The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that:

Whereas the disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.

Articles 22 to 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) outline the right of all citizens to Social Security, work, rest and leisure, and an adequate standard of living.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) develops these themes further.

• The ICESCR is binding on those countries that have ratified it and is enforceable under international law.
• New Zealand signed the ICESCR on 12 November 1968 and ratified it on 28 December 1978.
• Australia signed the ICESCR on 18 December 1972 and ratified it on 10 December 1975.
• A full list of countries that have either signed or ratified the ICESCR is available here.
• For further discussion on the ICESCR see the Wikipedia page.

Article 9 of the ICESCR requires states to recognise the right of everyone to social security, while Article 11 requires countries to recognise the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing, and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.

The preamble to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) states:

Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his civil and political rights,

Articles 9 to 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) outline the right of all citizens to Social Security, work, rest and leisure, an adequate standard of living, and freedom from hunger.

The ICESCR articles are available in full here:

A Basic income would meet the obligations that governments face under the ICESCR.

• On 18 July 2020, the United Nations Secretary General proposed using Basic Income in:
  Tackling the Inequality Pandemic: A New Social Contract for a New Era
  
• On 18 July 2020, the UN Secretary General António Guterres gave the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, during which he said:
  
  A changing world requires a new generation of social protection policies with new safety nets, including Universal Health Coverage and the possibility of a Universal Basic Income.
  
  Watch the full video (1h 32m) or read the full text here.
  
  Report by Malcolm Tory on the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) website here. 
  
• In July 2023, the United Nations Secretary-General published:
  
  Our Common Agenda Policy Brief 9 – A New Agenda for Peace
  
  In July 2023, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, launched his New Agenda for Peace, a landmark initiative for the UN and national governments to better respond to today’s challenges of international peace and security. (BIEN Executive Committee)
  
  Under: action to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to address the underlying drivers of violence and insecurity, it is recommended that:
  • Accelerate the implementation of proven development pathways that enhance the social contract and human security, such as education and health care.
  • Consider new and emerging ways to protect livelihoods and provide social protection in communities emerging from conflict and in post-conflict countries, such as through temporary universal basic incomes, which can promote resilience and social cohesion and break the cycle of violence.
  • For international financial institutions, align funding mechanisms to help address the underlying causes of instability through inclusive, sustainable development.
    
    Read or download the full document here. (pdf 40 pages)
    
    Read: Reflections on the UN Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace as part of Our Common Agenda report, by the BIEN Executive Committee, August 2023. (pdf 2 pages)
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has shown significant interest in Basic Income with the production of podcasts and the publication of articles and papers. A summary of these productions with links to the UNESCO web pages is provided below.

• On 17 April 2020, UNESCO published an article titled: 
   Gender inequality in times of COVID-19 — give women cash
  Authored by Guy Standing.
  
  “A basic income system is not just desirable as a response to the coronavirus pandemic and associated economic crisis. It is essential in both rich countries and developing countries.”
  
  Read the article here. (2 page pdf)
  
• On 3 June 2020, UNESCO released a podcast: 
  Universal Basic Income and beyond — what are our options for recovery?
  
  This podcast discusses inequality, COVID-19, and inclusive recovery with Balázs Horvath, Chief Economist for UNDP in Asia and the Pacific. 
  
  This forward-looking conversation looks at policy shifts needed for such a recovery. Key points covered are:
  • What policy pathways are likely to bring about a more equitable recovery?;
  • If or how should a Universal Basic Income be built into the COVID-19 recovery packages? Can we afford it?;
  • What policy experiments and data are there to guide us?; and
  • What forms of inequalities and groups we should particularly worry about now – both on the research and on the policy side?
    
    The podcast may be listened to and downloaded here.
    (33 minutes)
    
• On 4 June 2020, UNESCO published:
  The two faces of income inequality: who’ll be hardest hit by the pandemic?
  
  “Several pandemics have in the past contributed to the reduction of income inequality. “Disruptive global events have…precipitated shifts towards a more equal distribution of income and wealth” explained recently The Economist. In his bestselling “The Great Leveller”, Walter Scheidel showed that health crises, wars and economic depressions have often triggered progressive redistribution by hitting the wealthy and strengthening the economic bargaining of the working class.”
  
  Read the article here.
  
• On 27 October 2020, UNESCO released: 
  Basic Income – deciphering the promises and the data 
  
  Hosted by John Crowley, UNESCO’s Chief of Research, Policy and Foresight, this three-part expert podcast on universal basic income (UBI)debates UBI’s potential to alleviate the immediate effects of COVID-19 and to put countries on an equitable track in the longer run.
  
  UNESCO’s expert is Ioana Marinescu, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania and faculty research fellow at the US National Bureau of Economic Research. 
  
