Economic Development as the Basis for Fulfilling Economic and Social Rights |
The Concept of Development Based on Human Rights The rights based approach to development is the conceptual framework of human development normatively based on human rights standards. The development concept based on human rights establishes the achievement of basic human rights and freedoms as a development objective. In this approach, human rights are the starting points and the basic aims in defining and designing development policy. [1] The starting point is the attitude that the implementation and protection of international human rights may not be achieved without adequate development activities and development plans. In this sense, human rights focused on development cover series of human rights, both civil and political, as well as economic, social, and cultural rights. All these rights, regardless of their contents, are based on two principles: the principle of equality between women and men and the principle of prohibiting discrimination on any basis, such as the colour of skin, gender, language, religion, nationality, ethnicity, social origin, or political affiliation.
The concept of development based on human rights
[2]
integrates norms, standards, and principles of the international human rights system into development plans, policies, and processes. Norms and standards are set in the following international documents: Such a development approach includes the following elements:
Defining development objectives in terms of their relationship with achievement and protection of particular rights directly aligns development policy with international, regional, and national instruments in the field of human rights. Human rights are indivisible and interdependent; therefore, a complete development framework must cover all sectors such as education, health care, housing, access to judicial protection, personal security, and right to vote. Therefore, this approach is not compatible with development policies, development plans, or programs that produce violations of rights, that allow “trade” in rights, or that set “development” as “priority objective” over human rights. Development based on human rights requires determining responsibility for the process of development by identifying right-holders and duty-bearers. In this respect, both positive obligations (to protect, provide, and promote) and negative obligations (to refrain from violation) are equally taken into account. Duty-bearers, at this level, are individuals, states, local authorities, private companies, donors, and international institutions. The responsibility at this level also refers to the translation of universal standards into national standards, policies, and measures on the basis of which the progress in achieving human rights and the responsibility for their implementation and protection could be measured. Such a development approach requires relevant legislation, administrative procedures and practices, institutions and mechanisms that act with the aim of human rights provision and protection, i.e. that react in cases of their violation. In this domain, the role of the state is specific; both through political willingness and through relevant mechanisms, it must provide necessary legislation and administrative and institutional mechanisms for implementation and protection of rights. [3] Primary responsibility for the establishment and implementation of human rights is left to states, but the international community is also obliged to provide international co-operation in this field and the development of human rights systems in the developing countries that lack necessary resources and capacities. Instead of providing aid, the human rights approach to development prefers empowerment strategies based on rights of implementers who direct development. Therefore, the emphasis is on human beings in the focus of the development. The aim is to empower people to create their own life and the life of their community. Thus, this development concept requires a high level of participation of local and regional communities, civil society, minorities, women, and other actors. [4] This anticipates the access to information, institutions, decision-making, and policy shaping. Such a development approach includes specifics of the particular environment (local, regional, national, etc.) in formulating development policy, i.e. the creation of development policy based on the specifics, interests, and needs of the people living in a given community, instead of accepting side models, quick “solutions”, and recipes that do not take specifics of a community into account. Setting human rights in the centre of development means observing the principles of equality and non-discrimination, covering both active measures to eliminate discrimination and affirmative actions and practices for the members of discriminated groups. Affirmative measures may refer to women, members of a certain race, nationality, ethnic group, age, religion, etc. To protect against discrimination as a part of human rights approach to development requires identification of vulnerable groups and groups whose rights are systematically violated or who do not have access to effective protection of their rights, at local, regional, and national levels. This is the basis for determining such a development that will take into account the position and needs of discriminated groups and provide conditions for the identification of discrimination bases for the purpose of its elimination and enjoyment of same rights as of members of majority groups. This requires data and statistics, which governmental bodies must record and use according to categories of characteristics, such as gender, age, national and ethnic origin, religion, disability, rural population, urban population, etc. Only on the basis of such classified data, the existence of discriminated groups may be discovered, and their members may be provided human rights protection and enjoyment in everyday life and in development planning. In addition, development policy needs to include measures to eliminate power imbalances as, for example, between women and men, or between employees and employers. Since the Amsterdam Agreement signed in 1997, the European Union has added society and environment to the economic issues in defining development. In June 2001, the European Council adopted in Gothenburg the first European Sustainable