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05 February 2000
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Workshop on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Right to Development
in the Asia-Pacific Region, Sana'a, 5-7 February 2000
Statement by Mary Robinson
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
WORKSHOP ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND THE
RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
SANA'A, 5 - 7 FEBRUARY 2000
Mr. Prime Minister,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to address you on the occasion of the first workshop on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Right to Development in the Asia-Pacific Region. I would like to thank the Government of Yemen for co-organizing this event with my Office and for hosting it.
The States which gathered in Tehran two years ago decided to include the realization of the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights in the framework for technical cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. I welcomed this: putting the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights at the top of the agenda for the promotion and protection human rights in this, as in every other region, is both necessary and timely. There is growing recognition of the importance of all rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social, and of the fact that economic, social and cultural rights have not been sufficiently emphasized over the years.
Anyone seeking to understand what the right to development means need look no further than the text of the 1986 United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. It is a document which bears close reading and, in some ways, it was ahead of its time. For example, it places clear emphasis on the human person as the central subject of the development process and urges that development policy should make Athe human being the main participant and beneficiary of development@. The Declaration make the important point that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent. It calls for equal attention and urgent consideration to be given to the implementation, promotion and protection of all rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social.
Last year in New Delhi I said I hoped that when looking at strategies for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development, support should be given to pragmatic efforts based on national experiences. Again, on the occasion of this Workshop, I wish to emphasize the need for all of us to share our experience. More and more, States, intergovernmental organizations, donor agencies and non-governmental organizations are embarking on initiatives which promote a rights-based approach to development. There is an understanding that strategies and policies which target GNP growth and financial and economic indicators alone, without taking full account of human and social factors, are not a sound approach to development.
The past decade has witnessed a change. There has been a growing recognition of the need to shift from a monetarist approach to one of human development. The first Human Development Report, published in 1990 under the intellectual leadership of Mahbub ul Haq, set the trend with its message that Apeople are the real wealth of a nation@. This report broke new ground when it stated that Atechnical considerations of the means to achieve human development have at times obscured the fact that the primary objective of development is to benefit people@. The report said that development should give people what they most value: Abetter nutrition and health services, greater access to knowledge, more secure livelihoods, better working conditions, security against crime and physical violence, satisfying leisure hours and a sense of participating in the economic, cultural and political activities of their communities@.
I believe we can say that the ultimate aim of development is the stage where all human rights are guaranteed and enjoyed by all. To achieve this, we must work together to find ways of integrating human rights with development programming -- ways of implementing, at all levels, a human rights-based approach to development -- an approach based on the principles embodied in the various international instruments on human rights, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on the Right to Development. By working together, we will be able to determine what the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development require and how to move forward to attain this goal.
As we all know, States have the primary responsibility for their own development and for promoting and protecting the human rights of their citizens. Commitment to the achievement of the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a determinant step in this direction. But Governments alone cannot bring this about. New obstacles must be overcome such as the reduced power of States in the face of an increasingly globalizing world economy and market; the levels of foreign debt which divert public resources from social and community spending; the imposition of structural adjustment programmes that do not take sufficient account of human and social factors and the decreasing levels of official development assistance. Governments have major responsibilities but the removal of these obstacles cannot be achieved by individual States on their own.
Global thinking and action and the combined efforts of all actors concerned -- governments of the developing and developed worlds, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, donor agencies, non-governmental organizations and members of civil society--, as well as the marriage of thinking on human rights and development, all will be essential to fulfil the ideals laid down in the International Bill of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Right to Development and other international human rights instruments.
The international human rights instruments I have just mentioned can be seen as instruments of guidance in our quest for the fulfilment of human rights and development. For those States which have acceded to the international human rights treaties, these instruments provide monitoring mechanisms, which enable them to engage in a constructive dialogue with expert members of the treaty bodies. It is through this dialogue between States and Treaty Bodies in the framework of the reporting procedure that human rights issues can be discussed and addressed, and guidance and assistance given to help States parties achieve the realization of human rights and development in their countries.
I would like to mention in particular the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Many of the issues which are relevant to the realization of the right to development are reflected in the provisions of the Covenant: the right to health, the right to just and favourable conditions of work, the right to education, the right to adequate housing. The Committee has been seeking to expand its horizons, to explore how the issues of poverty, structural adjustment programmes and other activities of the international financial institutions, debt, and globalization relate to economic, social and cultural rights as formulated in the Covenant, and how it can assist the States parties to the Covenant to address these problems and obstacles. The Committee is fully aware of the complexity of the factors that are faced by States in their efforts to achieve a better life for their citizens, and welcomes dialogue with States in the framework of the reporting procedure to address these complex factors, so as to understand their impact at the national level and to identify ways to tackle them at the international level.
