There are inmate
relations between human rights and human development. In the Universal
Declaration of human rights, human rights were proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of common people and whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and
of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the while, while the ultimate goal
of human development is to improve and enhance the quality of life of all
people. Human rights and human development and development share the same
purpose. The universal attainment is inseparable from the latter. The latter
will be disoriented and meaningless if it does not aim to achieve the former. The human rights framework also introduces the important
idea that certain actors have duties to facilitate and foster development.
Human development analysis helps to inform the
policy choices necessary for the realization of human rights in particular situations
(. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report
2000)
Human rights are rights
originating from human dignity. As explicitly declared in Universal Declaration
of Human Rights,” every human being is entitled to all rights and freedoms set
forth in this declaration, without distinction of any kind ,such as race
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion national or social
origin, property, birth or other status.(ibid). Some
of the most important characteristics of human rights are that they: are universal, focus on
the inherent dignity and equal worth of all human beings are equal, indivisible
and interdependent, cannot be waived or taken away, impose obligations of
action and omission, particularly on States and State actors, have been internationally guaranteed, are legally protected, protect individuals and, to some extent groups. (Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, 1958)
Human
rights are also indivisible and interdependent. The principle of their indivisibility recognizes that
no human right is inherently inferior to any other. Economic, social and
cultural rights must be respected, protected and realized on an equal footing
with civil and political rights. The principle of their interdependent
recognizes the difficulty and, in many cases, the impossibility of realizing
any one human right in isolation. For instance, it is futile to talk of the
right to work without a certain minimal realization of the right to education.
Similarly, the right to vote may seem of little importance to somebody with
nothing to eat or in situations where people are victimized because of their
skin colour, sex, language or religion. Taken together, the indivisibility and
interdependence principles mean that efforts should be made to realize all
human rights together, allowing for prioritization
as necessary in accordance with human rights principles.( Millennium
Development Goals”, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 27, No. 3 (August 2005)
Human
development is a holistic approach that looks at wellbeing of people. As
people’s rights are recognised there is an enhancement in human development
index. Human development is the process of enlarging people’s choices, choices
being allowing them to lead a long and healthy life, to be educated, to enjoy a
decent standard of living, as well as political freedom, other guaranteed human
rights and various ingredients of self respect. Measures of human development
include human poverty index (HDI) and the Gender empowerment measure. There are
six basic pillars of human development and these are equity, sustainability,
productivity, empowerment, cooperation and security. (UNDP, Human
Development Report 2003)
Peace
building is an intervention that is designed to prevent the start or resumption
of violent conflict by creating a sustainable peace. Peace building activities
address the root causes or potential causes of violence, create a societal
expectation for peaceful conflict resolution and stabilize society politically
and socioeconomically. Oliver, R., (2011)
Human
development and human rights are close enough in motivation and concern to be
compatible and congruous, and they are different enough in strategy and design
to supplement each other fruitfully, according to the Human Development Report
2000.7 Human rights and human development both aim to promote
well-being and freedom, based on the inherent dignity and equality of all
people. The concern of human development is the realization by all of basic
freedoms, such as having the choice to meet bodily requirements or to escape
preventable disease. It also includes enabling opportunities, such as those
given by schooling, equality guarantees and a functioning justice system. By
realising these human development human rights would also been have realised
which then leads to peace building.
Human
rights and human development share a preoccupation with necessary outcomes for
improving people’s lives, but also with better processes.
Being people-centred, they reflect a fundamental concern with institutions,
policies and processes as participatory and comprehensive in coverage as
possible, respecting the agency of all individuals. For instance, in the human
rights and human development frameworks, the development of new technologies
for effective malaria prevention is a legitimate and even desirable outcome.
But in rolling out these technologies development actors should clearly assess
and explain the possible negative effects of the testing, as well as ensure
that the technologies are accessible and affordable and that vulnerable groups
are not excluded. Human rights contribute to human development by guaranteeing
a protected space where the elite cannot monopolize development processes,
policies and programmes and this eventually lead to peace building because
every group in the community feel recognised. (World Bank, World
Development Report 2003)
There
are other rights which also need to be protected and promoted; these are civil
and political rights.
As civil and political rights on one hand, and economic, social and cultural
rights on the other, offer different benefits to the state and its people, it
is legitimate to consider them separately. One of the key advantages that civil
and political rights offer is that they enable citizens to feel involved with
the state and that their state, in some way, belongs to them. This is
important in terms of nation-building and securing lasting peace, because if
citizens have no connection to the state, then they also have no motivation to
avoid conflict (. Alston, P. 1995.)
However it is
impossible to discuss the role of civil and political rights in creating a
sense of belonging to a nation without discussing electoral rights. The right
to vote and to stand for election represents a direct method of participating
in the building and rebuilding of the nation, and is a right that is essential
if lasting peace is to be secured in all societies. Being able to vote is
particularly important for creating a sense of belonging between citizens and
state. According to the United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Gender
Issues and Advancement of Women, democratic elections have become a central
element of peace-building in most societies. This emphasis on elections
acknowledges that popularly supported, legitimate institutions can be a key to
lasting solutions to conflicts. Only when institutions are democratic and
representative of all groups in society, women as well as men, minorities as
well as majorities, the dispossessed as well as the affluent are recognised
stable peace and national prosperity is likely to be achieved. (http//www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/publication/Chapter1.htm)
The
right to liberty and security of persons is also a major right which shows that
human development have been attained within a state. This right, combined with
the right to life and freedom from torture, is important for ensuring that
people do not have to fear for their safety whilst going about their daily
lives. It is a right included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
article 3 as well as in the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, article 9. (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, Article 19 ) hence it is widely
recognised and applied this helps to build everlasting peace as well as
development within a state because if citizens are able to feel safe and secure
in their environment, conflict is less likely to arise. It is particularly
important that this right is successfully introduced into post-conflict
societies where persecution has previously been an issue. This is because there
is likely to be suspicion among citizens and other peoples that the rebuilding
of the nation will result in the reinstatement of persecution.
