Food for thought for friend and foe (7)
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THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN POLITICIZING DEVELOPMENT ETHICS,
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT PRAXIS
Part (7)
Pleading Guilty:
44. Democracy and Human Rights are interlinked and mutually suppor-
tive. (World Conference on Human Rights)
45. As development organizers acting as political activists we have
to be willing to come into conflict with the ideology of the ruling
minority any time it disregards Human Rights. For that to happen, we
need to demystify the ideology of power-taken-as-being-neutral in the
ruling development paradigm.
46. But so far, our prestige as intellectuals has depended on laying
claim to being 'rational and apolitical', in short, espousing the
"ideology of the extreme center".
47. Moreover, there is not yet among us a felt responsibility for the
creation of national and international conditions favorable to the
realization of Human Rights. (7)
48. Because of that, I think most of us stand accused for our compla-
cency towards the status-quo and violations of Human Rights, for our
lack of criticism of the overall lack of progress in development, for
our political naivet� (or our choice not to get involved in the poli-
tics of it all), for our uncritical pushing forward to do something
and get things done and over with, for our paternalistic and ethno-
centric approach. In short, we cannot escape taking part of the
blame.
What we have not yet done:
49. The implementation of Human Rights requires first and foremost
its translation to the domestic level. The current lack of resources
for development may not be invoked by Governments to justify the
abridgment or postponement of internationally recognized Human
Rights. Human Rights work will thus require committed leadership and
an expanding popular commitment focused primarily on ensuring democ-
racy, improvements in the incomes of the poorest, universal access
and affordability of quality health, education and other social ser-
vices, and improvements in the overall living conditions of people
(especially women). (7)
50. As a start, at the country level, we need to check on the follow
up each country has made on major recommendations from international
UN conferences that they attended and whose declarations they signed
(a key role here for UNDAF, the new UN Development Assistance Frame-
work).
51. How can the UN be associated with a hard approach to Human Rights
enforcement without being accused of internal political interference?
UNDAF is but a very first, yet insufficient and mostly still top-
down, step in that direction. It is hoped it will evolve to higher
levels of accountability on Human Rights issues.
52. Steps also have to be taken, then, to clarify the universal mini-
mum core content of Human Rights as opposed to a minimum core per
country; the latter risks excessive relativism and/or lenient appli-
cation of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and other Human Rights covenants. (7)
53. Furthermore, existing standards that are not in conformity with
the current Human Rights regime have to be openly opposed.
Claudio Schuftan
Hanoi, Vietnam
mailto:aviva@netnam.vn
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