Development Strategy, the Sixth Action Program on Environmental Protection, and the White Book on Public Administration. According to these documents, reasonable economic policy may neutralise pressure to exhaust the environmental and natural resources, which are complementary phenomena of using energy and material inputs for economic development. By stimulating innovations, productivity, and efficiency, pressure to harm the environment and deplete resources may be decreased, and at the same time, employment and competitiveness throughout Europe may be increased. [5] Sustainable development strategies should be based on continuous analysis of the effects of increasing pressures on environment resulting from economic development. Based on this principle, initiatives for relevant integration of policies (for markets, trade, regions, etc.) should be stimulated. The objective should be a new development model, where social and ecological objectives and initiatives are supported by the process of creating economic wealth. The European Sustainable Development Strategy stimulates the determination of national and sectoral objectives, which will contribute to the process of policy integration. The objectives and indicators should be developed within the economic sphere (e.g. the criteria of convergence of economic and monetary unions) as well as within the field of social cohesion (e.g. gross domestic product/unemployment rate). Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights The human rights approach to development implies, while creating the economic development, to start from creating opportunities for enjoyment and protection of economic, social, and cultural rights [6] , including civil and political rights. This group of rights include:
It is a fact that implementation of economic, social, and cultural rights do not depend solely on a will of a government, but also on a level of economic development and available resources. In this sense, those rights are “long-term” rights and may not be achieved at once or in a short period. This, however, does not release a state of the responsibility to take actions and make efforts. On the contrary, a state is obliged to take steps “to gradually achieve full accomplishment of the rights recognised in this Covenant though all available resources…” [7] . Although the level of implementing these rights depends on the level of economic development of a state, all states, regardless their economic strength, must provide at least the minimum rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Nowadays, the United Nations has unambiguously accepted the indivisibility of human rights that was confirmed with the slogan “All Human Rights for All” that marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1998. Responsibilities of States to Respect, Protect and Fulfil Economic and Social Rights The acceptance of the principle of the indivisibility of human rights means that states are equally responsible for the violation and lack of achievement of economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as for the violation of civil and political rights. Significant development of international human rights instruments in the field of economic, social, and cultural rights happened during the last fifteen years, such as the revised European Social Charter [8] , Additional Protocol on the European Social Charter Providing for a System of Collective Complaints [9] , and the “Protocol of San Salvador”, Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Areas of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights [10] . The initiative to adopt the Optional Protocol on the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and adoption of the Optional Protocol on the Convention on Elimination of all Types of Discrimination Against Women [11] are focused on strengthening state obligations to protect these rights. Unless a state fulfils its obligations from the ratified international conventions, in this case for economic, social, and economic rights, it violates the relevant provisions. According to international law, states have three types of obligations: to respect, protect, and fulfil. Any neglect in relation to these obligations is deemed violation of rights. Every such obligation has two elements: the obligation to conduct and the obligation to achieve concrete results. The obligation to conduct means the adoption of particular measures, policies, or action plans, and the obligation to achieve a particular effect requires a state to meet a certain objective to satisfy standards in a certain area. States have the discretionary right to select measures to meet their obligations under international legal instruments in the field of human rights. The practices of states and the application of legal norms by national courts and international supervising bodies regarding implementation of international instruments have provided significant contributions to the development of universal human rights standards. This has contributed to better understanding of the nature and the limitations of economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as of the range of relations covered. According to the International Covenant in this field, a state, regardless of its economic possibilities, is obliged to take the required steps to provide the basic level of each of these rights. In this sense, where high number of the population is starving, lacks basic housing conditions, or lacks access to basic education – a state violates the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Despite the fact that this may not be expressed in a quantitative manner, this minimum level of obligations is not dependent upon the existence of the particular resources necessary for to fulfil the obligations, nor may the requirements be eliminated due to economic difficulties or other reasons. The starting point is that a state’s function and role is to provide particular services, protection, and security to all community members, and many of these rights may not be ensured unless significant financial and material resources are previously provided. On the other hand, the achievement of many rights may depend on the availability of particular material and financial resources. Economic, social, and cultural rights are violated when a state, by acting or by non acting, uses a policy or a practice contrary to its obligations from the International Covenant, ignores such obligations, or fails to achieve a minimum standard or a result. The violation of these rights also refers to discrimination in implementing or protecting on the basis of gender, language, religion, nationality, ethnicity, social origin, political beliefs or other attitudes. Examples of direct violations of rights are:
