27 Right to Development

Dr. Aneesh V. Pillai

Table of contents

Learning outcome
Introduction
Right to development under the International Law 3.1. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
- UN Declaration on Right to Development
- Declaration on Social Progress
- Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order
Conclusion

1. Learning Outcome

The students are given an overview of three documents in the international level which deal with certain aspects of right to development. From the examination of these documents, the students get the picture of the dimension of right to development as group right.

2. Introduction

Right to development can be viewed both as an individualistic right and group right. Fr om the individualistic perspective, it deals with each person’s right to develop himself, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, politically, spiritually, materially etc. So, it depends on the laws made by the State. But while looking at this right as a group right, it is an entirely different right. It is then the right of a country’s development, and not that of the individuals. When we say countries’ development, it is the right of a developing or least developed country to become a developed country. This involves a lot of effort from the developed countries. Their co-operation, and help is required for a developing country to become developed. Thus, it is a question purely of international concern, and effort. In this Chapter, we will examine the content and scope of this right. In the forthcoming chapters, we will examine to what extent this right is tried to be achieved.

As we saw in the module on “Group Rights- what are?” this right is discussed mainly in two documents. One is the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the other is the Declaration on Right to Development.

3. Right to development under the International Law

3.1. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

“All peoples shall have the right to a general satisfactory environment favourable to their development. “(African Charter, Article 24)

3.2. U.N. Declaration on Right to Development

The Preamble of the UN Declaration on Right to Development gives many clues to the content of this right. The following provisions are relevant:

“Recognizing that development is a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which aims at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom,”

“Recalling the right of peoples to self-determination, by virtue of which they have the right freely to determine their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development,”

“Recalling also the right of peoples to exercise, subject to the relevant provisions of both International Covenants on Human Rights, full and complete sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources,”

“Considering that the elimination of the massive and flagrant violations of the human rights of the peoples and individuals affected by situations such as those resulting from colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, all forms of racism and racial discrimination, foreign domination and occupation, aggression and threats against national sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity and threats of war would contribute to the establishment of circumstances propitious to the development of a great part of mankind,”

“Reaffirming that there is a close relationship between disarmament and development and that progress in the field of disarmament would considerably promote progress in the field of development and that resources released through disarmament measures should be devoted to the economic and social development and well-being of all peoples and, in particular, those of the developing countries,”

Recognizing that the creation of conditions favourable to the development of peoples and individuals is the primary responsibility of their States,

Aware that efforts at the international level to promote and protect human rights should be accompanied by efforts to establish a new international economic order, confirming that the right to development is an inalienable human right and that equality of opportunity for development is a prerogative both of nations and of individuals who make up nations,”

The Preamble makes it clear that the right to development includes within its ambit, the following rights-

1. Right to self determination

2. Right to sovereignty over the natural resources

3. Right against colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, national sovereignty

4. Right against disarmament and

5. Right to peace.

These are all obviously group rights, because these are rights of the peoples of the nation.

Coming to the content of this declaration, the right to development is defined as “1. The right to development is 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 fully realized.”

As this definition goes, it compasses within its sweep individualistic as well as group right. It may be about rights of human beings and peoples within the country, where the responsibility rests with the State concerned to make this right available to them, for about the right of a country to become developed, in which case the responsibility rests with the international community. The following provisions in the Declaration gives the picture as to which one of the above preposition is aimed at in the Declaration.

”States have the right and the duty to formulate appropriate national development policies that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals, on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits resulting therefrom.”

States not only have the duty but also have the right to formulate appropriate policies. This means that the States have the right to decide their policies-without interference from any other country. This also is a facet of right to self determination. This provision also aims at the countries’ responsibility to see that there is equal distribution of wealth among the citizens. The international community’s especially that of developed nations efforts are envisaged in the following provisions’

States have the duty to take steps, individually and collectively, to formulate international development policies with a view to facilitating the full realization of the right to development.
Sustained action is required to promote more rapid development of developing countries. As a complement to the efforts of developing countries, effective international co-operation is essential in providing these countries with appropriate means and facilities to foster their comprehensive development.

States are also asked to take steps to co-operate internationally to avoid disarmament, colonialism, apartheid etc. The Declaration states:-

“States shall take resolute steps to eliminate the massive and flagrant violations of the human rights of peoples and human beings affected by situations such as those resulting from apartheid, all forms of racism and racial discrimination, colonialism, foreign domination and occupation, aggression, foreign interference and threats against national sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity, threats of war and refusal to recognize the fundamental right of peoples to self-determination.”

