OHCHR

UNITED NATIONS
 OHCHR

Human Rights
and Poverty Reduction
A Conceptual Framework

United Nations
New York and Geneva, 2004
NOTE

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this

publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the
part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of
any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

*
* *
Material contained in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted,
provided credit is given and a copy of the publication containing the
reprinted material is sent to the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

HR/PUB/04/1
FOREWORD

Human rights may seem distant ideals if your family is starving, if you can-
not protect yourself or them from preventable illnesses or provide your
children with basic education. Yet it is in circumstances of crisis and ex-
treme deprivation that human rights assume their greatest importance.

The recognition that the way poor people are forced to live often vio-
lates their human rights – or that promoting human rights could alleviate
poverty – was a long time in coming. Now a human rights approach to
poverty reduction is increasingly being recognized internationally and is
gradually being implemented. This essay is intended to lay out the basic
parameters of such an approach. It is my privilege to introduce it both
to general readers and to those whose own work towards eliminating
poverty might benefit.

What is a human rights approach to poverty reduction? It links poverty

reduction to questions of obligation, rather than welfare or charity. It com-
pels us to look behind national averages and identify the most vulnerable
people – and design strategies to help them.

A human rights approach is grounded in the United Nations Charter,

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and binding provisions of human
rights treaties. Moreover it sharpens the moral basis of the work
carried out by economists and other policy-makers, directing their at-
tention to the most deprived and excluded, especially those excluded by
discrimination. It describes how a political voice for all people and access
to information are integral to development. Informed and meaningful par-
ticipation in development is a matter of right rather than privilege.

The Conceptual Framework presents a clear vision of a human rights

approach to poverty reduction, a vision that explicitly encompasses
accountability and empowering people as actors for their own develop-
ment.

iii
 The challenge for all of us is to ensure that this vision is brought down to
those who decide on law and policy, and also to the grass roots, where
the realities of exclusion and discrimination are experienced most acutely.
For those of us within the United Nations system, the challenge of imple-
mentation must be seen in the light of the Secretary-General’s 2002 pro-
gramme of reform, strengthening human rights at country level through
the work of United Nations Country Teams.

I thank Professors Paul Hunt, Manfred Nowak and Siddiq Osmani for
their excellent work, and share their hope that its practical effect will meet
their ambitions.

Bertrand Ramcharan
United Nations Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights
December 2003

iv
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

1. THE CONCEPT OF POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS 5

The need for an appropriate concept of poverty 5

The capability approach to poverty 6
Poverty and human rights 9

2. THE MAIN FEATURES OF A HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH

TO POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES 13

Empowering the poor 13

Explicit recognition of the international human rights 14
normative framework
Accountability 15
Non-discrimination and equality 17
Participation 18
Other human rights of particular importance 20
to poverty reduction strategies
Progressive realization, indicators and benchmarks 22
Core obligations and the international minimum threshold 26
International assistance and cooperation 27
Other conceptual developments 30

CONCLUSION 33

ANNEX 35

Project for the development of draft guidelines for the integration

of human rights into poverty reduction strategies

v
 ABBREVIATIONS

CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

against Women

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child

ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

ICERD International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Racial Discrimination

ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MWC International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of

All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Rights

PRS/PRSs Poverty reduction strategy/Poverty reduction strategies

TNCs Transnational corporations

vi
INTRODUCTION

In 2001, the Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights requested the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to develop draft guidelines on
a human rights approach to poverty reduction strategies.1 As a first step,
three experts, Professors Paul Hunt, Manfred Nowak and Siddiq Osmani,
prepared a discussion paper that identifies some of the key conceptual
and practical issues that arise from the integration of human rights into
poverty reduction strategies. The present publication is a revised version
of the discussion paper.

Following the Secretary-General’s reforms of 1997, a major task for the

United Nations, and in particular the OHCHR, is to integrate human rights
into all of the Organization’s work, including the overarching development
objective of poverty eradication.

In recent years, international human rights norms have acquired a high

level of global legitimacy for three interrelated reasons. First, it is com-
monly recognized that human rights derive from “the dignity and worth
of the human person” 2 which lends them considerable moral authority.
Second, human rights instruments are widely endorsed in each region
of the world: all States affirm the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
while almost 150 States have ratified the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC) has secured almost universal ratification: only
two States have yet to ratify this wide-ranging human rights treaty. Third,
all States have chosen to ratify at least one human rights treaty; conse-
quently, they all have some international legal obligations, binding under
the law of treaties, in relation to human rights.3

One of the most distinctive features of a human rights approach to poverty

reduction is that it is explicitly based upon the norms and values set out in
the international law of human rights. All policies are imbued with norms
or values, just as all institutions operate within a normative framework.

1
See annex.
2
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, preamble.
3
The global legitimacy of international human rights norms was reaffirmed by the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action adopted unanimously by representatives of all
171 States attending the World Conference on Human Rights (14-25 June 1993).

1
 Whether explicit or implicit, norms and values shape policies and institu-
tions. A human rights approach is explicit about its normative framework:
international human rights. Underpinned by universally recognized moral
values and reinforced by legal obligations, international human rights
provide a compelling normative
framework for the formulation of
“Underpinned by universally recognized national and international poli-
moral values and reinforced by legal cies, including poverty reduction
obligations, international human rights strategies (PRSs).
provide a compelling normative frame- Many existing PRSs already have
work for the formulation of national and features that reflect international
international policies, including poverty human rights norms.4 The em-
reduction strategies.” phasis placed on civil society
participation reflects the right of
individuals to take part in the
conduct of public affairs, as well as the related rights of association, as-
sembly and expression. The introduction of social safety nets resonates
with the rights to a reasonable standard of living, food, housing, health
protection, education and social security. Anti-poverty strategies that
demand transparent budgetary and other governmental processes are
consistent with the right to information, while the insistence that strate-
gies be “country-owned” corresponds with the right of peoples to self-
determination.

This congruence between features of many existing PRSs and interna-

tional human rights gives rise to two crucial points. First, the departure
represented by the introduction of a human rights approach to poverty
reduction should not be overstated. Second, the considered and con-
sistent application of human rights to poverty reduction reinforces some
of the existing features of anti-poverty strategies. Hence the view of the
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: “Anti-poverty poli-
cies are more likely to be effective, sustainable, inclusive, equitable and
meaningful to those living in poverty if they are based upon international
human rights.” 5

4
For an overall view of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process, see
International Monetary Fund and International Development Association, Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers – Progress in Implementation, September 2003, 67 p., available at
https://poverty.worldbank.org/files/091503.pdf.
5
Poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: statement
adopted on 4 May 2001 by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(E/C.12/2001/10), para. 13.

2
There is a perception in some quarters that the inclusion of too many is-
sues in PRSs will serve only to overload the process, cause priorities to
become diffuse and render the exercise ineffective. This may be a prob-
lem where there is not a close nexus between a particular issue and pov-
erty. But this is not a difficulty in the context of human rights and poverty
because of the striking congruence between the concerns of the poor
and key features of international human rights - an issue that is explored
further in chapter 2. Indeed, one of the central themes of this paper is that
poverty reduction and human
rights are not two projects,
but two mutually reinforc- “...[P]overty reduction and human rights
ing approaches to the same are not two projects, but two mutually
project. reinforcing approaches to the same
project.”
Poverty is a specific, local,
contextual experience. As
Voices of the Poor: Can Anyone Hear Us?, the compelling World Bank
study, puts it: “Poverty is experienced at the local level, in a specific
context, in a specific place, in a specific interaction.” 6 Mindful of this, in-
ternational human rights law provides a framework within which detailed
national and community-level PRSs can be constructed. The application
of this normative framework helps to ensure that essential elements of
PRSs, such as accountability, equality and non-discrimination, participa-
tion and empowerment, receive the sustained attention they deserve.
But, for the most part, international human rights law does not – and can-
not – provide detailed prescriptions for action. Building on the normative
foundation established by international human rights, detailed anti-pov-
erty programmes must be developed, through participatory processes,
at the national and local levels.

