There has been considerable debate around the question whether
the right to development can be regarded as a human right. It
is interesting to note that these discussions around the globe
led to the United Nations in 1986 to adopt the Declaration on
the Right to Development. Human rights were perceived from the
very beginning as an integrated whole of all civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights. The Declaration established
the right to development (RTD) as a universal and inalienable
right and an integral part of fundamental human rights.
The
South African government, after African National Congress won
the elections in 1994 had to change apartheid laws and came
up with a Constitution that outlined the Bill of Rights that
is regarded as a cornerstone of democracy. It enshrines the
rights of all people in the country and affirms the democratic
values of human dignity, equality and freedom. Cyril Ramaphosa
in the preamble of the new Constitution described it "as
the mirror of the society we are seeking to create. It promises
to establish a society based on social justice, to improve quality
of life of all citizens and to free the potential of each person.
The democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom
are central to the new political order we are creating."
The apartheid government had deprived of people their rights
to development in all respects. Some of the most pressing problems
that emerged are poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, exclusion
from economic development and many more social ills. These are
rights that are not questionable for people in any country.
I
believe that the universal nature of these human rights is beyond
question.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights (2000) states that the
path to human dignity runs not through imposed technocratic
solutions, imported foreign models, or presumed trade-offs between
development and rights. Health, education, housing, fair justice
and free political participation are not matters for charity
- but rather matters of right. This is what is meant by the
'rights-based approach' : a participatory, empowering, accountable
and non-discriminatory development paradigm based on universal,
inalienable human rights and freedoms. Hausermann (1998) states
that for rights and Humanity a human rights approach to development
is simultaneously:
- A
tool for analysis which focuses attention on the global and
local inequalities, inequities and discrimination which underlie
poverty and social isolation
- A
foundation for people-centered approach to development, based
on a coherent framework of binding legal norms and accountability
- A
process which is holistic, participatory, inclusive and multi-sectoral,
and
- An
outcome- the empowerment of individuals to achieve their full
potential, and the freedom to take up opportunities so that
individuals might achieve their full potential.
The
World Summit for Social Development is an attempt to encourage
countries to achieve these rights. The outline given by Hausermann
clearly indicates that the WSSD commitments are geared towards
realising these rights. It is a challenge for all of us to accept
that people have the to development and denying it we are actually
committing a crime to mankind.
Similarly
the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed
it in the following manner: "A rights-based approach to
development is a conceptual framework for the process of human
development that is normatively based on international human
rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and
protecting human rights. Essentially, a rights-based approach
integrates the norms, standards and principles of the international
human rights system into plans, policies and processes of development.
The norms and standards are those contained in the wealth of
international treaties and declarations, and in the authoritative
interpretations of the bodies to monitor treaty implementation.
The principles include participation, accountability, non-discrimination,
empowerment and direct (and express) linkage to the international
human rights instruments and standards themselves". The
question is, Are all the countries that ratified these treaties
doing what they agreed to do? One would then ask a question
Why is poverty still rife in many countries? Do they accept
that people have the right to development?
According
to Hausermann, a human rights based to development reflects
good development practice in terms of gender mainstreaming,
participation, and an emphasis on the poor and disadvantaged,
but it also goes further. For instance, when an indicator of
human development had been raised from 70% to 80% of the population,
a human rights approach requires an analysis of why the residual
20% still experience unmet needs. Such an analysis invariably
discloses some form of inequality, discrimination or even racism,
as well as inequities in the allocation of public resources.
The
benefit of utilizing a human rights approach to development
is that it can be used to challenge all forms of inequity, whether
arising from the legacy of apartheid, impact of globalisation,
trade or lending policies, or those evident at the national
or community level. It also prompts the international community
to hold non-state actors accountable for the impact of their
activities on human rights and sustainable human development
- a requirement that Mary Robinson has referred to as "the
new frontier" of human rights protection.
Rights
and humanity considers that the human rights approach to development
requires not just individual freedoms, but also supportive national
and international environments based on the rule of law and
good governance, as well as the laws, policies, institutions,
infrastructure and services necessary to support human development.
This is supported by Liebenberg (1997) when she says socio-economic
rights are subject to enforcement by the courts. However it
is not exclusively or even primarily through the courts that
rights are delivered. Creating favourable political environments,
strong institutions and open, participatory processes are essential
for the effective realization of human rights. At the international
level an enabling environment requires debt relief and equity
in aid, trade and lending. We have seen civil society groups
voicing their opinions through marches to fight for these issues
to be attended to. It would allow development to take place
rather than continue paying debts that impede development
Human
rights norms and standards provide the framework for appropriate
policies and action at all three levels, which together can
be regarded as the human rights approach to development.
The
implementation of a human rights approach to development will
therefore assist in the realization of the right to development.
The right to development is a claim to a particular process
of development by which everyone is able to participate in,
contribute to, and benefit from economic, social, cultural and
political development.
The
recognition of the right to development as an inalienable human
right is to confer on its implementation a claim on national
and international resources, be they human, financial, physical
and institutional, and to oblige States and other agencies of
society, including individuals, to implement that right. Human
rights are the fundamental basis on which other rights, created
by the legal and political systems are built. The responsibility
of States, nationally and internationally, as well as other
organs of the civil society to help realize these rights with
utmost priority becomes unquestionable.
This
is a challenge for all of us, (governments, business and civil
society) to revisit our understanding of development as a right
and work together to achieve this. The implementation depends
on all stakeholders doing
the work together, negotiating plans, in good faith of course,
not just for political gains, but for valuing human dignity,
equality and equity. It goes beyond ratifying the agreements,
implementation is the final stage.
