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Summary: This is a critique of some of the typical ways in
which human rights have made their way into
the development agenda. The document
includes a response by Hugo Slim
entitled "Making Moral Low Ground: Rights as
the Struggle for Justice and the Abolition of
Development".
In this article, Peter Uvin of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts University, offers a readable and strong critique of some of the
typical ways in which human rights have made their way into the
development agenda. He concludes that there is less to the emerging
human rights approach in the development regime than meets the eye.
Uvin says that while much of the efforts to close the gap between human
rights and development is to be applauded, much of this work risks being
little more than rhetorical wordplay. He asserts that the prime reason for
development agencies to adopt a human rights language is to benefit from
its moral authority and political appeal.
The author goes on to discuss the concept of good governance, developed
by the World Bank in the early 1990s and how the power relationships
apply to the human rights agenda. He also looks at the new paradigm of
rights–based development advocated by Amartya Sen, and questions the
practical implications of such a shift.
The document includes a response by Hugo Slim entitled "Making Moral
Low Ground: Rights as the Struggle for Justice and the Abolition of
Development".Owner: Peter Uvin, Hugo Slimpdf: www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/hrbap/PRAXIS_challenging_CRP.doc