International Conference on Child Policies and Disparities 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 Basic Needs Human Rights A Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Needs vs. Rights Equality, Equity and Disparity Conclusions

Basic Needs

BASIC NEEDS (UNRISD, 1970) Nutrition Shelter Health Education Leisure Security (personal and economic) Environment (cultural, social and physical)

BASIC NEEDS APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT UNRISD ILO The World Bank UNICEF Etc, etc

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)

THE MEANING OF HUMAN RIGHTS CORRELATIVE DUTY VALID CLAIM Claim (Right) Holder Duty Bearer (Subject) (Object) (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

Human Rights Principles (OHCHR/UNDP) Equality and Non-Discrimination Participation and Inclusion Accountability and Rule of Law

A Human Rights-Based Approach to Development

OUTCOME B D C A Good Bad Bad Good PROCESS

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

OUTCOME PROCESS (Human Rights Standards) (Human Rights Principles) Eradication of hunger and malnutrition Universal primary education Child protection MDGs “Results” PROCESS (Human Rights Principles) Equality and Non-Discrimination Participation and Inclusion Accountability and Rule of Law

OUTCOME B D C A Good Bad Bad Good PROCESS

The Millennium Declaration and the MDGs

THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION’S GOALS (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 “…,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)

OUTCOME B D C A Good Bad Bad Good PROCESS

Needs vs. Rights

NEEDS VS. RIGHTS Needs are met or satisfied Rights are realized NEEDS 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. RIGHTS NEEDS RIGHTS 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 Needs can be met by goal or outcome strategies Needs are not necessarily universal Needs can be met by charity and benevolence 4 / 11

NEEDS VS. RIGHTS Needs can be ranked a priori in a hierarchy NEEDS 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)

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

EQUITY: A process of fairness and justice (A concept of 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 DEMOCRACY In addition to equal opportunities, emphasizes equal results Equal priority on CPR and economic, social and cultural rights Emphasizes equality of opportunities Priority on civil and political rights 4 / 11

HUMAN RIGHTS IN LIBERALISM AND IN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY LIBERALISM SOCIAL DEMOCRACY The right to health means the right to be healthy Emphasizes Disparity Reduction The right to health means the right to health services Emphasizes Poverty Reduction 4 / 11

Value Added by HRBA to Development

VALUE ADDED BY HRBA TO DEVELOPMENT 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 DEVELOPMENT 2. A HRBA to Development requires attention to both outcome and process. 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 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

3. A HRBA emphasizes disparity reduction rather than poverty reduction 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!