From Poverty Reduction to Disparity

Reduction or from Basic Needs to Human

Rights

International Conference on Child Policies and Disparities

Cairo, Egypt, 19-20 January 2009

Urban Jonsson

OUTLINE

1. Basic Needs

2. Human Rights

3. A Human Rights-Based Approach to Development

4.Needs vs. Rights

5.Equality, Equity and Disparity

6.Conclusions

Basic Needs

BASIC NEEDS (UNRISD, 1970)

1.Nutrition

2.Shelter

3.Health

4.Education

5.Leisure

6.Security (personal and economic)

7.Environment (cultural, social and physical)

• UNRISD

• ILO

• The World Bank

• UNICEF

• Etc, etc

BASIC NEEDS APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT

Human Rights

The Origin of Human Rights

THE MORAL FOUNDATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Moral codes have existed and do exist in all societies on what is right or wrong, permissible or not permissible, legitimate or not legitimate etc.

THE GOLDEN RULE - BUDDHISM

“Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful”

THE GOLDEN RULE - CHRISTIANITY

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”

THE GOLDEN RULE - HINDUISM

“Do naught to others, if done to thee, would cause thee pain: this is the sum of duty”

THE GOLDEN RULE - ISLAM

“No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself”

THE GOLDEN RULE - JUDAISM

“What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire law; all the rest is commentary”

THE CHANGING WORLD

15the and 16th Century

India, China, Roman Christendom, and the Islamic world were the great civilizations

17th, 18th and 19th Century

A revolutionary change took place in Europe regarding human thought towards a secular and more egalitarian society and a universal morality

NATURAL RIGHTS

“All humans, beings created by God, possess equal natural rights (that is, in the state of nature they possess life, liberty, and property) that society must recognize if it is to be legitimate”

(John Locke, 1632-1704)

The Meaning of Human Rights

DEFINITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

“ Rights are claim-rights, in that they entail correlative duties of other persons or groups to act or to refrain from acting in ways required for the right-holders”

(W.N. Hohfeld, 1919)

Claim (Right) Holder Duty Bearer

(Subject)(Object)

VALID CLAIMCORRELATIVE DUTY

THE MEANING OF HUMAN RIGHTS

(content)

“A school-aged child has a valid claim (right) to education – others have duties (or obligations) to ensure that the right is realized.”

Human Rights Standards

Basic needs that are recognized as universal needs, i.e. codified in UN International Conventions

• Equality and Non-Discrimination

• Participation and Inclusion

• Accountability and Rule of Law

Human Rights Principles (OHCHR/UNDP)

A Human Rights-Based Approach to

Development

B

D

C

A

OUTCOME

PROCESSGood

Bad

Bad

Goo

d

HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES RE-

DEFINED

Human Rights Standards = the minimum acceptable level of a desirable outcome

Human Rights Principles = criteria for an acceptable process

(Human Rights Standards)

Eradication of hunger and malnutrition

Universal primary education

Child protection

MDGs

“Results”

Equality and Non-Discrimination

Participation and Inclusion

Accountability and Rule of Law

OUTCOME

PROCESS (Human Rights Principles)

B

D

C

A

OUTCOME

PROCESSGood

Bad

Bad

Goo

d

The Millennium Declaration and

the MDGs

• There are eight (8) MDGs

• They all come from the Millennium Declaration (2000)

• Many people know the MDGs by heart, but very few people have actually read the Millennium Declaration

THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION’S GOALS

(MDGs)

THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION

“…,respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the equal rights of all…” (paragraph 4)

MDGs IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION

“Kofi Annan had recently chided me and others for concentrating so much on the eight MDGs that we forget that they are part of the Millennium Declaration, which calls very strongly for democracy and human rights as the route to achieving the goals”

(Mark Malloch Brown, June 2004)

