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14 May 2001
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14 May 2001
Statement of Mary Robinson
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
and Secretary-General, World Conference against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
to the Third United Nations Conference on
the Least Developed Countries
- Thematic Session on Governance, Peace and Social Stability -
Brussels, 14-20 May 2001
Chairperson,
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me begin by thanking the organizers for their initiative, and for inviting me to participate in this discussion, which I see as central to the struggle of the people of the LDCs to live their lives in greater dignity.
Governance is a concept that has come of age. It is rightfully a key part of the draft programme of action, albeit one that, for the time being, is shackled in multiple square brackets – as indeed are many of the human rights references in the document. I am confident, nevertheless, that these elements will survive, and emerge intact by virtue of their own undeniable logic. All in this room are by now aware that the failures of previous efforts to raise the level of development of the LDCs have been, in large measure, failures of governance. Governance, quite simply, is central to development and to who owns the process of development.
An eloquent recent statement of this fact can be found in the introduction to the Compact For African Recovery, championed by Presidents Mbeki, Obasanjo and Bouteflika, which “recognises that fundamental reasons for Africa’s disheartening economic trajectory lie in the arena of governance” and notes the need to reduce corruption, resolve armed conflict and deepen democracy.
It is clear that a broad international consensus is emerging around these issues. It is a consensus being driven increasingly by developing countries themselves, rather than by donors or international institutions. Of course, a concept as broad as governance lends itself to discussion and measurement in many ways. There are economic models, legal and administrative approaches, and political perspectives. My message today is that important shifts have taken place in the perception of the relevance of human rights in this debate. Firstly, the broad and balanced approach which I have been advocating, placing equal emphasis on all human rights – civil and political, economic, social and cultural and the right to development – makes sense to the LDCs. Human rights is no longer viewed as a narrow “finger-pointing” agenda; rather it is a normative framework for sustainable economic and social development. Secondly, development agencies are increasingly adopting a rights-based approach to development, grounded in the two international covenants and four main human rights conventions, as set out in UNDP’s Human Development Report 2000 on “Human Rights and Human Development”. Thirdly, the recent thinking on poverty eradication by the financial institutions, notably the World Bank in its World Development Report on Poverty, draws on human rights concepts such as empowerment, non-discrimination and participation – albeit without using the express language of rights. Fourthly, there is a growing demand from people in the LDCs for human rights education which they know is the key to their empowerment and participation in decision-making; key to their sense of co-ownership with government of their development.
Not surprisingly, the Commission on Human Rights has also begun to develop a human rights approach in its annual resolutions on governance. Resolution 2001/72, adopted by consensus this year, recognised:
“that transparent, responsible, accountable and participatory government, responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people, is the foundation on which good governance rests, and that such a foundation is a sine qua non for the promotion of human rights, including the right to development”.
It is in the context of achieving development outcomes, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable, that the real value of the rights-based approach can be understood. The question is essentially this: are the institutions of governance effectively and progressively guaranteeing the right to health, to adequate housing, to sufficient food, to quality education, to justice, freedom of expression and personal security?
Human rights also bring important strategic lessons to governance for development. UN human rights bodies have repeatedly underscored the important value of certain empowering rights that have a particular capacity to feed the engine of development. We know this is true of rights-based measures that empower women, unlocking their enormous potential to, in the words of the Declaration on the Right to Development, “participate in, contribute to and enjoy” development.
The right to education is crucial in this. As the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights puts it:
“Education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights. As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. Education has a vital role in empowering women, safeguarding children from exploitative and hazardous labour and sexual exploitation, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the environment, and controlling population growth. Increasingly, education is recognized as one of the best financial investments States can make.” CESCR, General Comment No. 13, at para. 1.
A course that holds out real promise for the people of the LDCs is one in which all actors in the development process – national, international and the private sector – need to commit to a common agenda based on common norms and standards. In other words, to a rights-based approach to 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 the plans, policies and processes of development. These principles already include those of non-discrimination and attention to vulnerable groups, accountability, empowerment and participation.
As acceptance grows that a rights-based approach will bring about more effective, sustainable and accountable governance institutions, it is time to move from discussion to practical application. How can the United Nations assist?
