More than one in six people in the world live in poverty -- that is, on less than $1 per day. But poverty is not only about having no money. It is also about not having the materials and resources to fulfill a person's basic needs -- it is about human rights.

Poverty is frequently a consequence as well as a cause of human rights abuses. Without access to such things as employment, basic healthcare, education and essentials like food, clothing and water, many poor people lack the means to change their lives for the better and are condemned to live a life of poverty.

Discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender or other reasons can prevent people from gaining adequate access to services and to participate in the political process in their country.

Although standards of living vary greatly among nations and within nations, the effects of poverty and denial of basic human rights remain constant: hunger, homelessness, little or no education and lack of basic resources.

The 2006 Human Rights Day Writing Contest for Children and Youth (8-18 years old) which focused on the theme of Human rights and Poverty was organized by the UN Department of Public Information, in collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Students were asked to:

• pick one article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and use an example from real-life to illustrate how the violation of this right is a consequence of living in poverty; or,
• pick one article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and use an example from real-life to illustrate how the violation of this right can cause poverty.

They were also asked to include any suggestions on what can be done to protect this right so that it does not lead to poverty.

Close to seven hundred entries were received from around the world. All entries were judged on:

• writing style;
• originality; and,
• how well they answered one of the topics listed above.

Winning entries were chosen from each of the following regions:

• Latin America and the Caribbean;
• Arab States;
• Asia and the Pacific;
• North America;
• Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States; and,
• Africa.

One winning entry was chosen in each of the following age groups within each region:

• 8-12 year olds;
• 13-15 year olds; and,
• 16-18 year olds.

A total of 31 Honourable Mentions were awarded across all regions and age categories for those entries that were of outstanding quality but which were not selected as winners.