Those who happen to be near Dublin's Irish Financial Centre on 17 October may notice a group of people gathered near the Famine Memorial on Custom House Quay. They are gathered on behalf of people who suffer extreme forms of poverty and they are there to listen with respect to what some of those who have suffered poverty are telling us about their struggles to live life with dignity. An Irish commemorative stone will be laid this year near to the Famine Memorial.

In December 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 17 October World Day for Overcoming Extreme Poverty. This event is celebrated each year in more than 116 different countries. In Dublin, it is organised by ATD Fourth World, a movement founded by Fr Joseph Wresinski in Paris in the 1950s.

Joseph Wresinski grew up in a family marked by extreme poverty. In 1956 he was sent by his Bishop to a camp for the homeless in Noisy-Le-Grand, just outside of Paris. He accompanied the families living there in almost total deprivation and together with them founded the Fourth World Movement. His work and reports have had important social and political repercussions throughout the world. On 17 October 1987 he dedicated a commemorative stone on the Plaza of Human Rights and Liberties, Trocadero Plaza, Paris. The inscription on the stone reads:

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.
(Fr Joseph Wresinski)

Central to his ideas is the belief that the poor are the very first to protest against the indignity of the conditions to which poverty subjects them. The poor are not indifferent to a good life. They have the same human dignity as anybody else, but after many years of dashed hopes and broken promises their self-confidence is diminished. Wresinski tells the story of a family living near the airport in Paris who had no status in society whatsoever. In the eyes of the Government they did not exist. Yet they existed in police records and in the civil charges brought against them by the airport authorities. There are so many untold stories among the poor. ATD Fourth World makes a special effort to listen to these stories and the inscription on the commemorative stone speaks of our common duty in this regard.

Another interesting discovery made by Joseph Wresinski is related to the response of individuals to the plight of others. This he calls, Human beings investing in humanity:

If you have lost faith because you have experienced so much neglect,
I will come to your side and show you that you are my brother, my sister,
worthy of confidence and responsibility.

Wresinski believes that no culture can truly deny the investment by committed men and women in those whose confidence in their own abilities has been shattered by extreme poverty.

Speaking during the recent World Congress on Basic Income (BIEN Congress), which was held in Ireland during the summer, Professor Peter Townsend highlighted the plight of the world's poorest children with statistics which are too painful to contemplate. Almost one third of the world's children live in dwellings with more than five people per room or which have a mud floor. Over half a billion children have no toilet facilities whatsoever. Over 400 million children use unsafe water and 16 percent of the world's children are severely malnourished. 275 million children are not immunised against disease. One in nine children are severely deprived of education. (Using Human Rights to Accelerate Universal Income Security: The Creation of a UN Investment Fund for Child Benefit? by Peter Townsend on www.cori.ie/justice/Basic_Income).

On the basis of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, Peter Townsend put forward the idea that an international children's investment fund established under the auspices of the UN is a practicable possibility. Townsend maintains that a considerable part of its annual resources could be devoted to countries with extensive child poverty, and where schemes of child benefit in cash or kind can be introduced or extended. All countries with large numbers of children who are below an internationally recognised poverty line and also with comparatively low GDP might be entitled to participate.

In his address to the BIEN Congress, Peter Townsend outlined some of the advantages an international children's investment fund would have:

• It gives direct aid and therefore ensures "trickle-down." Current forms of international aid (economic growth, overseas aid, debt relief, trading subsidies) are indirect, and unrelated to locations and categories of severe, and most urgent, need.
• It is more immediately effective in reducing child poverty. Direct aid in cash or kind has more immediate effects. And when such aid is sustained beyond days and months the creation and management of an administrative infrastructure in each country becomes necessary.
• It contributes to other forms of national, and international social stability and cohesion. For example, local administrative centres to distribute cash or goods in kind have to be developed, and can be linked to health centres, schools etc.

There are many good ideas currently being debated but the political will is not always there to use the opportunities that exist to substantially reduce the levels of extreme poverty at home and abroad. There is still that necessity which Fr Joseph Wresinski alluded to as human beings investing in humanity. Governments are often slow to react to the plight of the poor. It takes personal conviction to assist the plight of another human being. For this reason CORI Justice has called on the Government and Social Partners to ensure that Ireland's vulnerable people are protected as the national agreement is being reviewed at a difficult time in Ireland's economy.

The UN is promoting 17 October as an opportunity for everyone to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty. It is their chance to make their concerns heard, and a moment to recognise that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty. The participation of the poor has been at the centre of the International Day's celebration since its beginning. The commemoration of 17 October also reflects the willingness of people living in poverty to use their expertise to contribute to the eradication of poverty.

CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 1989

Article 26(I) - States parties shall recognise for every child the right to benefit from social security, including social insurance, and shall take the necessary measures to achieve the full realisation of this right in accordance with their national law.
Article 27 (I) - States parties recognise the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
Article 27 (3) - ...and shall in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing.