Two-child limit scrapped as historic Bill to lift 450,000 children out of poverty becomes law Historic legislation to end the two-child limit has become law, putting 450,000 children on a pathway out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.

Goodbye, two child limit.

GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH.

www.gov.uk/government/n...

NEW: @oxfaminternational.bsky.social's global inequality report🌏

Billionaire wealth⬆️3x faster in '25 than previous years

This year we dive deep on the link between economic & political inequality. Billionaires are 4000x more likely to hold office than you or me www.oxfamamerica.org/press/billio...

Anna, 80, shows a notebook containing detailed records of monthly expenses, for herself and her sister Erika, 84, in their home in Budapest, Hungary, October 2025. © 2025 Kartik Raj/Human Rights Watch

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"It is what it is" (or "Ez van" in Hungarian) was what so many older people I interviewed in Hungary told me with resignation-- accompanied with a shrug, raised eyebrows, or a downward glance--about the poverty they experience.

@hrw.org's findings are out now: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

In #Hungary, poverty among people aged 65+ has more than doubled since 2018. A key driver: a pension system that leaves nearly 1 in 4 pensioners with incomes below the poverty threshold.

Check out @hrw.org's latest report by @kartikraj.bsky.social: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...

A Fairer Tax System is a Global Human Rights Imperative [Sarah Saadoun is a senior advisor on economic inequality at Human Rights Watch] Diplomats from dozens of countries gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, in November for a new round of negotiations on a Unit…

While many face abysmal public services + tax hikes, huge companies & the uber-rich game a tax system designed 100 yrs ago. My new oped in @opiniojuris.bsky.social on why the first-ever UN tax treaty is a historic chance for public budgets that can fund human rights opiniojuris.org/2026/01/13/a...

New @hrw.org research out tomorrow on inadequate pensions and older people experiencing poverty in Hungary 🇭🇺

- interview testimony from older people 👵🏻👴🏻
- difficulties affording food 🍞🥩🍓☕, gas/electricity 🔌💡, medical supplies 💊🤕
- lots of graphs and charts 📊〽️

Media queries to @kooyjan.bsky.social

New year, new book!📚

@matthewgreenslade.bsky.social's "Beyond the World Bank" is a powerful critique of the reliance on poverty targeting & makes a strong case for universal rights-aligned social security.

Drawing on experiences from Chile to Kenya, Nepal & more: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/beyond-th...

Worried about social security "fraud"? Research by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) in South Africa shows we need to look carefully at where the real problem lies. It's rarely beneficiaries who commit fraud, yet they often bear the brunt of govt crackdowns.

👉 iej.org.za/wp-content/u...

Some good social security news for kids in 2025: China, Fiji, Japan, Morocco, Türkiye, and Tunisia expanded benefits for children — and the UK said it will finally scrap the “2-child limit,” projected to lift 450,000 children in the UK out of poverty by 2030.

And here's the @hrw.org report on algorithmic exploitation @lenasimet.bsky.social and I published in May:

www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

Is universal social security affordable in low &middle income countries?

Join us Thu Dec 4 @11:30am GMT for “Beyond the Unaffordability Myth” a socialprotection.org webinar co-organized by @hrw.org, launching a new @devpathways.bsky.social report.

To register: socialprotection.org/learn/webina...

HRW quote card that says, “The UK government’s decision to end the cruel "two-child limit” social security policy is welcome and long-overdue. It forced growing numbers of children and families into poverty and undermined their rights.” Kartik Raj, Europe Senior Researcher

Good riddance to rubbish policy.

The end to the UK's "two child limit" social security policy has been announced, and it will soon be gone.

We @hrw.org welcome the news, as one of many, many, many voices calling for an end to this arbitrary, cruel social security policy.

🚨The @ilo.org is writing the first global rules for work on platforms like #Uber & #DoorDash.

@hrw.org has submitted detailed input and a joint civil society statement, calling for fair pay, safety, social security, & safeguards against harmful algorithms.

🔗 www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

Today @hrw.org published input on the draft @ilo.org treaty on decent work in the platform economy - the 1st global effort to set rules for work organized through businesses like Uber & DoorDash. A historic chance to ensure tech works for workers not against them: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

World Leaders Commit to Supporting Social Development and Rights At the second United Nations Social Summit in Qatar this week, dozens of governments adopted the Doha Political Declaration, renewing their commitments to tackle poverty, create decent work, combat di...

This week world leaders made commitments to fulfil rights at #WSS2. But this won’t happen without money.