Primarily, I would say, by acknowledging that the LDCs need sufficient support and resources in order to give the needed priority to the rule of law, administration of justice, prison reform and training of judges, police, prison officers and local government officials. The United Nations as a whole can emphasize that these are not “add-ons” later when development has taken place but key to the whole process of development.
Our Office seeks to provide technical cooperation and advisory services to LDCs in these areas. In addition, through the joint HURIST programme with UNDP, we have been exploring concrete ways to integrate a rights based approach in poverty, governance and other development programming. Our focus is not so much on what development programmes have been doing but rather the inclusive process of broad ownership in the way in which they are being implemented. In supporting the elaboration of national human rights action plans, we have seen the potential of a right-based approach, while understanding clearly the necessity to link or even merge human rights planning with other national planning endeavours.
We have also devoted resources and energy to helping interested governments in the establishment or strengthening of independent national institutions designed to promote and protect human rights. This has been a major priority of my Office, including in countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi and Nepal – where we have worked successfully on the establishment of independent human rights commissions over the past five years. In a number of LDCs such as Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Cambodia we have also been engaged in a rigorous debate with government and civil society concerning the establishment of such institutions. Even in the most difficult post-conflict situations, there are indications that our efforts are producing tangible results. In all cases, we are working in close cooperation with other United Nations agencies and, in some cases, other multilateral organisations.
Good governance at the national level requires investment in both material and human resources, which in the context of LDCs, brings up the international dimension to governance. The Commission resolution to which I referred expressly underscored the importance of development cooperation for securing good governance in countries in need of external support. The resolution also recognized the value of partnership approaches to development cooperation, and the inappropriateness of prescriptive approaches.
In a globalizing world, it makes little sense to compartmentalize governance issues in neat categories of “national” and “international.” Fixing the international institutions of governance to respond better to the needs of the developing world can only succeed if national institutions meet the test of good governance. After all, the demands of governments in the international arena are only legitimate to the extent that they truly reflect the will of the people.
In sum, Chairperson, whether viewed from the perspective of legality, efficiency, sustainability or effect, development has much to gain from good governance, and the concept of good governance has much to gain from the framework of human rights.
I thank you.
Statement of Mary Robinson
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
and Secretary-General, World Conference against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
to the Third United Nations Conference on
the Least Developed Countries
- Thematic Session on Governance, Peace and Social Stability -
Brussels, 14-20 May 2001
Chairperson,
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me begin by thanking the organizers for their initiative, and for inviting me to participate in this discussion, which I see as central to the struggle of the people of the LDCs to live their lives in greater dignity.
Governance is a concept that has come of age. It is rightfully a key part of the draft programme of action, albeit one that, for the time being, is shackled in multiple square brackets – as indeed are many of the human rights references in the document. I am confident, nevertheless, that these elements will survive, and emerge intact by virtue of their own undeniable logic. All in this room are by now aware that the failures of previous efforts to raise the level of development of the LDCs have been, in large measure, failures of governance. Governance, quite simply, is central to development and to who owns the process of development.
An eloquent recent statement of this fact can be found in the introduction to the Compact For African Recovery, championed by Presidents Mbeki, Obasanjo and Bouteflika, which “recognises that fundamental reasons for Africa’s disheartening economic trajectory lie in the arena of governance” and notes the need to reduce corruption, resolve armed conflict and deepen democracy.
It is clear that a broad international consensus is emerging around these issues. It is a consensus being driven increasingly by developing countries themselves, rather than by donors or international institutions. Of course, a concept as broad as governance lends itself to discussion and measurement in many ways. There are economic models, legal and administrative approaches, and political perspectives. My message today is that important shifts have taken place in the perception of the relevance of human rights in this debate. Firstly, the broad and balanced approach which I have been advocating, placing equal emphasis on all human rights – civil and political, economic, social and cultural and the right to development – makes sense to the LDCs. Human rights is no longer viewed as a narrow “finger-pointing” agenda; rather it is a normative framework for sustainable economic and social development. Secondly, development agencies are increasingly adopting a rights-based approach to development, grounded in the two international covenants and four main human rights conventions, as set out in UNDP’s Human Development Report 2000 on “Human Rights and Human Development”. Thirdly, the recent thinking on poverty eradication by the financial institutions, notably the World Bank in its World Development Report on Poverty, draws on human rights concepts such as empowerment, non-discrimination and participation – albeit without using the express language of rights. Fourthly, there is a growing demand from people in the LDCs for human rights education which they know is the key to their empowerment and participation in decision-making; key to their sense of co-ownership with government of their development.