  The three parts are:
  1. UBI and the bigger policy puzzle – 22 minutes
  2. Financing – 16 minutes
  3. Knowledge and policy – 21 minutes
     
     Read more or listen to and download the podcasts here. 
     
• On 12 February 2021, UNESCO published:
  What we know and don’t about basic income.
  
  An article by John Crowley and Iulia Sevciuc.
  
  What we have
  
  First, the good news.
  • Trials show how UBI performs in both stable and volatile settings. 
  • UBI is not a developed country issue, despite what is sometimes assumed.
  • Financing is front-and-centre in any talk on sustained UBI. And it should stay there. 
  • Evaluations of UBI trials are available and they contain a wealth of data. 
    
    What we’re missing
    
    Critical things are absent.
  • Alternative and adjacent policy ideas need serious exploration. Think of Universal Basic Services or universal social protection as alternative approaches, and carbon price-and-dividend as adjacent, to UBI. 
  • Key gaps exist in the understanding of UBI as part of a system rather than a stand-alone game-changing solution. 
  • Paths to scale-up remain unclear. 
  • Data on UBI exists but it has loopholes and its quality is inconsistent. 
  • And lastly, as so often, much work remains to be done to connect the worlds of knowledge and policy on UBI if the intent is to move ahead smartly. The former holds data, the latter holds the power of acting upon it.
    
    Read more here.
    
• On 15 December 2021, UNESCO published:
  Policy Paper 02, Basic Income – On Data and Policy.
  
  This policy paper is concerned with the use of basic income as:
  (a) an emergency response to weather the immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis, and
  (b) a standing policy tool to put countries on an inclusive track in the longer run.
  
  The paper discusses:
  • Basic income – core concept, interplays with the rest of the policy space, potential in different contexts;
  • Performance of basic income – policy trials, data that exists, and data that is missing;
  • Financing basic income – traditional, emerging, and mixed options;
  • Green basic income – connections with the climate and the equity agendas;
  • Adjacent and alternative ideas – policy instruments to consider in conjunction with basic income.
    
    The paper, 28 pages, may be read and downloaded here. 
    
• More papers from UNESCO
  • 2 February 2022.
    Sustainable welfare: would a mix of universal basic income and universal basic services help?
    
  • 15 September 2023.
    Does universal basic income work? These countries are finding out.
    
  • 31 October 2024.
    Rethinking Universal Basic Income: Economic Productivity, Quality of Life and the Sustainable Development Goals.

• On 2 August 2017, UNDP China office published: 
  Universal Basic Income: A Working Paper.
  
  This paper looks at the possibility of introducing a Universal Basic Income in China with the intention to:
  • eliminate remaining levels of poverty and growing inequality
  • counter the possible loss of jobs due to technological advancement
  • provide an answer to socio-economic challenges
  • stimulate thought and discussion on Basic Income and its potential for China
  • provide insights into the possible use of Basic Income.
    
    The paper, 41 pages, may be read and downloaded here
    
•  On 10 July 2020, UNDP published an article by Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
  
  A new social contract needs to emerge from the pandemic crisis that rebalances deep inequalities that are prevalent across societies. To put it bluntly: The question should no longer be whether resources for effective social protection can be found – but how they can be found. UBI promises to be a useful element of such a framework.
  
  Read the article here.
  
• On 23 July 2020, UNDP published:
  Temporary Basic Income, Protecting Poor and Vulnerable People in Developing Countries
  
  “As the rate of new COVID-19 cases accelerates across the developing world, it exposes the potentially devastating costs of job losses and income reversals. Unconditional emergency cash transfers can mitigate the worst immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis on poor and near-poor households that do not currently have access to social assistance or insurance protection. This paper provides estimates for a Temporary Basic Income (TBI), a minimum guaranteed income above the poverty line, for vulnerable people in 132 developing countries.”
  
  Read more and download the booklet, 27 pages, here.
  
• Partnership with BIEN – February 2021
  
  BIEN signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in February 2021. The aim of BIEN’s partnership with UNDP is to advance a more systematic consideration of Basic Income as a policy tool for socio-economic recovery in situations of crisis, be they related to pandemics, civil conflict or natural disasters. Leading the UN System COVID-19 socio-economic response, UNDP is working with partners to ensure that recovery plans focus on policy innovation and bold, integrated solutions. UNDP brings to the partnership its global policy network and wealth of expertise and development practice as well as its global reach through its local presence in developing and emerging countries, including through direct engagement with national governments.  BIEN offers a unique network of knowledge and expertise necessary for the operationalisation of this policy tool.
  See: BIEN Partnerships
  
• More papers from UNDP 
  • 29 August 2023. Temporary Basic Income, a novel approach to coping with crisis and reducing gender disparities in Nepal.
  • September 2024. Universal Basic Income in Asia and the Pacific: A Pragmatic Policy Choice or Unattainable Utopia? 20 pages.
    