After these introductory remarks, chapter 1 explores the definition of

poverty and suggests that Amartya Sen’s “capability approach” to pov-
erty provides a conceptual bridge between the discourses on poverty
and human rights. Having established this conceptual common ground,
chapter 2 outlines the main features of a human rights approach to pov-
erty reduction. This includes empowerment and participation; recognition
of the national and international human rights framework; accountability;
non-discrimination and equality; and progressive realization.

6
D. Narayan with R. Patel, K. Schafft, A. Rademacher and S. Koch-Schulte, Voices of the
Poor. Volume 1 - Can Anyone Hear Us?, New York, published for the World Bank by Oxford
University Press, 2000, p. 230.

3
4
1. THE CONCEPT OF POVERTY
AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The need for an appropriate concept of poverty

In trying to incorporate the human rights perspective into the strategy
for poverty reduction, it is first necessary to address a basic conceptual
issue: How can we think of poverty in a way that is most appropriate for
a human rights approach? There is an emerging view that poverty con-
stitutes a denial or non-fulfilment of human rights. But does this mean
that poverty is the same thing as non-fulfilment of human rights in general
– i.e. does the non-fulfilment of any kind of human rights constitute pov-
erty? Or should only certain kinds of human rights matter in the context of
poverty? If so, how are we to decide which ones, and can the discourse
on poverty be indifferent to the rest? These are the kinds of question that
need to be addressed.

The simplest approach to take would be the all-embracing one – i.e.

to define poverty as non-fulfilment of any kind of human right. This ap-
proach would obliterate any conceptual distinction between poverty and
non-fulfilment of human rights by definition, but it would not be appropri-
ate to do so. For it would clearly be odd to characterize certain cases
of non-fulfilment of rights as poverty, no matter how deplorable those
cases may be. For instance, if a tyrant denies his political opponent the
right to speak freely, that by itself would not make the latter poor in any
plausible sense. Certainly a deprivation has occurred in this case, but it
seems implausible to characterize this deprivation as poverty. The reason
it seems implausible is that when viewed as a social problem, and in the
context of practical policy-making, the concept of poverty has acquired
a specific connotation that ties it closely with lack of command over eco-
nomic resources.7

Of course, in our day-to-day life, we tend to use the word “poor” in many
diverse ways. For example, we might refer to the “poor chap” who has
narrowly missed a lottery jackpot, or to the “poor old man” who has no
heir to whom to bequeath his vast wealth, and so on. The common
element in all these cases is some kind of deprivation that evokes the

7
That is why Amartya Sen, who has done more than anyone else to broaden the concept
of poverty, insists that “there are some clear associations that constrain the nature of the
concept, and we are not entirely free to characterize poverty in any way we like.” See,
A. Sen, Inequality Re-examined, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1992, p. 107.

5
 description “poor”. However, when poverty is discussed as a social
problem, the concept has a much more restricted domain because of its
well-established link with deprivation caused by economic constraints.
We cannot deny this link. 8

These considerations suggest that we need a definition of poverty that

refers to the non-fulfilment of human rights, but without delinking it from
the constraint of economic resources. It is argued below that Amartya
Sen’s “capability approach” provides a concept of poverty that satisfies
these twin requirements. The capability approach has already inspired
a significant broadening of the concept of poverty – replacing a narrow
focus on low income with a multidimensional view of poverty. Most of
the current discussions of poverty in academic circles, as well as in in-
ternational organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations
agencies that deal with poverty, draw upon this approach either explicitly
or implicitly. As a rule, these discussions do not use the language of
rights. But a little reflection shows that there exists a natural transition
from capabilities to rights. Most human rights are concerned with the
human person’s rights to certain fundamental freedoms, including the
freedoms from hunger, disease and illiteracy. The capability approach
requires that the goodness of social arrangements be judged in terms of
the flourishing of human freedoms. The focus on human freedom is thus
the common element that links the two approaches. Looking at poverty
from the perspective of capability should, therefore, provide a bridge for
crossing over from poverty to human rights.

The capability approach to poverty

Underlying the capability approach is a specific conception of what
constitutes human well-being. At a very basic level, well-being can be
thought of as the quality or the “well-ness” of a person’s being or living,
and living itself can be seen as consisting of a set of interrelated “func-
tionings” – the things that a person can do or be. The level of well-being
thus depends on the level of those functionings, i.e. how well a person
can do or be the things she has reasons to value – for example, to what
extent can she be free from hunger or take part in the life of a community,
and so on. The concept of “capability” refers to a person’s freedom or
opportunities to achieve well-being in this sense.

8
The implications of this link are explored more fully below.

6
To see the relevance of capability for understanding poverty, we may
begin by noting that the defining feature of a poor person is that she has
very restricted opportunities to pursue her well-being. Poverty can thus
be seen as low levels of capability, or, as Sen puts it, “the failure of basic
capabilities to reach certain
minimally acceptable levels”.9
A couple of properties of this “Poverty can ... be seen as low levels of
concept of poverty are worth capability, or, as Sen puts it, ‘the failure
noting. of basic capabilities to reach certain
minimally acceptable levels’.”
First, not all kinds of capabil-
ity failure would count as pov-
erty. Since poverty denotes an extreme form of deprivation, only those
capability failures would count as poverty that are deemed to be basic in
some order of priority. Different communities may of course have differ-
ent orders of priority and hence a different listing of what would qualify as
‘basic’ capabilities. To that extent, there is some degree of relativity in the
concept of poverty. But from empirical observation it is possible to iden-
tify certain basic capabilities that would be common to all – for example,
being adequately nourished, being adequately clothed and sheltered,
avoiding preventable morbidity, taking part in the life of a community, and
being able to appear in public with dignity.

Second, once poverty is seen to consist in the failure of a range of basic

capabilities, it immediately becomes a multidimensional concept. Poverty
can no longer be defined uni-dimensionally as lack of adequate income,
as has traditionally been done. In fact, in this conception inadequate in-
come ceases to be a dimension of poverty at all because income is not a
capability and hence not an aspect of well-being in itself, although it may
contribute to the achievement of capabilities.

It is nonetheless important to acknowledge that the concept of income

– more generally, command over economic resources – does play an
important role in defining poverty. The way it does so is not by adding a
dimension to poverty but by helping to distinguish the phenomenon of
poverty from a low level of well-being in general. This distinction is im-
portant because while poverty implies a low level of well-being, not every
case of a low level of well-being can be regarded as poverty. For exam-
ple, while the absence of the capability to live a healthy life is certainly a
case of a low level of well-being, the specific case of ill-health caused by a

9
A. Sen, op. cit., p. 109.

7
 genetic disorder (for which no remedy currently exists) will not in itself be
recognized as poverty;10 whereas ill-health caused by lack of access to
basic health-care resources will be. In general, for poverty to exist, lack of
command over economic resources must play a role in the causal chain
leading to a low level of well-being.

Several clarifications should, however, be made at this point so as to

avoid misunderstanding. First, while the concept of poverty does have
an irreducible economic connotation, the relevant concept here is not
low income but the broader concept of inadequate command over eco-
nomic resources, of which inadequate personal income is only one pos-
sible source. Other sources include insufficient command over publicly
provided goods and services, inadequate access to communally owned
and managed resources, inadequate command over resources that are
made available through formal and informal networks of mutual support,
and so on. If a person’s lack of command over any of these resources
plays a role in precipitating basic capability failures, she would be count-
ed as poor.

