The Human Right To Development In A Globalized World

Offering a comprehensive analysis of the human right to development and its realistic application in an era of economic globalization, Daniel Aguirre provides a multidisciplinary overview of economic globalization and examines its challenges to the realiz

This book is devoted to the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development. It contains a collection of analytical studies of various aspects of the right to development, which include the rule of law and good governance, aid, trade, debt, technology transfer, intellectual property, access to medicines and climate change in the context of an enabling environment at the local, regional and international levels. It also explores the issues of poverty, women and indigenous peoples within the theme of social justice and equity. The book considers the strides that have been made over the years in measuring progress in implementing the right to development and possible ways forward to make the right to development a reality for all in an increasingly fragile, interdependent and ever-changing world.

With international human rights under challenge, this book represents a comprehensive critique that adds a social policy perspective to recent political and legalistic analysis. Expert contributors draw on local and global examples to review constructs of universal rights and their impact on social policy and human welfare. With thorough analysis of their strengths, weaknesses and enforcement, it sets out their role in domestic and geopolitical affairs. Including a forward by Albie Sachs, this book presents an honest appraisal of both the concepts of international human rights and their realities. It will engage those with an interest in social policy, ethics, politics, international relations, civil society organisations and human rights-based approaches to campaigning and policy development.

This text considers the issues of world poverty and global justice, addressing the ability of people in poor or developing countries to have enough food, or clean water, or access to basic healthcare. It draws on international law aimed at the protection and promotion of human rights.

Offering a comprehensive analysis of the human right to development and its realistic application in an era of economic globalization, Daniel Aguirre provides a multidisciplinary overview of economic globalization and examines its challenges to the realization of human development. He takes this further by engaging with these challenges and highlighting the human rights opportunities presented by economic globalization and the international investment system. The volume proposes a triadic system of responsibility for human rights in development, to include mapping the overlapping human rights responsibilities of corporations at the micro-level, of states at the macro-level and of the international community at the meso-level. The scope of the book is broad and the approach to the subject is new. It will generate interest across many disciplines including political science, international law and economics. Activists, academics and development practitioners in many fields should also read this book.

Bsrd A. Andreassen is Professor at the Norwegian Center for Human Rights and Director of Research (human rights and development) at the Law Faculty, University of Oslo. --

The United Nations is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development, which proclaimed the right to be: 'an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized'. The UN now aims to mainstream the right into its policies and operational activities, and is reviewing prospects for an internationally-binding legal instrument. The evolution of the right to development, however, has been dominated by debates about its conceptual validity and practical ramifications. It has been hailed as the cornerstone of the entire human rights system and criticized as a distracting ideological initiative. Questions also persist about the role of the right in reforming the international economic order. This book examines the legal and moral foundations of the right to development, addressing the major issues. It then considers the right to development in the global economy, noting the challenges of globalization and identifying key principles such as differential treatment of developing countries, participation and accountability. It relates the right to broad objectives such as the Millennium Development Goals, the human rights-based approach to development, and environmental sustainability. Implications for international economic law and policy in the areas of trade, development finance and corporate responsibility are assessed. The conclusion looks to the legal and ethical contributions - and limitations - of the right to development in this new context. With an academic and professional background in international law, human rights and moral theology, the author brings a unique interdisciplinary focus to this timely project.

Mills focuses on one of the most significant parts of the sovereignty debate on human rights and humanitarian issues and raises three interrelated questions. First, how are empirical processes and practices undermining traditional notions of sovereignty? These include actions by the United Nations and other organizations on behalf of human rights, such as humanitarian intervention, the movements of refugees and others across the borders, and increasing calls for communal self-determination. Second, taking into account the above question, and examining these issues from a normative political theory perspective, what should be the relationship between individuals, groups, states, and the international community with respect to the twin aspects of power and authority inherent in sovereignty? Third, what new or modified international institutions may be needed in the future to deal with these humanitarian issues?