Families on the Margins: Localising the right to family life

In honour of the United Nations International Day to End Poverty on 17 October, this event brings together Southwark community members and activists to discuss practical ways to support the rights of everyone in our community and develop collective solutions to human rights and poverty challenges.

The evening will feature a relaxed panel conversation with plenty of opportunities for audience enagement with our panel of esteemed community members.

Panelists include Jason Barnfather, an ATD Fourth World activist and youth mentor, and Imam Touqeer Tanvir, a missonary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and presenter on the Voice of Islam, with additional local community organisers to be announced.

The event will also feature the premiere of a short video co-produced by ATD Fourth World activists with lived experience of poverty and actor Paul Higgins.

So please come along to share ideas, network, and engage in an inclusive, friendly space where every voice matters.

The right to family life

The right to family life is a fundamental human right that protects families from unnecessary interference and ensures they receive the support they need. It means that parents and children should be able to live together safely and with dignity, and that governments have a responsibility to help families thrive, not punish them. This right is part of a wider set of economic, social, and cultural rights, which include access to housing, education, healthcare, and social protection

ATD Fourth World’s work on the right to family life

Since May 2022, ATD Fourth World has undertaken extensive research into human rights abuses in children's social care. This research, led by people with lived experience of poverty and the social care system, has culminated in four separate submissions to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). The submissions, which you can read more about here, has provided the CESCR and the UK Government with evidence that highlights how social service interventions disproportionately affect families living in poverty.

This led directly to UN expert Julieta Rossi raising the concern that children’s social care “is overtly focused on intervening at crisis point and removing children from their families”.

In its response, the UK government agreed with this assessment and promised to begin shifting the focus away from crisis intervention to ensure that children stay with their families.

This marks the first time the CESCR has focused on the rights of children in care from families experiencing poverty. And now that the UK Government has conceded failure and indicated a desire to do better, it is up to our communities to hold them to account.

About ATD Fourth World

ATD Fourth World is a local human rights-based anti-poverty organization based in Southwark, London.

For more than 60 years, we’ve been tackling inequality and promoting social justice in the UK. We’re grassroots and community oriented, and we work in partnership with people with experience of poverty to build networks of people, groups, and organizations committed to overcoming persistent poverty.

IG: @atdfourthwork_uk

Bluesky: @atd-fourthworld-uk.bsky.social

United Nations International Day to End Poverty

It was to bear witness to the lives of people in poverty that in 1992 the United Nations gave official recognition to the International Day to End Poverty. which was first marked by ATD Fourth World on 17 October 1987.

Since then, every year this day has been commemorated around the world in different ways — through gatherings, testimonies, art, and public actions — to honour the courage, work, and achievements of people living in poverty. It is a chance to recognise both the sacrifices that many make in the face of hardship, as well as their contributions to building fairer societies.

Together, we can see how far we have come in raising awareness and strengthening solidarity. But this day also reminds us that poverty is not inevitable — it is the result of political choices. With the right choices, rooted in justice and dignity, we can build a society where no one is left behind