This is an open access book. The start of the 21st century has seen the world shaken by protests, from the Arab Spring to the Yellow Vests, from the Occupy movement to the social uprisings in Latin America. There are periods in history when large numbers of people have rebelled against the way things are, demanding change, such as in 1848, 1917, and 1968. Today we are living in another time of outrage and discontent, a time that has already produced some of the largest protests in world history. This book analyzes almost three thousand protests that occurred between 2006 and 2020 in 101 countries covering over 93 per cent of the world population. The study focuses on the major demands driving world protests, such as those for real democracy, jobs, public services, social protection, civil rights, global justice, and those against austerity and corruption. It also analyzes who was demonstrating in each protest; what protest methods they used; who the protestors opposed; what was achieved; whether protests were repressed; and trends such as inequality and the rise of women's and radical right protests. The book concludes that the demands of protestors in most of the protests surveyed are in full accordance with human rights and internationally agreed-upon UN development goals. The book calls for policy-makers to listen and act on these demands.

This volume showcases universal old-age and disability pensions as well as universal maternity and child protection schemes in developing countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Cabo Verde, China, Colombia, Lesotho, Mongolia, Rwanda, South Africa, Thailand, Timor Leste and Trinidad and Tobago. The volumes in this ILO series present best country experiences, useful for South-South learning, for practitioners, and to provide the basis for better informed policy-making.

This volume presents innovative approaches to expand social protection coverage such as schemes for migrants in China, Bolsa Verde in Brazil, employment injury insurance in Bangladesh and Malaysia, the rural employment guarantee in India, schemes to address climate change in China and Philippines, child benefits in El Salvador and South Africa and a monotax in Uruguay to promote formalization and protection of workers. The volumes in this ILO series present best country experiences, useful for South-South learning, for practitioners, and to provide the basis for better informed policy-making.

This volume describes mechanisms to build social protection floors, such as a national dialogue in Myanmar, reaching rural dwellers in South Africa, worker facilitation centres in India, single window services in Mongolia, legal systems in Brazil and South Africa, labour inspection in China, registration in Colombia and Thailand and several innovations in financing social protection in Bolivia, Ecuador, Indonesia and Zambia. The volumes in this ILO series present best country experiences, useful for South-South learning, for practitioners, and to provide the basis for better informed policy-making.

The 21st century starts with vast inequalities for children in terms of income, access to food, water, health, education, housing, or employment for their families. Half of the world's children are below the poverty line of $2 a day and suffer from multiple deprivations and violations to basic human rights. More than 22,000 children die each day, and most of their deaths are preventable. This volume presents some of the critical acknowledged voices to move a necessary agenda forward. It explains multidimensional poverty measurements, describes current trends and presents policies to reduce poverty and inequality. Contributors include Armando Barrientos, Sarah Cook, Andrea Cornia, Sir Richard Jolly, Jomo K.S., Naila Kabeer, Nora Lustig, among many others.

The world's financial and economic crisis has taken a toll on children and poor households. High food and commodity prices, unemployment and austerity measures have aggravated persistent inequalities and contributed to a substantial rise in hunger and social tensions. Now, more than ever, investments for the world's poor are needed to recover lost ground in pursuit of development objectives. People everywhere are demanding change. This book describes the social impacts of the crisis, policy responses to date and United Nations alternative proposals for 'A Recovery for All.' With a foreword by Sir Richard Jolly.