Implementing the Right to
Development in the
aftermath of the global
financial crisis:
Challenges and Prospects
Xigen Wang
Professor of Law
Wuhan University School of Law
Wuhan
PRC
The global financial crisis of 2008
the fluctuation
of exchange
rates
intensification of the debt crisis
rising poverty rates
higher unemployment
the reduction of
overseas
investments and
trade
reduced economic growth
increased social inequality
Restrict the realization of the right to development (RTD).
In order to implement RTD, the following measures should
be taken immediately.
Part 1: Reconstructing
the idea of the RTD
traditional models of justice
a new concept of justice
1. Definition:
“development - oriented justice”
“people-centred development with justice”
• Development-oriented Justice is to ensure that
every human person and all peoples are entitled
to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy
economic, social, cultural and political
development. It is a notion of global , substantial,
fair, harmonized and people-oriented justice.
2. Features:
Globalization
Comparability
Gregariousness
Features
Comprehensiveness
Inclusiveness
3. Reshaping:
• explain RTD under the
framework of peoplecentred development with
justice from the following
five perspectives:
（1）Subjects :
Financial crisis
RTD
money-oriented development
people-centred development
“People” could be offered five characteristics and
called :
natural
social
person
person
economic
person
ecological
political
person
person
• The human person is the central subject
of the development process and that
development policy should therefore
make the human being the main
participant and beneficiary of
development
------ Declaration on the Right to Development 1986
（2）Objects:
The objects of RTD are encompassed by five
elements:
human dignity
culture
diversity
common
good
development
opportunity
Objects
greatest equal
liberties
（3）Contents :
Financial economic
crisis
growth development
RTD
A.
inclusive development
economic
justice
B. social
welfare
culture
development
integrate
integrate
political
justice
economic and
political
justice
（4）Time :
• It is imperative to take the sustainable
Development as a right
• The RTD can be named as the Right to
Sustainable Development.
• Financial crisis derogated RTD: lead to
an unsustainable development
• Example :
higher carbon
emission
Crisis
carbon
emission
RTD
?
• Supporter：carbon emission is a kind of RTD
• Opponent：emision is an obligation not right
Balance
• It is necessary to release the tension between
carbon emissions and the RTD.
• As far as the developing country is concerned,
the right to emissions is the right to development.
• Opponent of this idea argues that emission is
purely an obligation not a right. So our pressing
need is encouraging each side to find consensus
and resolution in defining the carbon emission.
（5）Space :
• A new right
------the right to regional development
should be recognized as
a subsidiary right of the RTD
• “The world is not flat”
------- WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2009:
Reshaping Economic Geography.
Part 2.： Exploring crisis
early warning and
emergency response
system
1. Evaluation Mechanisms:
A minimum standard of RTD
A general
concept of
RTD (UN
Resolution
1979)
RTD criteria
and
UN
Declaration operational
sub-criteria
1986)
(A/HRC/15/W
G.2/TF/2/Add.2)
The Urgent task is to design a minimum standard
of RTD based on the Criteria and Operational
Sub-criteria on RTD (A/HRC/15/WG.2/TF/2/Add.2)
food
water
basic
medicines
primary
education
The bottom line standard could be more
recognized and practicable than the maximum one
If the lowest demand concerning human survival,
such as food, water, basic medicines, primary
education, cannot be satisfied, an early warning
mechanism will work
2. Early Warning Mechanism
Treatment
plan
Executing
agency
Evaluation
method
Information
analysis
Outcome
feedback
3. Emergency Response
Mechanism
• It recommends that to establish:
– “The Overall Emergency Response
Plan for a Minimum of RTD” and
– Sub - mechanisms under the
overall mechanism
A
• “Emergency Response Mechanism for
food shortage”
B
• “Emergency Response Mechanism for
Drinking Water Crisis”
C
• “Emergency Response Mechanism for
Lacking of Basic Medicine”
4. Intervention Mechanism
a pure autonomy
of private law
public law compulsion
policy
balance
mechanism
• More challenge, more intervention
mechanisms are needed, especially for the
non-reciprocal protection to the vulnerable
groups.
Part 3 :
Mainstreaming RTD:
------Constructing a strategic
system of the implementation
of RTD
subprime
Text
mortgage
in crisis
here
classical
financial
bubbles
liberalism
financial
crisis
excessive
consumption
generation I generation II generation III
freedom
equality
RTD
1. Ground:
(1) Mainstreaming RTD has its
normative ground in:
Charter of the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Declaration on the Right to Development
• 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.
—— Declaration on the RTD
(2) value consensus:
universal fraternity theory in
the classical natural law theory
social solidarism
value
consensus
global justice theory
post-modernism
the three generations of human
rights theory
Latin American dependency theory
China's Confucian doctrines (benevolent
love and people-centred principle)
2. Methodology :
how to mainstream RTD
• Steps should be taken to ensure the full exercise
and progressive enhancement of the right to
development, including the formulation, adoption
and implementation of policy, legislative and other
measures at the national and international levels-
—— UN Declaration on the Right
to Development Article 10
There are three different ways:
A
Soft law
B
Hard law
C
No law
3. Targets :
• Three standards of mainstreaming
human right:
A
the recognition from mainstream
society
B
a set of complete system of rights
and obligations
C
the implementation under the institutional
framework(e.g. Law & policy)
• Thus, the targets of mainstreaming
RTD:
Theoretically
Obtain the
same status as
civil and
political
rights,
economic,
social and
cultural rights
Practically
Technically
supported
and
protected by
developed
subjects
have a legally
binding
mechanism of
remedy
(similar to the
ICCPR &
ICESCR)
• 4. obligation:
• The RTD cannot be fully implemented
into practice because of its ambiguous
subjects, forms and procedures of
accountability. I try to divide the
obligation genealogy of RTD into two
types: endogenous obligation and
instrumental obligation. Instrumental
obligation is derived from endogenous
obligation.
Obligation Genealogy of RTD
Endog
enous
obligations
Instrumental
obligat
-ions
Extension
values
Mode
Consideration
Rules
Moral
obligation
Humanities
or interests
Abstract
No
No
Institutiona
l obligation
Corrective
justice
Integrity
Yes
Consti Public
tutive
law
Merciful
obligation
Introspection
Charity
No
No
Contract
obligation
Autonomy
Exchange
Yes
Regul Private
ative
law
Interventio
n obligation
Heteronomy
Mandatory
Yes
Public &
social law
5. Steps:
• pilot and implement of criteria and sub​​Step1 criteria on RTD
• establish
Step2
the legal correlation between civil and
political rights, economic, social and cultural rights
and RTD; Link to treaty & trade law
• draft “Operational Guidelines for Implementing the
Step3
Step4
Declaration on the Right to Development”( subjects, objects,
content and approaches of its implementation)
• improve
and integrate existed mechanisms on the
international, regional and national level
• lead
to a Convention on the Right to
Step5 Development
Thanks!