Abstract:  In terms of combating poverty, the “leave no one behind” principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires that particularly vulnerable people and those who frequently face discrimination deserve special protection. Governments that pursue pro-poor policies should therefore be mindful of the needs of these people and develop special programmes to ensure that adequate protection is guaranteed. This is also stipulated by international human rights law. Both relevant global treaties—such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights—and international soft law provide for such provisions. This short note highlights the international legal requirements that states are subject to when it comes to protecting, particularly, Indigenous peoples or members of religious and ethnic minorities from the risk of poverty. It focuses primarily on the rights-based approach. States must not only make political and administrative decisions to implement pro-poor policies in favour of these groups, but also provide a legal framework that legitimises and structures these decisions. For this, it is important that, in addition to the constitutional level, regulations to give concrete form to the rights-based approach to social protection are also enshrined at the level of statutory law and ministerial implementing regulations.

Keywords:  anti‐poverty legislation; Indigenous people; minorities; vulnerability

Published:   14 January 2026

Issue:   Vol 14 (2026): The Politics of Pro-Poor Policies in the Global South (In Progress)