I would like to bring to your attention an activity of my Office which will be a theme of particular significance in the near future: the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa next year. Racism, racial discrimination and intolerance continue to ravage societies in every part of the world. The abolition of discrimination -- on grounds of race, colour, national, ethnic or social origin -- must form a central part of all activities and measures taken in pursuit of the fulfilment of human rights and development. The World Conference will focus on practical steps to eradicate racism by ensuring that international standards and instruments are applied to combat it, as well as by formulating recommendations for further action. Non-discrimination is one of the primary guiding objectives of my Office. I would like to invite distinguished Government representatives who are present here with us for this workshop, to give priority to the World Conference and to play an active part in regional and subregional consultations on this subject over the next 18 months.
This Workshop offers us the opportunity to discuss, in a concrete way, obstacles to the realization of the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights, and strategies to overcome them. One of the main goals of this meeting is to identify steps to be taken towards this end, and I hope that our discussions will enable us to do so.
To summarize, we need to aim at forward looking strategies to improve the realization of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development:
development cooperation and assistance should be based on a human rights dialogue between the various parties in the process, including civil society;
national development planning should be based on analysis of the human rights situation in the country, and should take account of the Concluding Observations of the various treaty bodies, including the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
national human rights action plans should integrate - alongside civil and political rights - economic, social and cultural rights, and should be placed in a development perspective, involving actors with a role in the development process and taking into account development priorities;
national human rights institutions must incorporate in their mandate the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights and should be involved in the elaboration of the country=s development strategies;
human rights education and training in human rights should always integrate a component on economic, social and cultural rights and on the link between human rights and development.
These ideas are not limitative; there is no single Acorrect@ way to achieve human rights and sustainable development. I look forward to the result of your discussions during the Workshop and I express the hope that these will lead us to a close and fruitful collaboration in order to achieve economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.
in the Asia-Pacific Region, Sana'a, 5-7 February 2000
Statement by Mary Robinson
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
WORKSHOP ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS AND THE
RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
SANA'A, 5 - 7 FEBRUARY 2000
Mr. Prime Minister,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to address you on the occasion of the first workshop on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Right to Development in the Asia-Pacific Region. I would like to thank the Government of Yemen for co-organizing this event with my Office and for hosting it.
The States which gathered in Tehran two years ago decided to include the realization of the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights in the framework for technical cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. I welcomed this: putting the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights at the top of the agenda for the promotion and protection human rights in this, as in every other region, is both necessary and timely. There is growing recognition of the importance of all rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social, and of the fact that economic, social and cultural rights have not been sufficiently emphasized over the years.
Anyone seeking to understand what the right to development means need look no further than the text of the 1986 United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. It is a document which bears close reading and, in some ways, it was ahead of its time. For example, it places clear emphasis on the human person as the central subject of the development process and urges that development policy should make Athe human being the main participant and beneficiary of development@. The Declaration make the important point that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent. It calls for equal attention and urgent consideration to be given to the implementation, promotion and protection of all rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social.
Last year in New Delhi I said I hoped that when looking at strategies for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development, support should be given to pragmatic efforts based on national experiences. Again, on the occasion of this Workshop, I wish to emphasize the need for all of us to share our experience. More and more, States, intergovernmental organizations, donor agencies and non-governmental organizations are embarking on initiatives which promote a rights-based approach to development. There is an understanding that strategies and policies which target GNP growth and financial and economic indicators alone, without taking full account of human and social factors, are not a sound approach to development.
The past decade has witnessed a change. There has been a growing recognition of the need to shift from a monetarist approach to one of human development. The first Human Development Report, published in 1990 under the intellectual leadership of Mahbub ul Haq, set the trend with its message that Apeople are the real wealth of a nation@. This report broke new ground when it stated that Atechnical considerations of the means to achieve human development have at times obscured the fact that the primary objective of development is to benefit people@. The report said that development should give people what they most value: Abetter nutrition and health services, greater access to knowledge, more secure livelihoods, better working conditions, security against crime and physical violence, satisfying leisure hours and a sense of participating in the economic, cultural and political activities of their communities@.
