Human Rights in DevelopmentProfessor Todd Landman
Director
Institute for Democracy and Conflict Resolution
University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ
United Kingdom
www.idcr.org.uk
Modules
• Development and human rights: concepts and relationships– Lecture and discussion– Working groups
• Assessing impact and the value of human rights-based approaches to development
Development and Human Rights
• Background and introduction• Definitions and dimensions• Attributes and measures• Methods and relationships• Problems and limitations• Summary and implications
Background and Introduction• Development and human rights are at the heart of the UN • Bretton Woods institutions (IMF and IBRD) largely in ‘charge’ of
development– Emphasis on growth– Fiscal and monetary policy– Rise and fall of the ‘Washington Consensus’
• UN and regional systems for the promotion and protection of human rights– Standards and instruments– Treaty bodies and institutions– General comments and concluding observations– Categories, dimensions, and principles of human rights
Background and introduction• Mainstreaming human rights
– UNDP– Vienna Declaration and Programme for Action– MDGs and human rights
• Post Cold War– Increase in the number of states– Increased ratification
• War on Terror
Definitions and dimensions
• Development• Human Rights
Development• Traditional views
– GNP/GDP– Income growth
• Beyond GDP growth– Poverty and poverty reduction (alleviation)– Income distribution– Inequality
• Values– Sustenance– Self esteem– Freedom from servitude
Development as Freedom(Amartya Sen)
Greatest area of linkage to human rights conceptually
Human Rights• Categories
– Civil and political – Economic, social, and
cultural– Solidarity
• Dimensions– Respect– Protect– Fulfil
• Principles– Universality & Inalienability– Indivisibility– Interdependence & inter-
relatedness– Equality & non-
discrimination– Participation & inclusion– Accountability & rule of law
RespectNo interference in the exercise of the right
ProtectPrevent violations from
third parties
FulfilProvision of resources and the outcomes of
policies
Civil and
political
1Torture, extra-judicial
killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, unfair
trials, electoral intimidation,
disenfranchisement
2Measure to prevent non-
state actors from committing violations, such
as militias, uncivil movements, or private
sector firms and organisations.
3Investment in judiciaries,
prisons, police forces, electoral authorities, and resource allocations to
ability.
Economic,social and
Cultural
4Ethnic, racial, gender, or
linguistic discrimination in health, education, and welfare, and resource
allocations below ability.
5Measures to prevent non-state actors from engaging
in discriminatory behaviour that limits access to
services and conditions.
6Progressive realisation Investment in health,
education and welfare, and resource allocations
to ability.
RespectNo interference in the exercise of the right
ProtectPrevent violations from
third parties
FulfilProvision of resources and the outcomes of
policies
Civil and
political
1Torture, extra-judicial
killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, unfair
trials, electoral intimidation,
disenfranchisement
2Measure to prevent non-
state actors from committing violations, such
as militias, uncivil movements, or private
sector firms and organisations.
3Investment in judiciaries,
prisons, police forces, electoral authorities, and resource allocations to
ability.
Economic,social and
Cultural
4Ethnic, racial, gender, or
linguistic discrimination in health, education, and welfare, and resource
allocations below ability.
5Measures to prevent non-state actors from engaging
in discriminatory behaviour that limits access to
services and conditions.
6Progressive realisation Investment in health,
education and welfare, and resource allocations
to ability.
Dimensions of human rightsC
ateg
orie
s of
hum
an r
ight
s
Attributes and measures
L e v e l 4S c o res fo r U n its
T h e sc o re s fo r u nits of o bse rva tion ( e .g . in d ivid u als , co u ntr ie s, r e gio n s) g en e ra te d b y a p a rtic ula r ind ica to r.Q u a n tita tiv e a n d q u a lita tiv e d a ta .
L e v e l 3In d ica to rs
A lso r e fe r re d to a s 'm ea sure s ', 'o pe ra tio na lisa tion s ', a n d c las s ific a tio nsE v e n ts -b a se d, s ta n d a rd s-b a se d (o rd ina l, in te rv a l, no m in a l) , su rv e y - b a se d (ord in a l, in te rv a l, n o m in a l)
L e v e l 2S y stem a tiz e d C o nc e pt
A sp ec if ic f o rm u la tion o f a c o nc e p t u se d b y sch o la r, IG O , N G OD im e n sio n s an d c o m p o n e nts o f c o n c e pt
L e v e l 1B a c kg ro u nd C on c e pt
T h e br o a d c o n ste lla tio n of m ea n ing s a nd u n de r s tan d ing s a sso c iate d w ith a g iv en c on c e ptN o rm a tiv e a n d e m p iric a l th e o ry
Measuring human rights• Events-based measures
– Who did what to whom– Counting units
• Standards-based measures– Levels of protection– Scaling countries
• Survey-based measures– Perceptions and experiences– Individual responses
• Socio-economic and administrative statistics– Government statistics– Mixed units
Methods and relationships• Empirical relationships
– Comparative and statistical– Test theoretical propositions– Direction, magnitude, significance
• Policy relationships– Declaratory and aspirational– New discourse of development– Difficult to implement
Un i te d Sta te s o f Ame ri c a
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Ire la n d
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L u x e mb ou rg
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Po rtu g a l
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y u g o s la v ia , fr (s e rb ia /mo n te n e g ro )
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Re p u b l i c o f Mo ld o v a
Ru s s ia n Fe d e ra tio n
Az e rb a i ja nUk ra in e
L i th u a n ia
L a tv i a
Arme n ia
Ky rg y z s ta n
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No rwa y
De n ma rk
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Mo ro c c o
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Ira n (Is l amic Re p u b l i c o f)
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y e me n , re p .