Second, the recognition that poverty has an irreducible economic conno-

tation does not necessarily imply the primacy of economic factors in the
causation of poverty. For example, when discrimination based on gender,
ethnicity or any other ground denies a person access to health-care re-
sources, the resulting ill-health is clearly a case of capability failure that
should count as poverty because the lack of access to resources has
played a role here. But causal primacy in this case lies in the sociocultural
practices as well as the political-legal frameworks that permit discrimi-
nation against particular individuals or groups; lack of command over
resources plays merely a mediating role. However, as argued before, the
existence of this mediating role is crucial in distinguishing poverty from a
low level of well-being in general.

Third, it is important to emphasize that even though the link with eco-
nomic resources must be maintained, this does not render the capability-
based concept of poverty equivalent to a uniformly low level of command
over economic resources. The two would be equivalent only if everyone
had the same capacity to convert resources into capabilities, but that is
not the case. For instance, people with different biological characteristics
may require different amounts of food and health care in order to acquire

10
Once ill-health has been caused by a genetic disorder, this may of course lead to a state
of poverty, for example by preventing the afflicted person from taking up any productive
activity, but the point is that ill-health in this case will have played an instrumental role in
causing poverty rather than constituting a dimension of poverty in its own right.

8
the same degree of freedom to live a healthy life. Similarly, people liv-
ing in different cultural environments might feel that they need different
amounts of clothing in order to have the capability to be clothed at a
minimally acceptable level. In other words, the degree of command over
resources that may be adequate for one person may not be adequate for
another. It would, therefore, be a mistake to define and measure poverty
in terms of a uniformly low level of command over economic resources,
when the fundamental concern is with a person’s capabilities.

Poverty and human rights

Freedom: the common denominator

The capability approach de- “The capability approach defines poverty

fines poverty as the absence as the absence or inadequate realization
or inadequate realization of
of certain basic freedoms, such as the
certain basic freedoms, such
as the freedoms to avoid freedoms to avoid hunger, disease,
hunger, disease, illiteracy, illiteracy, and so on. Freedom here is
and so on. Freedom here is conceived in a broad sense, to encompass
conceived in a broad sense, both positive and negative freedoms.”
to encompass both positive
and negative freedoms. Thus,
a person’s freedom to live a healthy life is contingent both on the require-
ment that no one obstructs her legitimate pursuit of good health – negative
freedom, and also on the so-
ciety’s success in creating an “The reason why the conception of
enabling environment in which poverty is concerned with basic freedoms
she can actually achieve good
health – positive freedom.11
is that these are recognized as being
fundamentally valuable for minimal human
The reason why the concep- dignity. But the concern for human dignity
tion of poverty is concerned also motivates the human rights approach,
with basic freedoms is that which postulates that people have
these are recognized as be-
inalienable rights to these freedoms.”
ing fundamentally valuable for
minimal human dignity. But
the concern for human dignity also motivates the human rights approach,
which postulates that people have inalienable rights to these freedoms. If

11
For more on the concept of freedom, see, among others, Isaiah Berlin, Four Essays on
Liberty, (2nd ed.), Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1969, and Amartya Sen, Development
as Freedom, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.

9
 someone has failed to acquire these freedoms, then obviously her rights
to these freedoms have not been realized. Therefore, poverty can be
defined equivalently as either the failure of basic freedoms – from the per-
spective of capabilities, or the non-fulfilment of rights to those freedoms
– from the perspective of human rights.

Using this conceptual equivalence between the perspectives of capabili-

ties and rights, we can now answer the question posed at the beginning:
Which cases of non-fulfilment of human rights would count as poverty,
when poverty is viewed from the perspective of human rights? Recalling
the features of the capability view of poverty discussed earlier, we can
now stipulate that non-fulfilment of human rights would count as poverty
when it meets the following two conditions:

• The human rights involved must be those that correspond to the

capabilities that are considered basic by a given society.

• Inadequate command over economic resources must play a role

in the causal chain leading to the non-fulfilment of human rights.

The relevance of all human rights

The idea that non-fulfilment of only certain kinds of human rights and not
others will count as poverty may seem to militate against the principle of
indivisibility of rights, which states that all human rights are equally impor-
tant. However, it does not.

The principle of the indivisibility of human rights does not mean that all
social phenomena must be defined by reference to all rights. The princi-
ple does not mean that torture, sexual stereotyping, or unfair trials must
be defined by reference to all the rights enumerated in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. On the contrary, a human rights definition
of these phenomena would certainly be confined to a limited range of
international human rights. However, a strategy to combat torture, sexual
stereotyping or unfair trials would have to address a much wider range of
rights than those by which these phenomena are defined. Thus, a human
rights definition of unfair trials would include article 14 of the ICCPR, but
it may exclude just and favourable conditions of work for judges (article 7
of the ICESCR). On the other hand, an effective strategy for tackling the
problem of unfair trials would not only include issues relating to ICCPR,
article 14, such as the presumption of innocence, but also the terms and
conditions of judges’ employment (ICESCR, article 7).

10
The same argument applies to poverty. The principle of the indivisibility of
human rights does not demand that poverty be defined by reference to
all the rights set out in the International Bill of Rights, but it does demand
an inclusive strategy for addressing poverty. The approach adopted in
this paper is perfectly consistent with this principle. While poverty may
be defined by reference to a limited range of human rights – which will
vary from one society to another, although empirical evidence suggests
some rights will be common to all – an effective anti-poverty strategy will
certainly have to address a much wider range of human rights. This is
because human rights can be relevant to poverty in multiple ways.

It is useful to distinguish three different ways in which human rights can

be relevant to poverty: constitutive relevance, instrumental relevance and
constraint-based relevance. If the non-fulfilment of a certain human right
meets the two conditions mentioned above, it can be said to have con-
stitutive relevance to poverty. But even when a right does not have con-
stitutive relevance in this sense, it may still be relevant to poverty for the
other two reasons. Instrumental relevance refers to the ability of certain
human rights to promote the cause of poverty reduction. Two different
types of instrumental relevance may be distinguished, viz. causative and
evaluative.

The causative relevance of some human rights is illustrated by the well-

known example provided by Amartya Sen in his pioneering work on fam-
ines. His analysis points to the empirical regularity that famines never oc-
cur in a functioning democracy with a reasonable degree of civil-political
freedom, especially with a relatively free media that is allowed to openly
criticize the powers of the day. The reason for this regularity lies in the
fact that democratically elected politicians cannot afford to be oblivious
to the hue and cry that a free media would raise in the event of a famine,
with the result that the Government tends to take appropriate preven-
tive measures before an impending famine has the chance to strike. Civil
and political rights thus play an important causative role in preventing
the worst manifestation of poverty associated with famines. Obviously,
however, the same causative relevance can also exist even in a situation
of less extreme but persistent poverty.

The idea of evaluative relevance stems from the observation that the
analysis of poverty requires social evaluation of various kinds. Recall,
for instance, the point made earlier that the characterization of poverty
calls for a prior judgement as to which capabilities are to count as
basic. In order to be ethically defensible, this judgement must be arrived
at through a process of social consultation in which people from all walks
of life are able to participate fully. But such participation is only possible

11
 when a wide range of human rights, including civil and political rights, is
respected. The fulfilment of these rights is, therefore, an essential precon-
dition for an ethically defensible evaluation of poverty. As such, all these
rights have evaluative relevance to poverty, even if they do not form part
of the definition of poverty.

The final way in which human rights can be relevant to poverty, even if
they are not part of the definition of poverty, is to act as a constraint on
the types of action that are permissible in the quest for reducing poverty.
For instance, while it is entirely
sensible that a highly populous
“[Human rights] act as a constraint on but resource-poor country
the types of action that are permissible would want to adopt measures
in the quest for reducing poverty.” for population control as part
of a strategy for poverty reduc-
tion, it would not be permissible
to adopt draconian measures such as forced sterilization that violate
people’s personal integrity and privacy. The general point is that the human
rights whose non-fulfilment is not in itself constitutive of poverty, and
whose promotion may not have instrumental value for reducing poverty
either, may still have a bearing on the nature and contents of a PRS by
ruling out certain types of action as impermissible.