I believe we can say that the ultimate aim of development is the stage where all human rights are guaranteed and enjoyed by all. To achieve this, we must work together to find ways of integrating human rights with development programming -- ways of implementing, at all levels, a human rights-based approach to development -- an approach based on the principles embodied in the various international instruments on human rights, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on the Right to Development. By working together, we will be able to determine what the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development require and how to move forward to attain this goal.
As we all know, States have the primary responsibility for their own development and for promoting and protecting the human rights of their citizens. Commitment to the achievement of the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a determinant step in this direction. But Governments alone cannot bring this about. New obstacles must be overcome such as the reduced power of States in the face of an increasingly globalizing world economy and market; the levels of foreign debt which divert public resources from social and community spending; the imposition of structural adjustment programmes that do not take sufficient account of human and social factors and the decreasing levels of official development assistance. Governments have major responsibilities but the removal of these obstacles cannot be achieved by individual States on their own.
Global thinking and action and the combined efforts of all actors concerned -- governments of the developing and developed worlds, intergovernmental organizations, international financial institutions, donor agencies, non-governmental organizations and members of civil society--, as well as the marriage of thinking on human rights and development, all will be essential to fulfil the ideals laid down in the International Bill of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Right to Development and other international human rights instruments.
The international human rights instruments I have just mentioned can be seen as instruments of guidance in our quest for the fulfilment of human rights and development. For those States which have acceded to the international human rights treaties, these instruments provide monitoring mechanisms, which enable them to engage in a constructive dialogue with expert members of the treaty bodies. It is through this dialogue between States and Treaty Bodies in the framework of the reporting procedure that human rights issues can be discussed and addressed, and guidance and assistance given to help States parties achieve the realization of human rights and development in their countries.
I would like to mention in particular the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Many of the issues which are relevant to the realization of the right to development are reflected in the provisions of the Covenant: the right to health, the right to just and favourable conditions of work, the right to education, the right to adequate housing. The Committee has been seeking to expand its horizons, to explore how the issues of poverty, structural adjustment programmes and other activities of the international financial institutions, debt, and globalization relate to economic, social and cultural rights as formulated in the Covenant, and how it can assist the States parties to the Covenant to address these problems and obstacles. The Committee is fully aware of the complexity of the factors that are faced by States in their efforts to achieve a better life for their citizens, and welcomes dialogue with States in the framework of the reporting procedure to address these complex factors, so as to understand their impact at the national level and to identify ways to tackle them at the international level.
I would like to bring to your attention an activity of my Office which will be a theme of particular significance in the near future: the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa next year. Racism, racial discrimination and intolerance continue to ravage societies in every part of the world. The abolition of discrimination -- on grounds of race, colour, national, ethnic or social origin -- must form a central part of all activities and measures taken in pursuit of the fulfilment of human rights and development. The World Conference will focus on practical steps to eradicate racism by ensuring that international standards and instruments are applied to combat it, as well as by formulating recommendations for further action. Non-discrimination is one of the primary guiding objectives of my Office. I would like to invite distinguished Government representatives who are present here with us for this workshop, to give priority to the World Conference and to play an active part in regional and subregional consultations on this subject over the next 18 months.
This Workshop offers us the opportunity to discuss, in a concrete way, obstacles to the realization of the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights, and strategies to overcome them. One of the main goals of this meeting is to identify steps to be taken towards this end, and I hope that our discussions will enable us to do so.
To summarize, we need to aim at forward looking strategies to improve the realization of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development:
development cooperation and assistance should be based on a human rights dialogue between the various parties in the process, including civil society;
national development planning should be based on analysis of the human rights situation in the country, and should take account of the Concluding Observations of the various treaty bodies, including the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
national human rights action plans should integrate - alongside civil and political rights - economic, social and cultural rights, and should be placed in a development perspective, involving actors with a role in the development process and taking into account development priorities;
national human rights institutions must incorporate in their mandate the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights and should be involved in the elaboration of the country=s development strategies;
human rights education and training in human rights should always integrate a component on economic, social and cultural rights and on the link between human rights and development.
These ideas are not limitative; there is no single Acorrect@ way to achieve human rights and sustainable development. I look forward to the result of your discussions during the Workshop and I express the hope that these will lead us to a close and fruitful collaboration in order to achieve economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.