Examples of violations of economic, social, and cultural rights by a state’s inactivity or non-performance of particular actions are neglecting the duty to:
The whole set of responsibilities and obligations of states in terms of implementing, observing, and protecting economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as the wide range of activity instruments available to states to create conditions for the enjoyment and protection of the minimum level of these rights, points out that states do not have much room to justify the poor economic and social positions suffered by the majority of their population. Taking into account the legitimacy given to it by citizens, a state’s obligation is to approach to and ratify universal international legal instruments in the field of human rights, i.e., if they have already ratified them, to integrate accepted international legal norms into their national legislation and to undertake all available measures to implement, protect, and respect them. This obligation must not be neglected when negotiating or concluding bilateral or multilateral economic, trade, and other agreements and arrangements, both with other state(s) and with multinational corporations. States are obliged to modify agreements with the aim of fulfilling international obligations in the field of human rights, through membership in relevant institutions or managing bodies. Since in this field force (and power) dominates the law, it is necessary to establish the mechanism of control and compulsion that will efficiently correct and supervise the policy of multinational financial and economic corporations aimed at providing economic and social rights to individuals. The Problems of Establishing a Heliocentric [12] Economic Development Concept While creating a national strategy of economic development based on human rights, problems posed to the state may include the problems of:
In the series of reports [13] , Danilo Turk, Special Rapporteur on the Realisation of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, has analysed basic factors that affect and prevent the achievement of these rights. The Reports called on a need for a comprehensive approach towards human rights and for strengthening economic, social and cultural rights. In his Final Report, Turk summarised basic conclusions and recommendations [14] and identified ongoing barriers for the realisation of human rights. Those are the programmes of structural adjustment, high external debts, unequal income allocation, privatising human rights, misconceptions of a state, misguided visions of development, deficient political will, environmental devastation, armed conflicts, economic growth as a panacea and dualistic views of human rights. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its General Comment on International Technical Assistance [15] warned that the inclusion of human rights in development plans and strategies often remained at the level of generalisation, as well as that economic development itself did not mean the development and the achievement of economic, social, and cultural rights. The Committee admitted that international development co-operation and development policies at a national level automatically contributed to human rights protection only through the inclusion of thematic concerns such as health care, education, or political participation. It was noticed that many activities undertaken in the name of “development” did not contribute to improving the situation in the field of human rights or were even counterproductive. The Committee recommended that development strategies by UN members should recognise “close connection” between development activities and efforts to observe human rights and that co-operation in the field of development should be based on an estimate of the effects on human rights. In this sense, obligations to achieve and protect human rights should be taken into account at each stage of applying development projects, from estimate to supervision and evaluation. Conclusion The implementation of human rights based approach to development requires the creation of prerequisites at the international level in the sense of redistributing responsibilities for the respect, protection, and provision of internationally guaranteed human rights to new international actors who have more and more significance at this level: international financial organisations and transnational corporations. This means the creation of efficient mechanisms for the protection and fulfilment of human rights, both at national and international level, and the elimination of ambiguities in interpreting international conventions in this field. Besides the provision of better normative clarity, relevant international instruments and international authorities should be provided for the interpretation of particular provisions of international conventions and content regarding rights. Such a development will be focused on the improvement of position of individuals and vulnerable groups, as well as on decreasing poverty, achieving gender equality, creating conditions for full employment, and regenerating a safe and healthy environment. Under such conditions, the efficiency of economic policy will be measured only by the quality of livelihoods and lives of individuals, and by the level of meeting their basic needs and rights. Translation from Serbian: Women's Center for Democracy and Human Rights, Serbia Bibliography Addison, T. and Demery, L., 1986, The consequences for income distribution and poverty of macro-economic stabilisation, London: Overseas Development Institute AWID, 2002, A Rights Based Approach to Development, (Primer), Women’s Rights and Economic Change, No. 1, AWID, Toronto Bennholdt-Tomsen, Faraclas, Werlhof (eds.), 2001, There is an Alternative – Subsistence and Worldwide Resistance to Corporate Globalization, Spinifex press, Victoria, Zed Books, London – New York Brysk, Alison (ed.), 2002, Globalization and Human Rights, University of California Press, Berkley, Los Angeles, London Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), 1996, Commerce with