UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

To mark this year's UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and the recent release of our 'Poverty Barrier' research, we are very excited to host this special, one-off online video-chat with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Juan Méndez, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona.

Answering questions we have crowd-sourced over the last few weeks from all over the world, this is the first time these two UN global human rights heavyweights have ever come together to discuss the issues exposed in our 'Poverty Barrier' research.

The debate is anchored by Kolbassia Haoussou, Co-ordinator of the Survivors Speak OUT network, fresh from their recent success at the United Nations General Assembly.

Please follow #17Oct and #povertybarrier to join the conversation on Twitter.

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Juan Méndez

A world renowned legal academic in the field of human rights law and a torture survivor himself, Professor Méndez commenced his three-year mandate as Special Rapporteur on Torture in November 2010 with a commitment to taking a victim-centred approach. As well as the global outreach and lobbying work he does to tackle torture as Special Rapporteur, Professor Méndez is a Visiting Professor of Law at the American University – Washington College of Law. And besides being the recipient of countless human rights awards, he is also an honorary member of the Survivors Speak OUT network.

UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona

A Chilean lawyer, whose 15-year career at the intersection of poverty, development and human rights has bridged research and activism, Ms. Sepúlveda was appointed to the UN in 2008, just as the financial crisis hit. As Special Rapporteur, she has undertaken country visits, advised a range of governments in all parts of the world, and has staunchly argued that austerity policies are having a 'disproportionate impact' on the poor and are undermining the human rights of vulnerable people. Besides working in her UN capacity, Ms. Sepúlveda is a member of the faculty of Oxford University's celebrated Summer Course on Human Rights.