“All States should promote the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security and, to that end, should do their utmost to achieve general and complete disarmament under effectiveinternational control, as well as to ensure that the resources released by effective disarmament measures are used for comprehensive development, in particular that of the developing countries.”

Thus, international co-operation to have a new economic order, help by the developed countries in various forms such as exchange of new technologies, financial aid, and the international efforts to see that countries become sovereign and independent are the main facets of the right to development.

To achieve this purpose, many international soft laws are made, like the Declaration on Social Progress, Declaration on a New International Economic Order (NIEO), WTO agreements are some of them. WTO agreements are dealt with in another Chapter. So this Chapter deals with the other international laws.

3.3. Declaration on Social Progress and Development (1969)

The following are considered primary conditions of social progress and development:

National independence based on the right of peoples to self- determination;
The principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of States;
Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States;
Permanent sovereignty of each nation over its natural wealth and resources;
The right and responsibility of each State and, as far as they are concerned, each nation and people to determine freely its own objectives of social development, to set its own priorities and to decide in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations the means and methods of their achievement without any external interference;
Peaceful coexistence, peace, friendly relations and co-operation among States irrespective of differences in their social, economic or political systems.

The Declaration further considers improvement in the position of developing countries in the following terms:

“The rapid expansion of national income and wealth and their equitable distribution among all members of society are fundamental to all social progress, and they should therefore be in the forefront of the preoccupations of every State and Government.

The improvement in the position of the developing countries in international trade resulting among other things from the achievement of favourable terms of trade and of equitable and remunerative prices at which developing countries market their products is necessary in order to make it possible to increase national income and in order to advance social development.”

The central theme of social progress goes beyond the nations and touches upon the objects of common heritage such as the outer space and the environment.

“Social progress and economic growth require recognition of the common interest of all nations in the exploration, conservation, use and exploitation, exclusively for peaceful purposes and in the interests of all mankind, of those areas of the environment such as outer space and the sea-bed and ocean floor and the subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

This is a very important facet of right to development because this is a crucial question that makes the developing countries different from the developed countries. Because, it is the capacity of the developed countries to explore conserve and exploit the sea bed, ocean floor, the natural resources, and the outerspace that give the developed countries an upperhand in their economy. By the time the developing countries get the technology to explore these resources, the developed countries might have explored them to a great extend, and by the time they might have also resorted some other technologies. So, not only the peaceful use of these resources, but also the equitable use is required. Thus, the developed countries are under an obligation to transfer their technologies to the developing countries too.

This is made clear in the following provisions;

Social progress and development shall finally aim at the attainment of the following main goals:

Equitable sharing of scientific and technological advances by developed and developing countries, and a steady increase in the use of science and technology for the benefit of the social development of society;
The establishment of a harmonious balance between scientific, technological and material progress and the intellectual, spiritual, cultural and moral advancement of humanity;
The protection and improvement of the human environment.”

The following provisions make it clear that right to development nothing but an equalisation of the economy of all countries.

“The achievement of the objectives of social progress and development finally requires the implementation of the following means and methods:

The laying down of economic growth rate targets for the developing countries within the United Nations policy for development, high enough to lead to a substantial acceleration of their rates of growth;
The provision of greater assistance on better terms; the implementation of the aid volume target of a minimum of I per cent of the gross national product at market prices of economically advanced countries; the general easing of the terms of lending to the developing countries through low interest rates on loans and long grace periods for the repayment of loans, and the assurance that the allocation of such loans will be based strictly on socioeconomic criteria free of any political considerations;
The provision of technical, financial and material assistance, both bilateral and multilateral, to the fullest possible extent and on favourable terms, and improved co-ordination of international assistance for the achievement of the social objectives of national development plans;
The provision to the developing countries of technical, financial and material assistance and of favourable conditions to facilitate the direct exploitation of their national resources and natural wealth by those countries with a view to enabling the peoples of those countries to benefit fully from their national resources;
The expansion of international trade based on principles of equality and non-discrimination, the rectification of the position of developing countries in international trade by equitable terms of trade, a general nonreciprocal and non-discriminatory system of preferences for the exports of developing countries to the developed countries, the establishment and implementation of general and comprehensive commodity agreements, and the financing of reasonable buffer stocks by international institutions.
Intensification of international co-operation with a view to ensuring the international exchange of information, knowledge and experience concerning social progress and development;
The broadest possible international technical, scientific and cultural co-operation and reciprocal utilization of the experience of countries with different economic and social systems and different levels of development, on the basis of mutual advantage and strict observance of and respect for national sovereignty;
Increased utilization of science and technology for social and economic development; arrangements for the transfer and exchange of technology, including know-how and patents, to the developing countries.”

