Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights

Author Rana Tassawar Ali, December 19 2013:       Revising the framework of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that the entire world has adopted for improvement of the human condition of the world poor:

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) signify the largest and most ambitious development program ever envisioned. They seek to make measurable progress in critical areas facing the world today: extreme poverty and hunger; universal primary education; gender equality and women’s empowerment; child mortality; maternal health; HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and environmental sustainability. But, that said, these commitments of the MDGs have failed, due to neglect of a rights-based approach. Two more reasons include lack of structural reforms and unclear performance metrics. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were not linked with global hunger and poverty. In countries like Pakistan, aid focused and continued its direction with the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and World Bank. Pakistan is not expected to meet most of the MDGs, and inequalities and regional disparities due to unequal resource distribution among provinces continue to increase.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)’s failure has been due to their poor linkage with human rights, slowing many countries’ progress in poverty reduction. It has been difficult, if not impossible, without the implementation of human rights, to counter global inequalities and to state goals that will be achievable. The rights-based approach to development  (RBA) represents a framework for development made up of five general criteria: (1) linking development to concrete international human rights standards like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) accountability of powerful actors (e.g., governments and international financial actors) for meeting those standards; (3) empowering development beneficiaries, for example, through rights awareness; (4) beneficiary participation in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programs; and (5) nondiscrimination and prioritization of the marginalized and vulnerable groups that comprise the poorest of the poor (e.g., women, indigenous peoples, children and the elderly). Through using the human rights framework, communities gain knowledge of their rights and hold powerful authorities accountable to human rights standards. The human rights approach provides opportunities to communities to participate in meaningful decisions. This approach is a development solution: through its application, communities' participation in health, education, and livelihood become very meaningful.

The fact that we are living in an insecure world handicaps us for achieving the MDGs - we can end poverty, but ending poverty requires transforming structures. This is a good time to participate in the stakeholders’ consultation and give your comments at WORLDWEWANT2015 .ORG/PAKISTAN2015.