Human rights central to achieving MDGs, UN human rights chief tells world leaders

NEW YORK (20 September 2010) – As world leaders gathered Monday in New York to decide how to accelerate progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), they were reminded by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, that countries are more likely to achieve their goals by taking a human rights approach to their development commitments.

Many commitments world leaders have made in the past “regrettably remain only paper promises,” she said, adding that in order to ensure their pledges are translated into deeds, governments need to adhere to the obligations and responsibilities they have all accepted under international human rights law.

Speaking at the United Nations, the High Commissioner focused on the potential of MDG8, which mandates a global partnership for achieving the MDGs. She described this as a “new deal under which richer and poorer countries agree to join efforts” in an “unprecedented global compact for poverty reduction.”

“How can we ensure that the promise of MDG8 is fulfilled?” she asked, noting that many of the pledges contained in the Summit’s draft Outcome document, intended to hasten progress towards achieving the MDGs by 2015, are not new.

“The strong emphasis on human rights in the draft Outcome document can fill many critical gaps,” Pillay said. The Outcome document, which is expected to be adopted by the Summit on Wednesday evening, contains a number of explicit references to human rights, including the right to development. These would help ensure that implementation of the MDGs be done in accordance with States’ human rights obligations.

Currently, with their emphasis on global averages and targets, the MDGs often neglect large segments of the world’s population. For example, MDG1 aims to halve the proportion of people suffering from hunger. But even if this target is reached, it would still leave over 400 million people hungry. Some groups of people, such as children, minorities and others who suffer from racial or other forms of discrimination, are increasingly being left behind. This inequality is exacerbated by development policies that do not reach those most in need and thus fail to close the poverty gap.

Human rights principles, such as equality, non-discrimination and meaningful participation, must drive government’s aid and development policies, Pillay said. Global partnerships to reach the MDGs should explicitly prioritize the needs and rights of the poorest and most marginalized, and mandate positive measures, in order to level the playing field. The Summit Outcome document contains many illustrations of this approach, she said, noting that it acknowledges “that all member states are bound to respect internationally recognized human rights in their development and aid policies.”

This means that, at a minimum, governments should undertake a human rights impact assessment of their policy measures, she said. “The science of this is not new,” she added. “The most significant constraint is a lack of political will.”

To see the full text of the High Commissioner’s statement go to: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10350&LangID=e

For more information on MDGs and Human Rights, please go to: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/millenium-development/index.htm or contact: Fred Kirungi, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Tel: +1 917 367 3431, Cell phone: +1 917 421 2338, Email:kirungi@un.org