The right to a fair
trial and equality before the law is also another right which shows that human
development have been attained within a state. Since equity is among the six
pillars of human development it is important to ensure that all people are
treated fairly in legal proceedings within newly rebuilt or already existing
societies, largely because faith needs to be restored and or should always be
within citizens and the ability of the legal system to provide justice. As with
the right to liberty and security of person, the implementation of the right to
a fair trial and equality is necessary as citizens feel that the state is able
to protect them, if they are unable to see this, then they are unlikely to be
able to feel that they truly belong within the state and this is likely
to bring instability within a state. The protection of these rights is also
important to the state more generally a functioning and respected legal system
is crucial in securing law and order, being essential if future civil unrest is
to be avoided. It follows from this that protecting the right to a fair trial
and equality before the law can be a vital ingredient for securing lasting
peace. (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/publication/Chapter1.htm)
In as much as the state
may try to observe human rights and human development it is also important to
consider the physical and mental wellbeing of the nation as it also contribute
to peace building. The physical and mental wellbeing of the nation can be
particularly important for maintaining peace and security in societies. A human
rights framework that provides comprehensive protection for the human right to
health is fundamental for achieving this. Although providing such protection is
a difficult political issue even in the world’s wealthiest of nations the
provision of real access to healthcare in all nations will help to prevent civil
unrest. Such access should include emergency and routine medical treatment, as
well as immunization programmes. This will help to maintain lasting peace
because, if a society or a less affluent
proportion of that society is suffering from ill-health and disease, that
society is much more likely to be rife with discontent. Additionally, creating
a healthy nation is likely to benefit the state’s economy a sick nation is
unable to work, and is therefore unable to generate wealth. (Alston. 1995)
Another right which is
also vital is the right to education. The right to education is vital to
improving the wealth of the nation as a whole. Education provides those within
a state with opportunities to develop new skills. This, in turn, provides them
with the opportunity to generate a higher income. As citizens are able to earn
more, it is clear that the nation’s economy will improve as a whole and the
likelihood of satisfaction and prevention of frustration can considerably
contribute to building a connection with the state. This is also an indicator
of one of the pillars of human development which is empowerment. If citizens
had the right to education they become empowered and this help to bring peace
to a state because educated people know how to solve issues in a peaceful
manner. However, if investment is made in the education system, then the
state’s economic outlook can improve in the long-term. Moreover, such
investment will prevent unrest in the short to medium-term because if citizens
can see progress being made and they are given the opportunity to improve their
own standard and quality of life, they are far less likely to agitate and
resort to conflict. (ibid).
The right to work
should also be observed as help to bring peace to a state. One of the pillars
of human development is productivity. If citizens are given room to work they
become productive for the growth of their state’s economy. As with the other
economic, social and cultural rights considered, it is evident that protection
of the right to work carries with it the potential to improve the prosperity of
the nation. This is because it is important to have an active workforce in
order to grow the nation’s economy: if people are given the ability to work,
then they are able to go out and earn more money, some of which can then be created
as revenue. Nations should therefore aim to provide protection for this right,
in order to provide their citizens with the best chance of improving their
economic situations. Such protection will in turn reduce unrest and improve the
economy thereby bringing peace to the state. (Alston et al, 2005)
For a state to achieve
sustainable peace there is need to observe the protection of minorities’ right.
Since security is one of the pillars of human development if minority groups in
a state are protected they feel secured and this probably lead to peace
building. Possibly the most important contribution human rights can make to
securing lasting peace is the protection they bring to minorities. This is done
both through enabling minorities to use their civil and political rights to influence
public policy, and also through ensuring that even the most marginalised groups
are able to access provisions needed to meet their basic needs, such as basic
healthcare for example. (Gauri, V.)
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the
relationship between human rights and human development is very vital as the
two complement each other. For instance for a state to achieve all the six
pillars of human development which are equity, sustainability, productivity,
empowerment, cooperation and security human rights must be observed first. If
human rights are observed and human development attained peace will eventually
be achieved. Several issues exist within societies, and these need to be
addressed in order to rebuild or build nations and secure lasting peace. It is
clear that human rights can have an important role to play in this process.
Civil and political rights are useful for creating a sense of belonging to the
nation, whereas economic, social and cultural rights are valuable for creating
opportunities both for individuals within societies, as a whole.
REFERENCE
Alston. (1995)”The
Rights Framework and Development Assistance”34 Development
Bulletin: Australia
Alston et al, Phillip
(2005) Human Rights and Development towards Mutual
Reinforcement: Oxford University Press
Brahimi, L, ‘State
Building in Crisis and Post-Conflict Societies’, June 2007
Gauri,V.”Social Rights
and Economics: Claim to Health Care and Education in Developing
Countries
International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights
Millennium Development
Goals”, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 27, No. 3 (August 2005
Oliver ,R.(2011).A post
Liberal Peace:UK.Routledge
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, retrevied 03.04.2014
World Bank:World Development Report( 2013)
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/wps/publication/Chapter1.htm
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