Not surprisingly, the Commission on Human Rights has also begun to develop a human rights approach in its annual resolutions on governance. Resolution 2001/72, adopted by consensus this year, recognised:
“that transparent, responsible, accountable and participatory government, responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people, is the foundation on which good governance rests, and that such a foundation is a sine qua non for the promotion of human rights, including the right to development”.
It is in the context of achieving development outcomes, particularly for the poorest and most vulnerable, that the real value of the rights-based approach can be understood. The question is essentially this: are the institutions of governance effectively and progressively guaranteeing the right to health, to adequate housing, to sufficient food, to quality education, to justice, freedom of expression and personal security?
Human rights also bring important strategic lessons to governance for development. UN human rights bodies have repeatedly underscored the important value of certain empowering rights that have a particular capacity to feed the engine of development. We know this is true of rights-based measures that empower women, unlocking their enormous potential to, in the words of the Declaration on the Right to Development, “participate in, contribute to and enjoy” development.
The right to education is crucial in this. As the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights puts it:
“Education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights. As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities. Education has a vital role in empowering women, safeguarding children from exploitative and hazardous labour and sexual exploitation, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the environment, and controlling population growth. Increasingly, education is recognized as one of the best financial investments States can make.” CESCR, General Comment No. 13, at para. 1.
A course that holds out real promise for the people of the LDCs is one in which all actors in the development process – national, international and the private sector – need to commit to a common agenda based on common norms and standards. In other words, to a rights-based approach to 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 the plans, policies and processes of development. These principles already include those of non-discrimination and attention to vulnerable groups, accountability, empowerment and participation.
As acceptance grows that a rights-based approach will bring about more effective, sustainable and accountable governance institutions, it is time to move from discussion to practical application. How can the United Nations assist?
Primarily, I would say, by acknowledging that the LDCs need sufficient support and resources in order to give the needed priority to the rule of law, administration of justice, prison reform and training of judges, police, prison officers and local government officials. The United Nations as a whole can emphasize that these are not “add-ons” later when development has taken place but key to the whole process of development.
Our Office seeks to provide technical cooperation and advisory services to LDCs in these areas. In addition, through the joint HURIST programme with UNDP, we have been exploring concrete ways to integrate a rights based approach in poverty, governance and other development programming. Our focus is not so much on what development programmes have been doing but rather the inclusive process of broad ownership in the way in which they are being implemented. In supporting the elaboration of national human rights action plans, we have seen the potential of a right-based approach, while understanding clearly the necessity to link or even merge human rights planning with other national planning endeavours.
We have also devoted resources and energy to helping interested governments in the establishment or strengthening of independent national institutions designed to promote and protect human rights. This has been a major priority of my Office, including in countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi and Nepal – where we have worked successfully on the establishment of independent human rights commissions over the past five years. In a number of LDCs such as Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Cambodia we have also been engaged in a rigorous debate with government and civil society concerning the establishment of such institutions. Even in the most difficult post-conflict situations, there are indications that our efforts are producing tangible results. In all cases, we are working in close cooperation with other United Nations agencies and, in some cases, other multilateral organisations.
Good governance at the national level requires investment in both material and human resources, which in the context of LDCs, brings up the international dimension to governance. The Commission resolution to which I referred expressly underscored the importance of development cooperation for securing good governance in countries in need of external support. The resolution also recognized the value of partnership approaches to development cooperation, and the inappropriateness of prescriptive approaches.
In a globalizing world, it makes little sense to compartmentalize governance issues in neat categories of “national” and “international.” Fixing the international institutions of governance to respond better to the needs of the developing world can only succeed if national institutions meet the test of good governance. After all, the demands of governments in the international arena are only legitimate to the extent that they truly reflect the will of the people.
In sum, Chairperson, whether viewed from the perspective of legality, efficiency, sustainability or effect, development has much to gain from good governance, and the concept of good governance has much to gain from the framework of human rights.
I thank you.