To conclude, although only some human rights may form part of a human
rights definition of poverty, a much wider range of rights will be vital in
any discourse on poverty and indispensable in the formulation of PRSs.
It is on the basis of this fundamental proposition that the following sec-
tion delineates the main features of a rights-based approach to poverty
reduction.

12
2. THE MAIN FEATURES OF A HUMAN RIGHTS
APPROACH TO POVERTY REDUCTION
STRATEGIES

In the words of the Human Development Report 2000, “human rights and
human development are close enough in motivation and concern to be
congruous and compatible, and they are different enough in strategy and
design to supplement each other fruitfully”.12 While there is now a strong
consensus on the complementarities between human rights and pov-
erty, the consequences of such recognition are less understood. Does
the human rights regime bring something new to our effort to achieve
the overarching goal of poverty reduction? And what is the contribution
of human rights to the current worldwide endeavour to overcome the
scourge of poverty?

The following paragraphs make some remarks about the main features of
a human rights approach to poverty reduction.13 The features are identi-
fied separately; however, in practice, they are closely interrelated.

Empowering the poor

Fundamentally, a human rights approach to poverty is about the empow-
erment of the poor. One of the clearest and most persistent themes in the
series Voices of the Poor is the powerlessness of the poor.14 For example,
the second volume, Crying Out for Change, is organized around an exam-
ination of the “ten interlocking dimensions of powerlessness and ill-being
[that] emerge from poor people’s experiences”.15 Strikingly, it notes: “The
challenge for development professionals, and for policy and practice, is
to find ways to weaken the web of powerlessness and to enhance the
capabilities of poor women and men so that they can take more control

12
UNDP, Human Development Report 2000: Human Rights and Human Development,
p. 19.
13
See also UNDP, Poverty Reduction and Human Rights. A Practice Note, March 2003, pp. 4
and 5.
14
In this chapter, we rely upon the Voices of the Poor series because it is a contemporary,
comprehensive and graphic study of the multidimensional nature of poverty. There are other
poverty studies that support its analysis: see, for example, UNDP, Human Development
Report, 1997, and UNDP, Overcoming Human Poverty, 1998 and 2000.
15
Narayan et. al., Voices of the Poor. Vol. 2 – Crying Out for Change, New York, published for
the World Bank by Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 2.

13
 of their lives.” 16 The third volume, From Many Lands, concludes by raising
an important question: “How can societies be transformed so poor people
feel empowered to create lives of dignity, security, and well-being?” 17
A major contribution of a human
rights approach to poverty reduc-
“A major contribution of a human rights tion is the empowerment of poor
approach to poverty reduction is the people, expanding their freedom
empowerment of poor people, expand- of choice and action to structure
ing their freedom of choice and action their own lives.
to structure their own lives. ...[H]uman While the common theme under-
rights empower individuals and commu- lying poor people’s experiences
nities by granting them entitlements that is one of powerlessness, human
give rise to legal obligations on others.” rights empower individuals and
communities by granting them
entitlements that give rise to legal
obligations on others. Provided the poor are able to access and enjoy
them, human rights can help to equalize the distribution and exercise
of power both within and between societies. In short, human rights can
mitigate the powerlessness of the poor. To use the language from Crying
Out for Change, human rights provide one way of weakening “the web of
powerlessness” and enhancing “the capabilities of poor women and men
so that they can take more control of their lives”.18

Explicit recognition of the national and international human

rights normative framework
A human rights approach to poverty will include an explicit recognition of
the national and international human rights normative framework. Special
attention will be given to those treaties that a State has ratified for two
reasons: treaty ratification represents “country ownership” of the relevant
provisions and, second, a ratified treaty is legally binding on all branches
of Government. Careful attention will also be given to the commitments
entered into during the recent world conferences, so far as they bear

16
Ibid., p. 235. See also D. Narayan (ed.), Empowerment and poverty reduction.
A sourcebook, World Bank, 2002. This book gives the following definition of empowerment:
“Empowerment is the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in,
negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives”
(p. xviii).
17
Narayan et al., Voices of the Poor, Vol. 3 – From Many Lands, New York, published for the
World Bank by Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 493.
18
Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 235.

14
upon international human rights, such as the Rome Declaration on World
Food Security of 1996 and the Dakar Framework for Action adopted by
the World Education Forum in 2000, as well as the development goals set
out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000.

An explicit reference to the international human rights treaties that a State

has ratified serves to remind all parties that, when dealing with any Gov-
ernment, they are required, as a minimum, to avoid policies and practices
that make it more difficult for that Government to conform to treaty obli-
gations it owes to individuals and groups within its jurisdiction. Moreover,
all parties should use their best endeavours to help a Government realize
its international human rights treaty obligations.

Accountability
There is a growing consensus on the centrality of accountability in pov-
erty reduction and developmental strategies, and the need to broaden
its scope.19 Referring to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs),
James Wolfensohn recently said: “We now need to broaden this approach
further by including in it measurements of results and accountability for
performance by Governments, the international and bilateral institutions,
civil society, and the private sector so that we can track progress as we
go forward.” 20 Similarly, Mark Malloch Brown recently wrote: “Account-
ability in the use of funds and accountability to people’s needs are also
integral dimensions to pro-poor governance.” 21 While Mary Robinson re-
cently argued: “… [The] defining attribute of human rights in development
is the idea of accountability. … All partners in the development process
– local, national, regional and international – must accept higher levels of
accountability.” 22

As we have seen, the international normative framework empowers the

poor by granting them human rights and imposing legal obligations on
others. Critically, rights and obligations demand accountability: unless

19
S. Fukuda-Parr, C. Lopez and K. Malik (eds.), Capacity For Development. New Solutions to
Old Problems, Earthscan Publication Ltd. and UNDP, 2002, p. 17.
20
The challenges of globalization: the role of the World Bank, speech by James Wolfensohn,
2 April 2001.
21
UNDP, Overcoming Human Poverty, 2000, p. 5.
22
Bridging the gap between human rights and development: from normative principles to
operational relevance, lecture by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
at the World Bank, 3 December 2001. See https://www.ohchr.org.

15
 supported by a system of accountability, they can become no more than
window-dressing. Accordingly, the human rights approach to poverty re-
duction emphasizes obligations and requires that all duty-holders, includ-
ing States and intergovernmental
organizations, be held to account
“Critically, rights and obligations de- for their conduct in relation to in-
mand accountability: unless supported ternational human rights.
by a system of accountability, they can
become no more than window-dressing.” While duty-holders must de-
termine for themselves which
mechanisms of accountability
are most appropriate in their particular case, all mechanisms must be
accessible, transparent and effective.

There is an important difference between judicial and non-judicial mech-

anisms of accountability. In the context of PRSs, international human
rights law requires effective mechanisms of accountability, but it does not
require judicial mechanisms of accountability. In other words, while there
is a binding legal obligation to establish accountability mechanisms, they
need not necessarily involve the courts. For example, while the World
Bank Inspection Panel is a mechanism of accountability, it is not a judicial
mechanism.

Broadly speaking, there are four categories of accountability mechanism:

judicial (e.g. judicial review of executive acts and omissions), quasi-judicial
(e.g. ombudsmen, international human rights treaty bodies), administra-
tive (e.g. the preparation, publication and scrutiny of human rights impact
assessments) and political (e.g. through parliamentary processes).

