Four Billion Excluded From the Rule of Law Says New United Nations Report, a Crucial Hindrance to Equality and Economic Development
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
Author: Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor
Source: United Nations Development Programme
Date: 6/3/08
United Nations Development Programme ("UNDP") announces: "A new report launched today [June 3, 2008] found that four billion people - the majority of the world's people - are excluded from the rule of law. The report, by the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, a group co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline K. Albright and Peruvian Economist Hernando De Soto, called on governments, international institutions and civil society to make legal empowerment a top agenda item in the fight against global poverty . . . . The report found that when the laws of society act as a barrier to the poor, then the idea of the law as a legitimate institution of democratic governance is injured. In contrast, by expanding legal protection, more citizens develop an increased stake in the maintenance of a peaceful social order and the stability of the local government. The Commission argues that strategies that expand legal empowerment to the poor have an impact not just on their opportunities to prosper but also on the broader issues of stability, peace and democratic governance." Read the report here.