These provisions point to the fact that these are measures to be adopted for the international community to see that developing countries become developed in due course of time. It is the right of a group of people to become a country. Thus, it is not the right of an individual, but is the collective right of a people. Thus it is a group right.

3.4. Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order

The new international economic order should be founded on full respect for the following principles:

Sovereign equality of States, self-determination of all peoples, inadmissibility of the acquisition of territories by force, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States;
The broadest co-operation of all the States members of the international community, based on equity, whereby the prevailing disparities in the world may be banished and prosperity secured for all;
Full and effective participation on the basis of equality of all countries in the solving of world economic problems in the common interest of all countries, bearing in mind the necessity to ensure the accelerated development of all the developing countries, while devoting particular attention to the adoption of special measures in favour of the least developed land-locked and island developing countries as well as those developing countries most seriously affected by economic crises and natural calamities, without losing sight of the interests of other developing countries;
The right of every country to adopt the economic and social system that it deems the most appropriate for its own development and not to be subjected to discrimination of any kind as a result;
Full permanent sovereignty of every State over its natural resources and all economic activities. In order to safeguard these resources, each State is entitled to exercise effective control over them and their exploitation with means suitable to its own situation, including the right to nationalization or transfer of ownership to its nationals, this right being an expression of the full permanent sovereignty of the State. No State may be subjected to economic, political or any other type of coercion to prevent the free and full exercise of this inalienable right;
The right of all States, territories and peoples under foreign occupation, alien and colonial domination or apartheid to restitution and full compensation for the exploitation arid depletion of, and damages to, the natural resources and all other resources of those States, territories and peoples;
Regulation and supervision of the activities of transnational corporations by taking measures in the interest of the national economies of the countries where such transnational corporations operate on the basis of the full sovereignty of those countries;
The right of the developing countries and the peoples of territories under colonial and racial domination and foreign occupation to achieve their liberation and to regain effective control over their natural resources and economic activities;
The extending of assistance to developing countries, peoples and territories which are under colonial and alien domination, foreign occupation, racial discrimination or apartheid or are subjected to economic, political or any other type of coercive measures to obtain from them the subordination of the exercise of their sovereign rights and to secure from them advantages of any kind, and to neo colonialism in all its forms, and which have established or are endeavouring to establish effective control over their natural resources and economic activities that have been or are still under foreign control;
Just and equitable relationship between the prices of raw materials, primary commodities, manufactured and semi-manufactured goods exported by developing countries and the prices of raw materials, primary commodities, manufactures, capital goods and equipment imported by them with the aim of bringing about sustained improvement in their unsatisfactory terms of trade and the expansion of the world economy;
Extension of active assistance to developing countries by the whole international community, free of any political or military conditions;
Ensuring that one of the main aims of the reformed international monetary system shall be the promotion of the development of the developing countries and the adequate flow of real resources to them;
Improving the competitiveness of natural materials facing competition from synthetic substitutes;
Preferential and non-reciprocal treatment for developing countries, wherever feasible, in all fields of international economic co-operation whenever possible;
Securing favourable conditions for the transfer of financial resources to developing countries.
Giving to the developing countries access to the achievements of modern science and technology, and promoting the transfer of technology and the creation of indigenous technology for the benefit of the developing countries in forms and in accordance with procedures which are suited to their economies;
The need for all States to put an end to the waste of natural resources, including food products;
The need for developing countries to concentrate all their resources for the cause of development;
The strengthening, through individual and collective actions, of mutual economic, trade, financial and technical co-operation among the developing countries, mainly on a preferential basis;
Facilitating the role which producers’ associations may play within the framework of international co-operation and, in pursuance of their aims, inter alia assisting in the promotion of sustained growth of the world economy and accelerating the development of developing countries.

The NIEO Declaration also aims at reducing the gap between the developing and developed countries. Thus this document is also a part of right to development.

However, we found that the right against decolonisation is also a part of right to development. This facet of right to development is discussed in the next chapter.

5. Conclusion

The right to development is a right of a group of persons to become a nation. Thus it is not even a sum of all the individual’s rights to development. This right can be made fruitful by the international co-operation and financial and technological aid from the developed countries.

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Reference

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GA Res 70/1 (25 September 2015).
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Helliwell, Layard, and Sachs (eds), World Happiness Report 2016 Update, Introduction, available at: <http://worldhappiness.report/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/03/HR-V1_web.pdf>.
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