In relation to a particular jurisdiction, there will be a range of account-

ability mechanisms regarding its national PRS. Just as the forms of ac-
countability mechanisms will vary from one jurisdiction to another, so
will the appropriate mix of mechanisms. In most jurisdictions, however,
there will be examples from each of the four categories of accountability
mechanism. For example, free and fair elections are an essential - but not
a sufficient - form of accountability.

In conclusion, regarding accountability and PRSs, there are three key

questions. First, in relation to a particular duty-holder, are there acces-
sible, transparent and effective mechanisms of accountability? Second,
looking at the jurisdiction as a whole, are there accessible, transparent
and effective mechanisms of accountability within that jurisdiction? Third,
are the mechanisms of accountability accessible to the poor?

16
Non-discrimination and equality
It is well documented that the poor frequently experience social exclusion,
isolation, alienation, discrimination and inequality.23 This feeling of being
looked down upon often arises from a combination of economic depriva-
tion and sociocultural factors, such as ethnicity, colour, religion, social
hierarchy and gender. Poverty not only arises from a lack of resources – it
may also arise from a lack of access to resources, information, opportuni-
ties, power and mobility. As the United Nations Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights observes: “Sometimes poverty arises when
people have no access to existing resources because of who they are,
what they believe or where they live. Discrimination may cause poverty,
just as poverty may cause discrimination.” 24

The twin principles of non-discrimination and equality are among the

most fundamental elements of international human rights law. They are
enumerated and elaborated in numerous international instruments, not
least the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICESCR, ICCPR, CRC,
the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the International Conven-
tion on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of Their Families (MWC). Recognizing the fundamental importance of
these twin principles, the international community has established two
treaty bodies – under ICERD and CEDAW – that are devoted exclusively
to the promotion and protection of non-discrimination and equality. The
principles, however, are also integral to the work of the other United
Nations human rights treaty bodies.

In short, the international human rights normative framework has a par-

ticular pre-occupation with individuals and groups who are vulnerable,
marginal, disadvantaged or socially excluded. Thus, the integration of
human rights into PRSs helps to ensure that the relevant measures give
proper attention to (a) those sectors (e.g. health) and subsectors (e.g.
primary health care) that have particular relevance to pro-poor policies
and (b) the particular situation of vulnerable, marginal, disadvantaged and
socially excluded individuals and groups.

23
See, for example, Narayan et al., Voices of the Poor, Vol. 2 – Crying Out for Change, chap. 7,
“Social Ill-being: Left Out and Pushed Down”.
24
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, op. cit. at note 5, para. 11.

17
 Because of the special attention it has devoted to these issues over many
years, including the systematic consideration of hundreds of reports from
States on their relevant law and practice, the international human rights
system has considerable experi-
ence regarding policy measures
“[The] international human rights that impact on discrimination and
system has considerable experience inequality. This experience con-
regarding policy measures that impact firms the many forms that discrim-
on discrimination and inequality. This ination and inequality may take.25
experience confirms the many forms They may arise from express legal
that discrimination and inequality may inequalities in status and entitle-
take. They may arise from express legal ments; from policies that are blind
to the needs of particular people;
inequalities in status and entitlements; or from social values that shape
from policies that are blind to the needs relationships within households
of particular people; or from social and communities. The human
values that shape relationships within rights experience also confirms
households and communities. The the importance of looking at ef-
human rights experience also confirms fects, not intentions. For example,
the importance of looking at effects, not if the effect of a policy regime is
intentions.” to impoverish disproportionately
women, indigenous peoples or
any other group that is protected
by one of the internationally prohibited grounds of discrimination, it is prima
facie discriminatory, even if the policy-makers had no intention of discrimi-
nating against the group in question.

In conclusion, the integration of human rights into anti-poverty strategies

helps to ensure that vulnerable individuals and groups are treated on a
non-discriminatory and equal basis and are not neglected. The human
rights experience also provides numerous valuable insights regarding the
efficacy of anti-discrimination and equality laws, policies and practices.

Participation
A human rights approach to poverty also requires the active and informed
participation of the poor in the formulation, implementation and monitor-
ing of PRSs. The right to participation is a crucial and complex human
right that is inextricably linked to fundamental democratic principles.
25
Donors’ studies tend to endorse the experience and insights of the United Nations
human rights system: to give just one example, see Realising Human Rights for Poor
People, United Kingdom Department for International Development, 2000, available at
https://www.dfid.gov.uk/Pubs/files/tsp_human.pdf.

18
The international human rights normative framework includes the right to
take part in the conduct of public affairs.26 Although free and fair elections
are a crucial component of the right to participate, they are not enough to
ensure that those living in poverty enjoy the right to participate in key de-
cisions affecting their lives. Specific mechanisms and detailed arrange-
ments for the enjoyment of the right to participate will vary greatly from
one context to another: one size does not fit all. It must be recognized
that some traditional elites are likely to resist the active and informed
participation of the poor in decision-making. The active and informed
participation of the poor in the formulation of PRSs cannot be hurried
– inevitably, it will take time.

The Voices of the Poor project highlights the importance to the poor of
the right to participate. As Crying Out for Change observes: “The poor
want desperately to have their voices heard, to make decisions, and not
to always receive the law
handed down from above.
They are tired of being asked “The enjoyment of the right to participate
to participate in government is deeply dependent on the realization of
projects with low or no re- other human rights. For example, if the
turns.” 27 The “right to partici- poor are to participate meaningfully in
pate,” it concludes, “must be PRSs, they must be free to organize without
enshrined in law”.28
restriction (right of association), to meet
The enjoyment of the right without impediment (right of assembly), and
to participate is deeply de- to say what they want without intimidation
pendent on the realization (freedom of expression); they must know
of other human rights. For the relevant facts (right to information)
example, if the poor are to
and they must enjoy an elementary level
participate meaningfully in
PRSs, they must be free to of economic security and well-being (right
organize without restriction to a reasonable standard of living and
(right of association), to meet associated rights).”
without impediment (right of
assembly), and to say what
they want without intimidation (freedom of expression); they must know
the relevant facts (right to information) and they must enjoy an elementary
level of economic security and well-being (right to a reasonable standard

26
See, for example, article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 25 of
ICCPR and article 13, paragraph 1 of ICESCR.
27
Narayan et al., Voices of the Poor, Vol. 2 – Crying Out for Change, p. 281.
28
Ibid., p. 282.

19
 of living and associated rights). Thus, without parallel arrangements to
realize these other rights, the poor cannot participate, in an active and
informed manner, in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of
PRSs.29

Other human rights of particular importance to poverty

reduction strategies
As discussed in chapter 1, while the definition of poverty might not ex-
tend to all human rights, effective PRSs will bear upon a wider range of
rights.

As its opening words remark, Crying Out for Change “is based on the
realities of poor people”.30 In the following paragraphs, a few of the key
concerns of poor people are identified and reference is made to some of
the international human rights that closely correspond to these concerns.
Crucially, this correspondence confirms that attention to international
human rights will help to ensure that the key concerns – or “realities” – of
poor people become, and remain, the key concerns of PRSs.

As is well known and confirmed by numerous poverty studies, the re-

alities of poor people include precarious and inadequate livelihoods,
incapacitating hunger, unsanitary or non-existent housing, dangerous
environments, unaffordable medical care and inaccessible education.
As the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights remarks, the
“rights to work, an adequate standard of living, housing, food, health and
education… lie at the heart of the Covenant [and] have a direct and im-
mediate bearing upon the eradication of poverty”.31

It is less often recognized that the poor also suffer from a lack of information:
“Over and over again, poor people mention their isolation from information;
information about programs of assistance, their rights, job contacts, how
banks work; government plans that affect their lives directly – for example,
plans to move people from an embankment; prices; NGO, village govern-
ment and local government activities.” 32 Thus, the right to information of
the poor should constitute an important feature of any PRSs.

