Charter for the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty

Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty. Father Joseph Wresinski - October 17, 1987 - Trocadéro - Paris

On October 17, 1987, in reply to Father Joseph Wresinski’s appeal, 100,000 defenders of human rights gathered together on the Trocadero Plaza in Paris to honor victims of hunger, violence, and ignorance, to express their refusal of extreme poverty, and to call on humankind to unite to ensure the respect of human rights. A Commemorative Stone in Honor of the Victims of Extreme Poverty, proclaiming this message, was inaugurated on this occasion on the Plaza of Human Rights and Liberties (formerly Trocadero Plaza), at the place where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948.

The 100,000 people attending were citizens from all walks of life and all creeds. Some represented high-level international, national, or local governing bodies. Others were individuals and families living in chronic poverty themselves and struggling against it daily.

Since then, on the 17th of October each year, the poorest and all those who reject extreme poverty and exclusion gather throughout the world to express their solidarity and their commitment to ensure that everyone’s dignity and freedom are respected. This is the origin of the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty.

On October 17, 1992, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, former Secretary General of the UN, on behalf of a group of prominent international figures assembled in the Committee for the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty, called for the recognition of October 17. On December 22, 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared October 17 the "International Day for the Eradication of Poverty". Ever since, initiatives to observe this day have been constantly increasing. In many places, gatherings are also held on the 17th of each month.

Today, the International Committee for October 17 suggests that all who wish to observe this day adhere to the following principles which form a Common Charter for the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty.

1. To respect the history and the spirit of the day, people should

• recall the history of this day, coming from the initiative of the poorest, in documents, invitations, and calls to gather.
• honor victims of extreme poverty by reading the text of the Commemorative Stone and the "Verses to the Glory of the Fourth World of All Times", interpreted on October 17, 1987, and by observing a time of silence after the reading of these texts.
• reassert the necessity of constantly seeking out those who are still absent because they are too overwhelmed by extreme poverty.
• organize this day as a day of unity and peace during which everyone "would set aside their differences" by agreeing to come together around the poorest who, throughout the world, are the first victims of violence, and by refraining from all shows of force.
• highlight during this day individuals and families living in chronic poverty who are the foremost defenders of human rights, promote their active participation, place their statements and testimonies at the heart of all gatherings and initiatives. Provide opportunities for genuine meetings between the poorest, people committed to working in very poor communities, and other citizens around the common determination of all parties to reject extreme poverty.
• observe the World Day in places that bear witness to the history of humankind, to the often unknown history of the poorest, and to the respect due to victims of extreme poverty; such as, the Commemorative Stone on the Trocad‚ro Plaza, and its replicas around the world, significant places in each country, places where very poor families lived...

Throughout the world, the poorest are forced to live in shame. The World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty should enable them to show their dignity and to free themselves from dependence on handouts, public or private. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to organize free distributions on this day.

2. To invite all citizens and institutions to come together and to express their rejection of extreme poverty, people should

• make children and youths aware of human rights and of the struggle against extreme poverty by involving the school system, the press, and children and youth movements. Give them the opportunity to express their own opposition to the exclusion of other children and young people from "tomorrow’s world".
• suggest that philosophical and religious schools of thought state how they attempt to join the poorest and to put them in the center of their projects.
• involve, with mutual respect, various groups representing the civil society of each nation (organizations; trade unions, mass media,...) without turning this event into a publicity opportunity for anyone.
• elicit the contribution and support of the international community. Provide local, national, and international governing bodies with the opportunity to show their solidarity without turning the day into a platform for promoting any particular person or political agenda.
• enable all citizens to show their solidarity and to renew their commitment by performing an act that is meaningful in their country’s culture and that respects the spirit of the day;

It is requested that those who organize an observance of this day make sure that all messages being communicated (in texts, photos, films,...) and events respect the dignity of the people who are at its origin.