VOA标准英语2014--ILO: Social Protection a Human Right

 

ILO: Social Protection a Human Right 

A new report says while the need for social protections is widely recognized, many people around the world don’t have them.

The International Labor¹ Organization says less than 30-percent of the population has guaranteed access to such things as health care or unemployment safeguards.

The ILO has released its World Social Protection Report: Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice. It says that “social protection policies play a critical role…reducing poverty and inequality… and boosting human capital and productivity.”

Christina Behrendt, an ILO senior protection policy specialist, said, “By social protection we mean a broad range of policies that aim at providing people with social security, which is a human right – starting from child and family benefits, unemployment protection, benefits for people with disabilities, maternity² benefits, old age pensions, access to health care. So it’s a very, very broad range of benefits.”

The ILO report said inadequate³ or a lack of social protections “is associated with high and persistent⁴ levels of poverty…and growing levels of inequality.”

“They’re basically important in countries al all levels of development because this is really a way for the countries to make sure that the resources in the countries are distributed in a just way. That everyone is benefitting basically from the proceeds of growth as a way of ensuring inclusive growth. So making sure that the benefits of growth are available to everyone,” Behrendt said.

She said such policies are a way for a country to invest in its people. Education is one example of such investment.

“Many countries, especially in developing countries and emerging countries recently, have really taken quite bold steps to invest more in social protection, which was not necessarily the case before. They have really taken these steps as a conscious decision because they felt that the lack of social protection constituted an obstacle to development.”

She said most countries do have some measures in place, but they usually benefit only a small part of the population. The ILO specialist said some lessons about social protections were learned after the global economic crisis struck in 2008.

“Social protections were quite a prominent part in many countries of the fiscal⁵ stimulus⁶ packages that were introduced. What we did learn is that they actually had a very substantial impact. Actually they had a quite substantial multiplier effect. But especially the cash incomes played a very important role because they were really one way of stimulating⁷ the economy,” she said.

However, she said that in 2010, many governments decided⁸ to impose fiscal consolidation⁹ or austerity measures. Behrendt describes the move as premature¹⁰.

“That really kind of stumbled and hindered and reduced the domestic demand, which would have been necessary really to keep up the recovery.”

Other lessons, Behrendt said, can be found in the 2013 tragedy in Bangladesh when the eight-story Rana Plaza¹¹ commercial building collapsed¹². Over 1,100 people died and more than 2,500 people were injured. And then there was last month’s Soma mine disaster in Turkey in which more than 300 miners were killed.

“There are kind of no mechanisms¹³ in place that would provide them with at least some kind of ways to make their living after they’ve been hurt or after some of their family members might have died in these accidents.

She added that less dramatic accidents happen every day and affect many people.

The biggest argument governments use not implement¹⁴ social protections is that they are too expensive.

“Many countries say they are too poor, that they don’t have the fiscal resources to implement those measures. But at the same time what we also see in countries -- which actually do embark¹⁵ on implementing¹⁶ those measures and expanding their social protection systems – what we see there is that is also very much a question of political will,” she said.

The International Labor Organization report calls for universal health coverage¹⁷. It says more than 90-percent of the population in low-income countries is “without any right to coverage in health.” But Behrendt said more countries are starting to act.

“For example, Thailand within the space of a couple of years was able to achieve universal health coverage. China recently has really taken bold steps to extend health coverage. And, of course, the U.S. also on a very different level has also moved into that direction. And we know that this is really a very important component¹⁸ of any social protection system because the need to have access to health care is really what affects people very immediately.”

The ILO also reported a lack of maternity protection. It said that worldwide, less than 40-percent of working women are covered by law under mandatory¹⁹ cash benefit plans. As for children, the report said that about “18,000 die every day, mainly from preventable causes. It says many of those deaths could be avoided with adequate social protections. 

The ILO proposes that basic social protections should be part of any post-Millennium Development Goals agenda.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

3 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

4 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

7 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

11 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

12 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

13 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

15 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

16 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

17 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

18 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

19 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。