B

D

C

A

OUTCOME

PROCESSGood

Bad

Bad

Goo

d

Needs vs. Rights

NEEDS VS. RIGHTSNEEDS RIGHTS

Needs are met or satisfied

Needs imply goals, incl. partial goals

Needs do not necessarily imply duties

Rights are realized

Rights imply goals, always 100 %

Rights always imply correlative duties

4 / 11

NEEDS VS. RIGHTSNEEDS RIGHTS

Needs can be met by goal or outcome strategies

Needs are not necessarily universal

Needs can be met by charity and benevolence

Human rights can be realized only by attention to both outcome and process

Rights are always universal

Rights can only be met by duty-bearers meeting their obligations 4 / 11

NEEDS VS. RIGHTSNEEDS RIGHTS

Needs can be ranked a priori in a hierarchy

Needs are often associated with promises

Child as an object

“To Have”

Rights cannot be ranked a priori in a hierarchy

Rights are always associated with obligations

Child as a subject

“To Be”

4 / 11

Equality

Christianity and people who are poor

“It is easier for a camel to pass the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10.25)

“Naked follow Naked Christ” (Thomas Aquinas)

Islam and people who are poor

• Emphasizes basic economic and social rights

• Religion must be accompanied by active services to people who are poor

• Accumulating wealth without recognizing the rights of people who are poor should be punished in the hardest way

EQUALITY AS A HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLE

“All persons within a society have a right to enjoy equal access to the available goods and services that are necessary to fulfill basic human needs” (UDHR)

EQUITY

A situation in which everyone is treated ‘fairly’ (not necessarily the same)(distributive justice)

EQUALITY vs. EQUITY

EQUALITY: A process of dignity and non-discrimination (A human rights principle)

EQUITY: A process of fairness and justice (A concept of justice)

DIFFERENT ‘EQUALITIES’

There is an important difference between ‘equality of opportunity’ and ‘equality of result’

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND EQUAL RESULTS

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: Everybody has the same chance

EQUAL RESULTS: Everybody achieves the same level

The right to equal opportunities vs. the right to equal results

• The right to equal access to health services vs. the right to be healthy

•The right to equal access to education vs. the right to be equally educated (learning achievement)

Disparity

DISPARTY

Disparity means In-Equality among:

• income groups

• social classes

• male and female (gender)

• residence (urban/rural, countries, regions, communities etc)

• racial and ethnic groups

POVERTY REDUCTION VS. DISPARITY REDUCTION

Poverty Reduction: Reduction of the number or percentage of people who are poor

TARGET: People who are poor

Disparity Reduction: Reduction in disparities between people who are poor and people who are rich

TARGET: People who are poor and people who are rich

HUMAN RIGHTS IN LIBERALISM AND IN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

LIBERALISM SOCIAL DEMOCRACYEmphasizes equality of opportunities

Priority on civil and political rights

In addition to equal opportunities, emphasizes equal results

Equal priority on CPR and economic, social and cultural rights4 / 11

HUMAN RIGHTS IN LIBERALISM AND IN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

LIBERALISM SOCIAL DEMOCRACYThe right to health means the right to health services

Emphasizes Poverty Reduction

The right to health means the right to be healthy

Emphasizes Disparity Reduction

4 / 11

Value Added by HRBA to

Development

VALUE ADDED BY HRBA TO DEVELOPMENT

1. In a HRBA to Development, the individual is the subject of rights and has valid claims on others, who have correlative duties and obligations. This is different from ‘entitlement’ and ‘basic needs’ approaches where there is no ‘duty-bearer’.

VALUE ADDED BY HRBA TO DEVELOPMENT2. A HRBA to Development requires

attention to both outcome and process.

3 A HRBA gives more attention to exclusion, disparities and injustice and can be used to challenge power

4. A HRBA to Development promotes the rule of law (reduces impunity and corruption, and increases social access to justice)

VALUE ADDED BY HRBA TO DEVELOPMENT

5. Gives more attention to legal and institutional reforms and national policy review

6. Development assistance no longer means charity, but is an obligation of the international community

Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS

1. All UN support must be human rights based and contribute to the realization of human rights

2. In a HRBA the process is as important as the outcome. The blind focus on the MDGs should be avoided

CONCLUSIONS

2. The choice of ‘equality of results’ or ‘equality of opportunities’ is a political choice

3. A HRBA emphasizes disparity reduction rather than poverty reduction

Thank You!