On Monday 12th November, Professor Philip Alston (the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights) will be visiting Community Links for an open mic evidence-gathering session on poverty and human rights in Newham.

This event, hosted by Community Links in partnership with Just Fair, is an opportunity to share with Alston and his UN team your experiences of a wide range of issues such as welfare reform, housing, discrimination or Brexit.

UN Special Rapporteur visit to the UK

Between 5 and 16 November, Professor Alston will be visiting different parts of the UK to gather evidence about the effects of austerity, poverty and inequality in local communities around the country.

The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council. Alston’s role involves: conducting research and analysis to be presented to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly; undertaking country visits and reporting on the situation; sending letters to governments in situations in which violations of human rights of people living in extreme poverty are alleged to have taken place.

Alston has previously visited the USA and participated at a similar open mic event in Los Angeles.

Poverty and Human Rights in Newham

This event will be hosted at Community Links on Monday 12th November, 2-4pm. We will begin the event with a few words from Just Fair, Community Links and Alston’s team, before hearing several short presentations from organisations (such as the Magpie Project, Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Inclusion London and Caritas Anchor House).

We will then open up to the floor for an hour of open mic discussion. We are hoping to hear contributions from people with lived experience of the relevant issues, such as housing, homelessness, Universal Credit, welfare reform, disability rights and many others. For a suggested list of topics, please visit the UN website.

Attendance is free but all participants must register here in advance.

This event is open to everyone. Please let us know if you have any special requirement and we will do our best to accommodate. You can also send us a brief written testimony if you prefer.

The event will be video-recorded and journalists might attend. Please get in touch with us if you would not want your testimony to be recorded.