Social exclusion is a major contributing factor to poverty. Women, men and children experience social exclusion when they are discriminated against based on their gender, ethnicity, race, caste, religion, language, sexual orientation, age, disability, HIV status, migrant status, or combinations of these. This discrimination also exists within public institutions, legal systems and public services and keeps people in poverty and excluded from decision-making processes that affects their lives.The most socially excluded and marginalised groups across the world need to engage with and transform the institutions and processes that discriminate against them. This involves enabling and supporting excluded and marginalised groups to participate effectively in formal and informal governance and justice systems and helping establish an understanding of citizenship. People from the most excluded groups will then be able to hold their governments to account, to ensure their needs and interests are addressed and their human rights respected.
How do we promote social inclusion? Whose responsibility is it to do it? How do we tackle discrimination on different grounds?
How can we ensure that people are included in the decision-making processes that directly affect their lives? How can institutions be transformed to include those that have been traditionally marginalised?