The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 asserts that social security is an inalienable human right. Realizing this human right is often considered, simply, as a matter of political will and of administrative aptitude. In these terms, the progressive realization of the human right to social security may be viewed as the outcome of an appropriately-resourced political and bureaucratic process. Such a perspective, however, is clearly inadequate. Characteristically, bureaucracies are designed to cater to the needs of all, based on common procedures and common deliverables designed for the “typical” case. Yet such approaches often lack the necessary flexibility and resources to make a distinction between individuals, which acknowledge their respective differences and needs. To meet the international commitment to progressively realize universal social security coverage, social security administrations are key actors. However imperative this role may be, if the pursuit of this commitment fails to respect people’s differences this will put at risk the meeting in full of what is envisioned by the human right to social security. To this end, this special issue aims to foster an understanding that the goal of universal coverage must necessarily also respect and respond to the individual needs of each and every person. Addresses for correspondence: Katja Hujo, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland; email hujo@unrisd.org. Christina Behrendt, International Labour Office, 4 route des Morillons, 1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland; behrendt@ilo.org. Roddy McKinnon, International Social Security Association, 4 route des Morillons, 1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland; mckinnon@ilo.org. The authors thank Maggie Carter for constructive comments and editorial support. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors alone and should not be attributed to the ILO, ISSA or UNRISD. International Social Security Review, Vol. 70, 4/2017 © 2017 International Social Security Association 5

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引言：社会保障人权的反思

1948 年的联合国世界人权宣言声称社会保障是一项不可剥夺的人权。实现这项人权通常被简单地视为政治意愿和行政能力的问题。在这些方面，社会保障人权的逐步实现可被视为资源适当的政治和官僚程序的结果。然而，这样的观点显然是不够的。官僚机构的特点是根据为“典型”案例设计的通用程序和通用可交付成果来满足所有人的需求。然而，这些方法往往缺乏必要的灵活性和资源来区分个体，因为个体承认各自的差异和需求。为了履行逐步实现全民社会保障覆盖的国际承诺，社会保障管理部门是关键角色。无论这个角色多么重要，如果对这一承诺的追求未能尊重人们的差异，这将使充满社会保障人权所设想的会议面临风险。为此，本期特刊旨在促进一种理解，即全民覆盖的目标也必须尊重和响应每个人的个人需求。通讯地址：Katja Hujo，联合国社会发展研究所，万国宫，1211 日内瓦 10，瑞士；电子邮件 hujo@unrisd.org。Christina Behrendt，国际劳工局，4 route des Morillons，1211 日内瓦 22，瑞士；behrendt@ilo.org。罗迪·麦金农 国际社会保障协会，4 route des Morillons，1211 日内瓦 22，瑞士；mckinnon@ilo.org。作者感谢 Maggie Carter 的建设性意见和编辑支持。本文中表达的观点仅代表作者的观点，不应归咎于 ILO、ISSA 或 UNRISD。国际社会保障评论，卷。70, 4/2017 © 2017 国际社会保障协会 5