29
This analysis also resonates with Crying Out for Change. As the authors put it, the right
to participate “has to include rules about public disclosure of information; freedom of
association, speech and the press; [and] freedom to form organisations” (p. 282).
30
Ibid., p. 1.
31
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, op. cit. at note 5, para. 1.
32
Narayan et al., Voices of the Poor, Vol. 2 – Crying Out for Change, p. 274.

20
Poverty studies also show that: “Organizations of poor people at the local
level are critical if they are to influence decision-making at the local, na-
tional or global levels.” 33 Accordingly, the right of association of the poor
is essential to combat poverty.

According to Crying Out for Change: “Perhaps one of the most striking
revelations of the study is the extent to which the police and official justice
systems side with the rich, persecute poor people and make poor people
more insecure, fearful and poorer. Particularly in urban areas, poor people
perceive the police not as upholding justice, peace and fairness, but as
threats and sources of insecurity. Women report feeling vulnerable to
sexual assault by police, and young men say that they have been beaten
up by the police without cause.” 34

Others might be given, but these brief illustrations are sufficient to show
the close correspondence between “the realities of poor people” and the
international human rights normative framework. Not only will attention
to human rights help to ensure that the key concerns of poor people
become, and remain, the key concerns of PRSs, but the integration of
human rights into PRSs introduces the concepts and methods identified
in this paper, such as a preoccupation with:

• specific norms and defined standards;

• accessible mechanisms of accountability;
• the informed and active participation of the poor;
• the well-being of especially vulnerable groups;
• the identification of immediate, intermediate and long-term targets;
and
• effective monitoring methods, i.e. indicators and benchmarks.

33
Ibid., p. 281.
34
Ibid., p. 163. This raises a number of human rights issues, such as the right to equal access
to justice, the right to privacy and the right to personal security.

21
 “[The] contours and contents of interna- In this context, it should be em-
tional human rights have become clearer in phasized that the contours and
recent years.... [The] various human rights contents of international human
rights have become clearer in
that bear upon the key concerns and ‘reali-
recent years. The international
ties of poor people’ are now understood with community now has a detailed
sufficient normative precision to permit them normative understanding of
to inform, reinforce and enhance PRSs.” many human rights. Of course,
some rights are better under-
stood than others. For instance,
the scope of the right to education is clearer than the right to social secu-
rity. It is not proposed in this paper to enter into a detailed jurisprudential
analysis of specific human rights. It should be understood, however, that
the various human rights that bear upon the key concerns and “realities
of poor people” are now understood with sufficient normative precision
to permit them to inform, reinforce and enhance PRSs.

Progressive realization, indicators and benchmarks

While the human rights approach imposes an obligation on duty-holders
to work towards poverty reduction, it does not make the unreasonable
demand that all human rights
must be realized immediately.
“The international code of human rights The international code of human
recognizes that many human rights will be rights recognizes that many
realized progressively and are subject to human rights will be realized
the availability of resources.” progressively and are subject to
the availability of resources. Ac-
cordingly, the precise obligations
arising from some human rights vary over time in relation to the same
State (progressive realization) and from one State to another (because of
differing resource availability).

The idea of progressive realization has two major strategic implications.

First, it allows for a time dimension in the strategy for human rights ful-
filment by recognizing that full realization of human rights may have to
occur in a progressive manner over a period of time. Second, it allows
for setting priorities among different rights at any point in time since the
constraint of resources may not permit a strategy to pursue all rights si-
multaneously with equal vigour.

The recognition of a time dimension and the need for prioritization are
common features of all approaches to policy-making. The distinctiveness

22
of the human rights approach “The idea of progressive realization has
is that it imposes certain two major strategic implications. First, it
conditions on these features, allows for a time dimension in the strategy
so that the pursuit of human for human rights fulfilment by recognizing
rights is not reduced to mere that full realization of human rights may
rhetoric in the name of pro-
gressive realization.
have to occur in a progressive manner
over a period of time. Second, it allows for
The recognition of a time setting priorities among different rights
dimension is accompanied at any point in time since the constraint
by certain conditions aimed of resources may not permit a strategy
at ensuring that the State
to pursue all rights simultaneously with
does not take it as a licence
either to defer or to relax equal vigour. The recognition of a time
the efforts needed to realize dimension and the need for prioritization
human rights. In particular, are common features of all approaches to
the State is required to do the policy-making. The distinctiveness of the
following. human rights approach is that it imposes
First, the State must acknowl-
certain conditions on these features, so that
edge that, with a serious the pursuit of human rights is not reduced
commitment to poverty to mere rhetoric in the name of progressive
reduction, it may be possible realization.”
to make rapid progress to-
wards the realization of many
human rights even within the existing resource constraints. This will often
be true of “respect” obligations with regard to most rights, which require
political will more than economic resources.35 Even for “protect” and “ful-
fil” obligations, which would typically be more dependent on resources,36
it may be possible to make rapid progress by improving the efficiency of
resource use – for example, by scaling down expenditure on unproduc-
tive activities and by reducing spending on activities whose benefit goes
disproportionately to the rich.

Second, to the extent that the realization of human rights may be con-
tingent on a gradual expansion in the availability of resources, the State
must begin immediately to take steps to fulfil the rights as expeditiously
as possible by developing and implementing a time-bound plan of action.
The plan must spell out when and how the State hopes to arrive at the
realization of rights.

35
For an explanation of the requirements to ‘respect, protect and fulfil’ human rights
obligations, see note 47 below and accompanying text.
36
Ibid.

23
 Third, the plan must include a series of intermediate – preferably annual
– targets. As the realization of human rights may take some considerable
time, possibly extending well beyond the immediate term of a Govern-
ment in power, it is with regard to these intermediate targets (or bench-
marks), rather than the final target of full realization, that the State will
have to be held accountable.

Fourth, as a prerequisite for setting targets, the State will have to identify
some indicators in terms of which targets will be set. In practice, a bundle
of indicators will be needed for each human right and they should be
specified separately, and be as disaggregated as possible, for each sub-
group of the poor population. Realistic time-bound targets will have to be
set in relation to each indicator so as to serve as benchmarks.

With regard to prioritization, the human rights approach does not in itself
offer any hard and fast rule, but it does impose certain conditions on the
process and substance of prioritization.

The process of setting priorities must involve the effective participation of

all stakeholders, including the poor. Value judgements will inevitably enter
the process of setting priorities, but the rights-based approach demands
that they should do so in an inclusive and equitable manner. This implies
that the process of resource allocation must permit all segments of soci-
ety, especially the poor, to express their value judgements with regard to
priorities. It also implies that just institutional mechanisms must be put in
place so that potentially conflicting value judgements can be reconciled
in a fair and equitable manner.

The substance of prioritization must be guided by the following principles.

First, no human right can be given precedence over others on the ground
of intrinsic merit, because from the human rights perspective all rights
are equally valuable. However, different rights can still be given priority
at different stages of progressive realization on practical grounds. For
example, a country may decide
“[W]hile allocating more resources to the to give priority to a right that has re-
rights that have been accorded priority mained especially under-realized
compared with others, to a right
at any given point in time, care must be whose fulfilment is expected to
taken to ensure that the level of realization act as a catalyst towards the
of the rest of the rights is maintained. fulfilment of other rights, or to a
This restriction follows from the principle right which a country may feel
of non-retrogression of rights – no right especially well equipped to deal
can be deliberately allowed to suffer an with first in view of its tradition,
absolute decline in its level of realization.” experience and so on.

24
Second, while allocating more resources to the rights that have been ac-
corded priority at any given point in time, care must be taken to ensure that
the level of realization of the rest of the rights is maintained. This restriction
follows from the principle of non-retrogression of rights – no right can be
deliberately allowed to suffer an absolute decline in its level of realization.

