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Texts and Reports - Human
Rights in Developing Countries - Preface
Preface
Human
Rights in Developing Countries
How
can Development Cooperation contribute to furthering
their Advancement
At present, an intensive debate is taking place on the Human Rights
Approach for development cooperation, both in the German Federal Ministry
for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and between other players
in this area. This concern is reflected, for example, in the preliminary
findings of a consultancy report by the German Development Institute
(GDI), and the present efforts of the UNDP and other UN organizations
to implement the declaration on "The Human Rights Based Approach
to Development Cooperation - Towards a Common Understanding Among the
UN Agencies". This International Policy Dialogue was organized
by the Development Policy Forum / InWEnt to provide a platform for the
exchange of experience between leading ministerial officials, donor
and consulting organizations, human rights activists and media representatives
from both industrial and developing countries. The results of this conference
are expected to contribute to the current international debate on how
development cooperation can further human rights.
Respecting and advancing
human rights is a key concern in German development policy, both in
conceptual planning and practice. These twin aspects are given especial
weight in the course of designing the four main development policy goals
of social justice, economic viability, political stability and ecological
balance. Moreover, human rights appear as a cross-sectional issue running
throughout the 2015 Programme of Action on Poverty Reduction. In emphasizing
this area, the BMZ is making its own contribution to German human rights
policy, which, as a cross-sectional task, interlocks elements within
foreign policy and security issues, economic and development policy,
and domestic and legal policy, building a permanent priority in the
concerns of the present German government.
Despite the provisions laid
down in the 1945 UN Charter, the International Bill of Human Rights
and various international treaties, intense political discussion has
continued over the scope and content of the human rights canon to be
promoted, especially within the development cooperation area. At present,
political debate is focusing on the possibility of legally enforcing
those obligations embodied in the International Pact for Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, including, for instance, access to food, water,
education and housing, but is equally concerned with finding suitable
instruments that would allow the Human Rights Approach to be anchored
in development policy. Although initial experience has already been
gained with human rights impact assessment, mainstreaming, political
dialogue, and the so-called shadow reports, further instruments still
need to be established.
Over the past few years,
the issue of human rights has similarly taken on increased significance
in the institutional sector, especially in the multilateral area of
development cooperation. Nowadays, whether in the work of UN organizations,
the European Union or the World Bank, a primary concern is the integration
of human rights issues in their work. International human rights conventions,
high-ranking global conferences on individual concerns, institutionalized
negotiation procedures and reporting obligations to the United Nations
have all played their part in initiating a global institution and capacity
building process that has led to greater numbers of state organizations
whose work is directed at advancing human rights on the national and
local levels. In this landscape, active lobbying from civil society
organizations and a forceful presentation of the issues in the media
remain a crucial complement to promoting human rights in partner countries.
Gudrun Kochendörfer-Lucius
Managing
Director
InWEnt (Capacity Building International, Germany)
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