    

In 2021, UN Women published: Universal basic income: Potential and limitations from a gender perspective

• “Over the past decades, universal basic income (UBI) has repeatedly been put forward as a means to address increasing labour market precarity, jobless growth, and rising poverty and inequality. Most recently, proponents have argued that UBI could provide much-needed protection in the face of economic, environmental, and health crises, such as COVID-19.
• The implications of UBI for gender equality have received insufficient attention in these debates, despite the fact that feminists have long discussed its pros and cons. Some feminists hold that an unconditional income independent of paid work would enhance women’s agency in families, households, the workplace, and the community, with particular benefit for those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. Others caution that, in a climate of fiscal tightening and austerity, UBI could be used to justify the rollback of state responsibility and funding for other essential support measures, including care services, housing, education, and health care.
• Building on their contributions, this policy brief discusses the potential and limitations of UBI from a gender perspective and points to some of the specific design features that policymakers need to consider to make UBI work for women and transgender and gender-diverse people.”

The policy brief is available to download and read here.
(7 pages pdf)

Originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF is now officially the United Nations Children’s Fund.

• On 16 June 2020, UNICEF issued a press release:
  
  Universal child benefits critical in reducing poverty, new ODI and UNICEF report finds.
  
  Universal child benefits, such as unconditional cash payments or tax transfers, are critical in the fight against child poverty, yet are only available in 1 in 10 countries worldwide.
  • Universal child benefits, such as unconditional cash payments or tax transfers, are critical in the fight against child poverty, yet are only available in 1 in 10 countries worldwide.
  • Universal cash benefits provided to children in middle-income countries at a cost of just 1 per cent of GDP would lead to 20 per cent decline in poverty across the entire population.
  • In 15 high-income countries, delivering universal child benefits alone led to a 5 percentage point reduction in child poverty, on average.
  • Universal child benefits are also proven to reduce deprivation, improving children’s overall wellbeing, health, education, food security, productivity and ability to contribute to their societies and economies when they reach adulthood.  
  • Read the press release here.
• In June 2020, UNICEF published a report:
  Universal child benefits, Policy issues and options
  
  From the briefing document.
  
  Key Messages
  • Internationally, child poverty remains high, with persistent overrepresentation of children in poverty compared with older age groups. This is despite clear evidence of the effectiveness of well-designed social protection in tackling child poverty.  
  • Universal child benefits (UCBs) play a critical role in reducing child poverty while promoting social cohesion and public support for social protection. In countries with established UCBs, they constitute a cornerstone of national social policy systems and have proved effective in scaling up social protection in times of crisis. 
  • UCBs are a cash or tax transfer paid to households with children, unconditionally and on a regular basis. They are typically part of a wider package of policies. The design details of specific child benefits, and the broader tax-transfer systems within which they operate, incorporate varying degrees of universalism and selectivity that influence how benefits work in practice and their impact. 
  • Key issues policymakers consider when introducing or adjusting a child benefit, including UCBs, are:
    • compliance with child rights
    • child poverty reduction effectiveness
    • the dignity of children and their carers
    • political economy considerations
    • financial cost and affordability.
      The policy priorities, options and trade-offs for individual countries vary depending on their demographic and poverty profile as well as their administrative and fiscal capacity. 
  • Theory and evidence both highlight the advantages of approaches that are universalistic and in which some form of selectivity is used to direct additional benefits at particular disadvantaged or vulnerable groups, referred to as ‘selectivity within universalism’. 
  • The comparatively simple and broad categorical targeting of Universal Benefits, combined with their unconditional nature, has advantages over narrowly targeted and conditional transfers. 
    
  • The briefing document, 10 pages, is available here.
    The full report, 219 pages, is available here.

In 2018, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) published a report:

Universal Basic Income proposals in light of ILO standards: Key issues and global costing

This paper reviews proposals for a Universal Basic Income (UBI) in light of ILO standards.

• Some UBI proposals have the potential to advance equity and social justice, while others may result in a net welfare loss.
• The ILO Social Protection Floors Recommendation (No. 202) includes a number of principles that are highly relevant to guide the debate on UBI, namely:
  • adequacy and predictability of UBI benefits to ensure income security, set at least at the national poverty line;
  • social inclusion, including of persons in the informal economy;
  • social dialogue and consultation with stakeholders;
  • enactment of national laws regulating UBI entitlements, including indexation of benefits;
  • coherence with other social, economic and employment policies, and
  • sustainable and equitable financing.
• The impact of a UBI on poverty and inequality depends on the level of benefits and the source of funding.
• Based on these principles, the paper shows that some models of UBI can be in accordance with ILO standards, while others are not.

Download the full report here. (pdf 66 pages)