Third, notwithstanding the recognition of resource constraints, the in-

ternational human rights system specifies some core obligations that
require States to ensure, with immediate effect, certain minimum levels
of enjoyment of various human rights. For example, a State has a core
obligation, derived from the rights to life, adequate food and health, to
ensure that all individuals within its jurisdiction are free from starvation.
These core obligations must be treated as binding constraints – i.e. no
trade-offs are permitted with regard to them.

In the context of international human rights, progressive realization re-

quires the use of human rights targets, indicators and benchmarks. Brief-
ly, a bundle of disaggregated indicators will be identified for each human
right. Realistic time-bound national benchmarks (or targets) will be set
in relation to each indicator; consistent with their right to participate, the
poor should participate in the identification of these benchmarks. If there
are 10 right-to-health indicators, then 10 right-to-health benchmarks will
be set in relation to a particular State. Over time, the right to health in that
State will be monitored by reference to those national benchmarks. As
the benchmarks are achieved, more ambitious ones will be set. In this
way, the progressive realization of the right to health is measured and
monitored.

Importantly, the progressive realization of human rights and PRSs de-

mands effective monitoring by way of targets, indicators and national
benchmarks. Furthermore, indicators and benchmarks are an essential
precondition for another vital feature of a human rights approach to
poverty reduction: effective accountability (discussed above). Finally, it
should be noted that the concept of progressive realization, which is an
integral component of many human rights, indicates that the non-fulfil-
ment of a human right does
not necessarily mean that a “Provided a State is taking all reasonable
State has failed to comply measures towards the realization of those
with its international human
rights obligations. Provided a
rights that are subject to progressive
State is taking all reasonable realization – and provided it is in conformity
measures towards the reali- with its core obligations – the State will be
zation of those rights that are in compliance with its obligations under
subject to progressive realiza- international human rights law.”

25
 tion – and provided it is in conformity with its core obligations – the State
will be in compliance with its obligations under international human rights
law. We briefly consider these issues further in the next paragraphs.

Core obligations and the international minimum threshold

Despite the concepts of progressive realization and resource availability,
according to international human rights law, States have some obliga-
tions that are of immediate effect. For example, they are under an imme-
diate obligation to take at least some steps towards the realization of the
rights: “Such steps must be deliberate, concrete and targeted towards
the full realization” of the rights
in question.37 In other words, it
“Despite the concepts of progressive realiza- is impermissible for a State to
tion and resource availability, according to use progressive realization and
international human rights law, States have resource availability as an excuse
some obligations that are of immediate effect for doing nothing.
...[and] a core obligation to ensure at least the Further, despite the flexibility ac-
minimum essential levels of various rights, corded by the acknowledgement
including the rights to adequate food and of progressive realization and
housing, health protection and education.” resource availability, States have a
core obligation to ensure at least
the minimum essential levels of
various rights, including the rights to adequate food and housing, health pro-
tection and education.38 Although akin to the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) adopted by the General Assembly in 2000, core obligations can be
defined with greater precision. Also, while most MDGs have the distant time-
frame of 2015, core obligations require more immediate targets to be set.

Core obligations have a crucial role to play in relation to anti-poverty strate-

gies in two respects. First, as a State prepares its PRS, the core obliga-
tions provide the basic normative framework around which the strategy
should be designed. If a strategy does not reflect these core obligations,
it is inconsistent with the State’s legally binding obligations. Second, when
grouped together, the core obligations of different human rights establish
an international minimum threshold that all strategies should be designed
to respect. Significantly, it is incumbent on all those in a position to assist

37
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment no. 14 (right to
health), para. 30.
38
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment no. 3 (nature of
States parties’ obligations), no. 12 (right to adequate food), no. 13 (right to education) and
no. 14 (right to health).

26
(e.g. developed States and international organizations) to provide interna-
tional assistance and cooperation to enable developing states to fulfil their
core obligations and reach the international minimum threshold.39

In conclusion, we observe that the integration of human rights into PRSs

requires clarification of the core obligations – and therefore the interna-
tional minimum threshold – arising from those rights that are subject to
progressive realization.

International assistance and cooperation

The United Nations Millennium Declaration 40 repeatedly affirms the twin
principles of global equity and shared responsibility. For example: “Global
challenges must be managed in a way that distributes the costs and bur-
dens fairly in accordance with basic principles of equity and social justice.
Those who suffer or who benefit least deserve help from those who benefit
most.” The Declaration emphasizes: “We will spare no effort to free our
fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing
conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are
currently subjected.” And it adds: “We resolve therefore to create an en-
vironment – at the national and global levels alike – which is conducive
to development and to the elimination of poverty.” One of the Millennium
Development Goals is to “develop a global partnership for development”.

According to article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights
and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.” The
Declaration on the Right to Development is animated by a similar con-
viction: “States have the duty to cooperate with each other in ensuring
development and eliminating obstacles to development”. 41 Moreover, the
concept of a duty of international cooperation finds expression in binding
international human rights treaties, including ICESCR and CRC.42

There is now universal recognition that effective poverty reduction demands

international action. As the UNDP Human Development Report 2000 puts
it: “Human rights and human development cannot be realized universally

39
For example, see General Comment no.14 (right to health), para. 45; also the Committee’s
statement on poverty, op. cit. at note 5 above, paras. 15-18.
40
General Assembly resolution 55/2 of 8 September 2000.
41
General Assembly resolution 14/128 of 4 December 1986, article 3, para. 3.
42
Articles 2, para. 1, 11, para. 2, 15, para. 4, 22 and 23 ICESCR, and articles 4, 17(b), 24,
para. 4 and 28, para. 3 CRC.

27
 without stronger international action, especially to support disadvantaged
people and countries to offset growing global inequalities and marginaliza-
tion.” 43 It continues: “Aid, debt relief, access to markets, access to private
financial flows and stability in the global economy are all needed for the full
realization of rights in the poorest and least developed countries.”

The World Bank’s World Development Report 2000-2001 makes the

point in similar terms: “There are many areas that require international
action – especially by industrial countries – to ensure gains to poor coun-
tries and to poor people within the developing world. An increased focus
on debt relief and the associated move to make development coopera-
tion through aid more effective are part of the story. Of equal importance
are actions in other areas – trade, vaccines, closing the digital and
knowledge divides – that can enhance the opportunity, empowerment,
and security of poor people.” 44

In these circumstances, all States should adopt an international PRS.

Thus, a developed State should not only formulate a PRS in relation to
poverty within its domestic jurisdiction, it should also have a strategy
for poverty reduction beyond its borders. Equally, the national PRS of
a developing State is incomplete
without a chapter on the inter-
“International assistance and coopera- national measures it will take to
tion also include the obligation to work enhance its national strategy.
actively towards an equitable multilateral
trade, investment and financial system Before making some preliminary
that is conducive to the reduction and observations on these issues, a
key point of general application
elimination of poverty.”
is that international cooperation
is not just about technical and
financial assistance. International assistance and cooperation also include
the obligation to work actively towards an equitable multilateral trade,
investment and financial system that is conducive to the reduction and
elimination of poverty. We observe, too, that the ideas briefly set out in
the following paragraphs resonate with the idea of a “development com-
pact”, which is currently being discussed in the context of international
cooperation for development.

