Overall Strategy for Fighting Poverty and Social Exclusion: a Major Breakthrough and Improvement Strategy with People Living in This Situation
Press Release from March 31, 2010
Throughout the development of this strategy, the poor have been consulted by the organizations through which they speak. ATD Quart Monde co-ordinated this consultation. These people created the "Expectations of People Affected by Poverty" chapter of this report and have influenced a number of proposals presented in this report. This is the first time that a report at the federal level acknowledged that these people not only offer new contributions, but are also essential participants in the fight against poverty.
The report contains valuable proposals. It takes into account each person’s life story, starting from childhood and the right to education, from youth and the right to work for all. It also features the importance of family and the desire to improve access to basic human rights, strengthening the mission of social support for social work, as well as the role of mediators. However, it is far from presenting an overall strategy that allows for everyone to live in dignity with sufficient resources, contributing first to society through recognized work, to have genuine access to healthcare and decent housing. Important issues such as the placement of children due to poverty or the fight against illiteracy are ignored in this report.
Lastly, this report does not suggest any body in charge of stimulating real co-ordinated action putting together various stakeholders to fight against poverty and social exclusion: the Confederation, districts, villages and towns, social partners, NGOs and the poor. The Conférence nationale sur la pauvreté, scheduled for the fall, will result in the creation of such a body.
AvenirSocial, Amnesty International Section suisse and ATD Quart Monde have invited all involved NGOs to meet next May 6th to discuss improving this strategy and so that the fight against poverty and social exclusion will become a top priority in Switzerland’s future.
Press contacts: Olivier Gerhard, tel. 076 566 05 63, Xavier Verzat, tel. 076 430 9291, By e-mail
