More than 92 million people in the European Union live in poverty. This was stated in a report released by the United Nations in the European capital Brussels today.
The report was released by the UN Special Representative for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Olivier de Schutter at an online press conference at the Brussels Press Club.
According to the report, one in five people in the European Union, or 21.1% of the total population, was at risk of becoming poor in 2019 and consequently of social exclusion.
That brings the total to 92.4 million people. That includes 19.4 million children and 20.4 million laborers. Mr Olivier presented the report on behalf of the United Nations at the end of his official visit to various EU institutions.
He said that the global epidemic COVID-19 has affected the lives of many people who have never faced poverty in their lives before. He added that during the visit, he talked to people who were hungry for the first time.
Their poverty was discovered when they became homeless. They were abused and abused only because of poverty. He said the outbreak had severely hampered the EU’s commitment to lifting its 20 million citizens out of poverty by 2020.
The UN special envoy pointed out that despite a long period of economic growth and job growth, the emergence of this situation is an indication that social assistance is not being distributed evenly. He called it a defeat for social justice.
It should be noted that the UN Special Representative for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights visited many EU institutions from 25 November to 28 January and met with civil society organizations, migrants and various sections of the population. Gained more knowledge.