43
UNDP, op. cit. at note 12, p. 12.
44
World Bank, World Development Report 2000-2001: Attacking Poverty, p. 11.

28
Developed States

When formulating their international PRSs, developed States should:

(a) Take into account their international human rights duties to engage
in international assistance and cooperation, their commitments en-
tered into during recent world conferences and the MDGs;

(b) Take measures to ensure the coherent and consistent application of

these obligations across their international policy-making processes.
For example, the State’s duties of international cooperation should
be understood and respected by those responsible for foreign af-
fairs, those in finance and trade who represent the State in interna-
tional negotiations on those issues, and State representatives who
are responsible for the policies and projects of the Bretton Woods
institutions;

(c) Ensure that, in accordance with the United Nations target, their
development assistance is no less than 0.7 per cent of GDP; they
should also carefully examine the quality of their development assist-
ance, support human rights-related development projects and help
developing States fulfil their core obligations and reach the interna-
tional minimum threshold;

(d) Ensure that the commercial activities for which a State has direct
responsibility, such as Export Credit Agencies (government agen-
cies that give financial guarantees to companies operating abroad),
conform to international human rights standards;

(e) Take reasonable measures to ensure that the overseas operations of

companies headquartered in their jurisdiction are respectful of the in-
ternational human rights obligations of both the home and host State.

Developing States

As the World Bank’s World Development Report 2000-2001 observes:

“Poor people and poor countries should have greater voice in interna-
tional forums, to ensure that international priorities, agreements and
standards – such as in trade and intellectual property rights – reflect
their needs and interests.” 45 UNDP agrees: “The capacity of developing
countries to negotiate global and regional trade agreements needs to be
strengthened – another important area for development assistance.” 46

45
Ibid., p. 12.
46
UNDP, Overcoming Human Poverty, 2000, p. 10.

29
 The need for assistance includes, but is not confined to, the negotiation
of trade and intellectual property agreements. It encompasses all those
areas of multilateral and bilateral negotiation that impact upon the needs
and interests of poor people and poor countries. It also extends to the
capacity of developing States to negotiate, on an equitable basis, with
transnational corporations (TNCs), the resources of which sometimes far
exceed the resources available to a State. Technical assistance should
also be available to help States establish appropriate regulatory frame-
works for the private sector, including TNCs, without compromising their
comparative advantage.

Thus, the international action chapter in a developing State’s PRS should

highlight the need for an enhanced capacity to enable it:

(a) To participate more effectively in bilateral, multilateral and corporate

negotiations that might bear upon the incidence of poverty in its ju-
risdiction;

(b) To regulate the private sector, including TNCs, with a view to ensur-
ing conformity with the State’s international human rights obliga-
tions, especially those impacting upon poverty reduction.

Other conceptual developments

Briefly, the integration of human rights into PRSs is facilitated by recent
conceptual developments that have deepened our understanding of
human rights and the obligations that flow from them. Here, we need to
signal two of these conceptual developments.

First, it is now understood that the obligations deriving from specific rights
may be analysed by reference to the duties to respect, protect and fulfil.
Thus, in relation to the right-to-health guarantee, the duty to respect requires
the State not to interfere directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of the
right to health; the duty to protect requires the State to take measures that
prevent third parties from interfering with the right to health; and the duty to
fulfil requires the State to adopt appropriate legislative, administrative and
other measures towards the full realization of the right to health.47

Second, human rights contain obligations of conduct and result. The

obligation of conduct requires action reasonably calculated to realize
the enjoyment of a particular right. In the case of the right to health, for

47
See, for example, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment
no.14 (right to health), paras. 33-37.

30
example, the obligation of conduct could involve the adoption and imple-
mentation of a plan of action to reduce maternal mortality. The obligation
of result requires States to achieve specific targets to satisfy a particular
standard. With respect to the right to health, for example, the obligation of
result requires the reduction of maternal mortality to levels agreed at the
Fourth World Conference on Women of 1995 and in the United Nations
Millennium Declaration of 2000.48

Conceptual tools such as these – the duties to respect, protect and fulfil,
and obligations of conduct and result – promote the effective integration
of human rights into PRSs by clarifying the nature and scope of human
rights obligations. Greater clarity about human rights obligations helps
duty-holders identify measures that implement their obligations; it also
permits the enhanced accountability of duty-holders.

48
See, for example, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment
no.3 (the nature of States parties’ obligations), para. 1.

31
CONCLUSION

There is a close correspondence between “the realities of poor people”,

as identified by Voices of the Poor and other poverty studies, and the in-
ternational human rights normative framework. Thus, attention to human
rights will help to ensure that the key concerns of poor people become,
and remain, the key concerns of PRSs. The integration of human rights
into PRSs ensures that the concepts and methods identified in this paper
are available to anti-poverty policies.

The essential idea underlying the adoption of a human rights approach

to poverty reduction is that policies and institutions for poverty reduc-
tion should be based explicitly on the norms and values set out in the
international law of human rights. Whether explicit or implicit, norms and
values shape policies and institutions. The human rights approach of-
fers an explicit normative framework – that of international human rights.
Underpinned by universally recognized moral values and reinforced by
legal obligations, international human rights provide a compelling norma-
tive framework for the formulation of national and international policies,
including poverty reduction strategies.

One reason why this framework is compelling in the context of poverty

reduction is that the norms and values enshrined in it have the potential to
empower the poor. It is now widely recognized that effective poverty reduc-
tion is not possible without empowerment of the poor. The human rights
approach to poverty reduction is essentially about such empowerment.

The most fundamental way in which empowerment occurs is through

the introduction of the concept of rights itself. Once this concept is intro-
duced into the context of policy-making, the rationale of poverty reduc-
tion no longer derives merely from the fact that the poor have needs but
also from the fact that they have rights – entitlements that give rise to
legal obligations on the part of others. Poverty reduction then becomes
more than charity, more than a moral obligation – it becomes a legal
obligation. This recognition of the existence of legal entitlements of the
poor and legal obligations of others towards them is the first step towards
empowerment.

33
ANNEX

PROJECT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAFT

GUIDELINES ON THE INTEGRATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
INTO POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES

I. Background
Following a request made to the High Commissioner by the United Na-
tions Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights in August 2001,
OHCHR developed draft guidelines on integrating human rights into
poverty reduction strategies. The short-term objective is to provide
Governments, development agencies and other practitioners involved in
the design, implementation and monitoring of poverty reduction strate-
gies with operational guidelines. The long-term objective is to enhance
the effectiveness and sustainability of poverty reduction strategies. To
carry out this work, OHCHR engaged three consultants, Professors Paul
Hunt, Manfred Nowak and Siddiq Osmani, with specialized knowledge in
economic, social and cultural rights, civil and political rights, and devel-
opment economics, respectively.

II. Process
The project has two phases. The first phase has now been implemented.

• Following the elaboration of a conceptual framework, extensive

consultations have been conducted with poverty specialists
from the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions,
development agencies (UNDP, UNICEF), Governments and civil
society.

• A first draft of the guidelines was considered by a closed expert

seminar organized in June 2002. A second draft was then final-
ized by the consultants (available at www.ohchr.org).

35
 The objective of the second phase will be to pilot the draft guidelines.
An important outcome of the piloting phase will be to revise the guide-
lines. The piloting phase will include four components:

• Awareness-building about the existence of the draft guidelines;

• Substantive consultations with human rights experts, including

treaty bodies, special rapporteurs, field offices and development
practitioners;

• Field testing;

• Revision of the graft guidelines.

III. Substance
The draft guidelines are divided into three sections. Section I sets out
the basic principles of a human rights approach that should inform the
process of formulating a poverty reduction strategy (e.g., identification
of the poor, participation, empowerment, non-discrimination, national
and international human rights framework). Section II sets out the human
rights approach to determining the content of a poverty reduction
strategy. It identifies, for each right relevant to poverty reduction (food,
health, education, housing, work, personal security, privacy, political
rights and freedoms), the major elements of a strategy for realizing that
right. Here the rights are classified under two broad headings, “national”
and “international “ depending on the level at which action will have to be
taken. Section III explains how the human rights approach can guide the
monitoring and accountability aspects of poverty reduction strategies.
Like the principles discussed in section I, accountability is also one of the
basic principles of a human rights approach to poverty reduction.

36