We’re now looking at Nairobi where the UN Tax Convention #UNTC negotiations are resuming on Monday - it could be the key to deliver on those commitments.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

NEW: @oxfamamerica.bsky.social's US inequality report🧵

10 richest Americans gained $698 billion in the past year.

As tens of millions struggle to get by, Trump policies could drive US inequality to new extremes.

We dive deep on how we got here, and the change needed.

oxfamamerica.org/unequal

As the US government shutdown drags on, SNAP—the country's largest food assistance program—is set to halt benefits Saturday, cutting off benefits for 42 million people.

My @hrw.org colleague @jackspehn.bsky.social explains what’s at stake and why Congress must act.👇

Welfare cuts are fuelling far right rise, warns UN expert NEW YORK – The rolling back of protections for people living in poverty has created fertile ground for far-right movements across the world, warned the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human ...

Social protection is a human right.

In a new report, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights @deschuttero.bsky.social warns that weakening social protection fuels the rise of far-right populism.

Read more:

This new report couldn’t be more timely as we see austerity and welfare cuts drive anger and division. UN expert @deschuttero.bsky.social warns that weakening social protection fuels the rise of far-right populism. 👇

Yet another Gen Z–led protest over #inequality, unemployment, and economic policies that fail the majority — this time in #Morocco. Demands are clear: better healthcare, education & social protection. Morocco spends billions on stadiums for the 2030 #FIFA World Cup, while social spending lags.

📢 EU Billionaires’ wealth surges by over €400bn in first half of 2025.

That’s over €2bn a day.

🔗www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/eu-bil...

#TaxTheRich

Morocco: Protests Met with Repression, Violence Moroccan authorities have cracked down on youth-led protests demanding sweeping reforms to public services, resulting in deaths and mass arrests.

Morocco's youth have clear-cut demands for better healthcare, education & end to corruption. If the government can fund state-of-the art stadiums, it can afford to fund its healthcare.

Calls for reform should not be met with repression, lethal force @hrw.org
www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Happening today!

Join us in person at @hrw.org's DC office — or online — for a discussion on Alternatives to Austerity, held on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.

🕔 5pm ET
📍 RSVP to join in person: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

💻 Join online: bit.ly/494BZ51

Low tax revenues helped drive Sri Lanka to economic crisis. New report by @hrw.org’s @sarahsaadoun.bsky.social on how tax policies favoring companies & the wealthy have for decades been undermining human rights, including to education www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Sri Lanka: Ruinous Tax Policies Stoke Inequality Sri Lanka’s tax policies played a driving role in the country’s devastating 2022 economic crisis and have contributed to the chronic underfunding of education and other public services.

Today, @hrw.org released the 1st major report on tax, documenting how policies that favor the rich drove Sri Lanka into economic crisis & starved its public education system. UN tax treaty negotiations are historic chance to address a root cause. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

As the 2025 World Bank #AnnualMeetings open today, a new @hrw.org report finds IFC-backed microfinance in #Cambodia has driven millions—mostly people living in poverty—into debt through predatory lending, leading to land loss, child labor, and debt-driven suicides.

www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

Rights Should Guide Welfare ‘Reform’ Debate in Germany The partners in Germany’s governing Christian Democrat-Social Democrat coalition have been sparring over the contents of a planned replacement of the Citizen’s Income social security benefit, with a “...

I am reading reports that the German coalition has agreed the main parts of its welfare "reform" package. Details still emerging.

This shift toward a more punitive logic and harsher sanctions will come at the cost of human rights.

I explain more in this recent piece.

www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

QUOTE CARD with text “The German government’s plans to punish some social security recipients with severe cuts to support demonstrates contempt for their human rights. This harsh approach will increase poverty, erode social cohesion, and push many into destitution." Kartik Raj, Senior Europe Researcher

The German government's plan for social security "reform" is bad news for #humanrights.

I tried to set out why for @hrw.org here, a couple of weeks back, as we awaited details of these plans:

www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

One to watch for the ESCR nerds out there.

The first complaint from Germany to the UN CESCR, since the country relatively recently (Apr 2023) accepted the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR.

Focused on withdrawal of benefits from some asylum-seekers.

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The new rush on minerals carries massive human rights risks and has already caused harm to people and planet.

Colombia’s initiative at #UNEA7 is a chance to change course. With 50+ partners, we @hrw.org encourage Colombia to pursue its goal for a global binding agreement on mineral supply chains.