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Re p u b l i c o f Ko re a (So u th )
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Pa k is ta n
Ba n g la d e s h
My a n ma r (Bu rma )
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Ph i l ip p ine sIn d o n e s ia
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Fi j i
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01
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um
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30 40 50 60Income Inequality
2000Income Inequality and Human Rights
Policy relationships• Human rights standards
– Human rights empower people– People need to struggle for rights– The right to development (RTD)
• Human rights principles– Human rights-based approaches to
development (HRBA)– Added value of human rights principles to
development
Problems and limitations• Separate worlds of development and
human rights are still in tension• Work on statistics and human rights still
fairly new– Source materials and bias– Coding, validity, viability, complexity, and
reliability– Correlation, causation, attribution and
contribution
Summary and implications• Huge policy communities• Huge sums of money dedicated to this
area of work• Immediate needs
– Better data collection– Dissemination of best practice– More training of NGOs and development
delivery specialists– More realistic expectations
Assessing Impact and the Value of Human Rights-Based
Approaches to Development (HRBA )
Outline
• The global agenda• Human rights impact assessment (HRIA)• Human rights based approaches to
development (HRBA)• Limitations of HRBA• Value added of HRBA• Summary of two modules
The global agenda
• Right to Development (RTD)• Human rights-based approaches (HRBA)• Human rights and the millennium
development goals (MDGs)
Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA)
• Forms– Direct– Indirect
• Timing– Ex ante– Ex post
Forms
Direct Indirect
Timing Ex ante
IIntentional planning to change the human rights situation
IIAwareness of impact of other and/or unrelated activities
Ex postIII
Evaluation and assessment of policies, strategies, and programmes for changing the human rights situation
IVEvaluation and assessment of outcomes of policies, strategies, and programmes that were not intended for changing the human rights situation
Theories of change• Intervention assumption• Complexity
– Time– Causation– Spuriousness– Contribution v. Attribution
• Methods– Qualitative– Quantitative– Hybrid
Hum
an r
ight
s pr
otec
tion
Timet1 t2 t3
Policy interventions
RightsImprovement
Hum
an r
ight
s si
tuat
ion
Time (t)
No apparent effect
Hum
an r
ight
s si
tuat
ion
Time (t)
Apparent ‘slope’ effect
Hum
an r
ight
s si
tuat
ion
Time (t)
Apparent ‘intercept’ effect(aka ‘step change’)
Hum
an r
ight
s si
tuat
ion
Time (t)
Apparent ‘slope’ and ‘intercept’ effect
Causal Conditions OutcomeCases A B C D E F
1 A b c d e f2 A b c d e f3 A b c d E f4 A B C D e F5 A B C D E F6 A B C D e F7 A b c d E f8 A b c d e f9 A B C D e F
10 A B C D E F
A = establishment of an international human rights standardB = domestic implementation of the international standardC = capacity building of local NGOsD = supportive domestic political environmentE = supportive supranational environmentF = improvement in human rights situation
Bdomestic implementation of the
international standard
C capacity building of local NGOs
D supportive domestic political environment
Fimprovement in human rights situation
+
+
=
Contribution
Human Rights Based Approaches (HRBA) to Development
• Integration of norms, standards and principles of international human rights in the plans, policies and processes of development
• Rights holders and duty bearers– Empowerment of rights holders– Obligations of duty bearers
• Assessment, monitoring, and evaluation in human rights terms
Comparison with development• Similarities
– Participation– Transparency and accountability
• Differences– Processes and outcomes– Obligations– Empowerment (social and legal)– Charity is insufficient driver– Structural and immediate causes– Holistic analysis
Typical ‘checklist’ items for HRBA
• Normative stance on the side of vulnerable in society
• Those involved have thorough knowledge of human rights
• Recognise agency of people• Activities aimed at structural
roots of problems• Involved communities play
an active role• Information is widely shared• Collective action
• Rights holders and duty bearers identified
• Inter-related rights considerations
• Impact on equality and non-discrimination
• Right to organise• Adequate standard of
living addressed
Limitations to HRBA
• State capacity – domestic legal apparatus• Rights awareness
– Among development workers– Within the affected groups
• Inadequacy of international regime• Lack of social science methods
– Measurement– Analysis
Value added
• Well grounded framework• Principles more palatable than standards
– Less absolutism– No ‘obligations’
• Process and outcome are both important• State-individual relationship• Conditions for agency
Summary of Two Modules• Inter-mingling of two dominant discourses• Moved beyond markets and income to values, processes, and
outcomes• Moved the individual human to the centre of development work• Improved our ability to measure, but much work is still needed• Theories of change, society, incentives, institutions and more are
needed• Methods of analysis are still under developed and/or under used by
practitioners• Capacity building in methods is needed• Methods can be a force for change but can yield ‘inconvenient facts’