WSSD: HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE A GUIDING PRINCIPLE

News release
WSSD: HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE A GUIDING PRINCIPLE
Human rights should be a central principle for all new policies on world sustainable development, says the organization Rights & Democracy, which notes that the draft political declaration contains no reference to human rights.
MONTREAL, AUGUST 6, 2002 - Human rights should be a central principle for all new policies on world sustainable development, Rights & Democracy has told the Canadian government as the delegation prepares for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Although international human rights law constitutes a well accepted framework for policies aiming to significantly reduce poverty by 2015, the Canadian organization notes that the draft political declaration contains no reference to human rights.
"The omission of any mention of human rights would be a serious setback for the international community," Rights & Democracy's Acting President, Kathleen Mahoney, wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on July 23, referring to the final declaration that will be issued at the close of the Summit. "A strong explicit reference calling upon states to meet their obligations under international human rights law would be appropriate, as well as a statement of support for the deep connections that exist between many human rights and environmental protection."
Rights & Democracy has been an active participant in the global movement to integrate global economic (including trade, investment and finance) policies with human rights and environmental agreements. The UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ratified by Canada in 1976, elaborates on States' responsibility to ensure their citizens' access to the basic human needs including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services. These basic human rights are again affirmed in the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, which describes economic, social, cultural and political development as an inalienable human right, and again in Vienna in 1993, at the World Conference on Human Rights. There, 171 States agreed that the protection and promotion of human rights is the first responsibility of Governments.
The 2000 Millennium Summit moved a step further forward, when over 150 Heads of State committed to specific goals by 2015: halving the number of people (currently 22% of the world's population) whose income is less than one US dollar a day, and likewise halving the 20% who have no access to drinking water, as well as ensuring the primary education of all children. Yet, Rights & Democracy noted with disappointment how the Monterrey Conference on Financing for Development failed to apply this rights-based approach to development, and its commitments fell short of drawing up a practical plan to realize the goals articulated at the Millennium Summit. The World Summit on Sustainable Development will also fall short of actually realizing some of these goals if human rights are relegated to the sidelines.
"The WSSD should be an occasion to reflect critically on what steps need to be taken to meet the developmental, environmental and social challenges of the twenty-first century," wrote Kathleen Mahoney in her letter to Jean Chrétien. "I sincerely hope that the Government of Canada will stand resolutely beside those who argue that international human rights are an essential aspect of sustainable development."
Rights & Democracy will be represented at the World Summit on Sustainable Development by Diana Bronson, Coordinator of the Globalization and Human Rights Programme. The organization is one of several sponsors of a civil society workshop on Human Rights, Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection at the Civil Society Forum on September 1 from 10.00-18.00.
Rights & Democracy (International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development) is a Canadian institution with an international mandate. It is an independent organization, which promotes, advocates and defends the democratic and human rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights. In cooperation with civil society and governments in Canada and abroad, Rights & Democracy initiates and supports programmes to strengthen laws and democratic institutions, principally in developing countries.
Rights & Democracy focuses its work on four thematic priorities: Democratic Development, Women's Rights, the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Globalization and Human Rights; and two special operations: International Human Rights Advocacy and Urgent Action and Important Opportunities.