of my 6-year term as UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty & human rights. In that time, I carried out 11 country visits & wrote 12 thematic reports on issues such as climate change, inequality & privatization. They are online at srpoverty.org I’ve been deeply inspired by the work of civil society organizations, activists, academics, and many others who have made all of this possible, and I have learned a tremendous amount from the rights-holders who have shared their time and insights with me.