conscience? Summary Cheria, A., Edwin, S. P., 2004, A Human Rights Approach to Development: Resource Book, Books for Change, Bangalore Deacon, B., Globalization and Social Policy, UNRISD, Occasional Paper 5, March 2000 Deepa, N., Chambers, R., Kaul Shah, M. and Petesch, P., 2000, Voices of the Poor: Crying Out for Change, New York, N.Y: Published for the World Bank, Oxford University Press Dimitrijević, V., Paunović, M., 1997, Ljudska prava, Beogradski centar za ljudska prava, Beograd Effects of structural adjustment policies and foreign debt on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, UN E/CN.4/2003/10, 23 October 2002 Elson, Diane and Nilufer Cagatay 2000, The Social Context of Macroeconomic Policies, World Development, vol. 28, no. 7, pp. 1347-64. EU Sustainable Development Strategy, Position Paper on the European Consultative Forum on the Enviromental and Sustainable Development, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001 Gilpin, R., 2000, The Challenge of Global Capitalism: The World Economy in the 21st Century. Princeton University Press, Princeton Grabel, I., 2000, Identifying Risks, Preventing Crisis: Lessons from the Asian Crisis, Journal of Economic Issues 34 (2), pp. 377-383. ILO, 1995,World Employment Report 1995, ILO, Geneva ILO, 1998, Labour and social issues relating to export processing zones, Report for discussion in the Tripartite Meeting of Export-Processing Zone-Operating Countries, Geneva: ILO. ILO, 2002, ILO Activities on the Social Dimension of Globalization: Synthesis Report, ILO, Geneva. Kiely, R., 1998, Globalization, Post-Fordism and the Contemporary Context of Development, International Sociology, Vol. 13, No. 1 Mehra, M. (Ed.), 1999, Human Rights and Economic Globalization: Directions for the WTO, Upsala Sweden Mittelman, J.H., 2000, The Globalization Syndrome: Transformation and Resistance. Princeton University Press, Princeton Morduch, J., 1999, The Microfinance Promise, in Journal of Economic Literature 37 (4), pp. 1569-1614. Overseas Development Institute, What Can We Do With a Rights-Based Approach to Development, Briefing Paper, 1999(3), September Realising Human Rights for Poor People – Strategies for Achieving International Development Targets, Department for International Development, UK, October 2000 Seguino, S., 2000, Gender inequality and economic growth: a cross-country analysis, World Development, Vol. 28, No.7 Sen, G. and Grown C., 1987, Development, Crises, and Alternative Visions, Third World Women’s Perspectives. Monthly review Press, New York Social Watch, 1999, Report No. 3, Montevideo Social Watch, 2001, Report No. 5, Montevideo Staveren, I. Van, 1998, Robinson Crusoe and Silas Marner, or Two Stories on the Gendered Monetary Economy. WIDE, Brussels United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), 1995, Social progress through industrial development, World Summit for Social Development Briefing, UN WIDE, 1998, Women’s Economic and Social Rights – Protect, Promote, Fulfill, WIDE, Brussels
[1] Further in: Overseas Development Institute, 1993, Briefing Paper, (3), Overseas Development Institute, London. [2] This is not a new concept. International Labour Organisation (ILO) forces it in its programmes from the beginning of organisation establishment, and UNIFEM and UNDP develop their programmes based on this very concept. [3] The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966) obligates states to take urgent and prompt measures for progressive realisation of these rights, and the neglect to do this is the violation of states’ duties. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) obligates states to observe these rights, to provide measures for their observation and enjoyment, as well as legal protection. [4] According to UN Declaration on Right to Development, the participation must be “active, free, and significant”. [5] EU Sustainable Development Strategy, Position Paper on the European Consultative Forum on the Environmental and Sustainable Development, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001, p. 15. [6] This group of rights is included in the second generation of human rights, originated during the XIX and XX centuries, with the aim of protecting the economic and social positions of individuals. Thus it completed the first generation set of human rights, referring to the relationship between individuals and the state, and so comprised of civil and political rights. While the first generation of human rights is primarily based on the principle of freedom, the second generation is based on the principles of equality and solidarity. They are based on the idea that people should share the similar social position of enjoying their civil and political rights. Economic, social, and cultural rights supplement rights from the third generation, originated after World War II, such as the rights to development, justice and equality in activities related to the use of agricultural land, mining, industry, and trade; the right to independence in the fields of information and communication; the right to control transnational corporations; the right to a healthy environment, intellectual property rights in the fields of traditional medicine and agriculture; minority rights; and the right to the protection of cultural heritage. Further: V. Dimitrijević, M. Paunović, Ljudska prava, Belgrade: Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, 1997: 174-175. [7] International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, (U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966) 993 UNTS 3) Art. 2. Para. 1. Adopted by Resolution 2200A (XXI) of UN General Assembly as of 16th December 1966, and came into force on 3rd January 1976. As of 7th July 2003, the Covenant was ratified by 147 states. [8] European Social Charter (revised, ETS No. 163) was adopted on 3rd May 1996, came into force on 1st July 1999. [9] Adopted on 9 November 1995 [10] Adopted on 17 November 1988 [11] Entered to force in 10 December, 2000 [12] ‘Having or representing the sun as a centre’ – used as a metaphor: ‘having the human rights standards as a centre’ [13] E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/19, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1990/19, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/17. [14] E/CN.4/Sub.2/1992/16, 3 July 1992 [15] International technical assistance measures (Art. 22) 02/02/90. CESCR General comment 2. (General Comments) E/1990/23.
|
 |
