Development as a Human Right

The relationship between the processes of economic development and international human rights standards has been one of parallel and rarely intersecting tracks of international action. In the last decade of the 20th century, development thinking shifted from a growth-oriented model to the concept of human development as a process of enhancing human capabilities. The intrinsic links between development and human rights began to be more readily acknowledged. Specifically, it has been proposed that if strategies of development and policies to implement human rights are united, they reinforce one another in processes of synergy and improvement of the human condition. Such is the premise of the Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986. This book explores the meaning and practical implications of the right to development and the related term of human rights-based approaches to development. It asks what these conceptions may add to our understanding and thinking about human and global development. Opening with an essay by Amartya Sen - Nobel Laureate in Economic Science - the book contains a score of chapters on the conceptual underpinnings of development as a human right, the national dimensions of this right, and the role of international institutions. This second edition also includes a new Foreword by Navanethem Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The contributors reflect the disciplines of philosophy, economics, international law, and international relations.