Document Abstract
Published:
2007
Human rights and national poverty reduction strategies: conceptual framework for human rights analysis of poverty reduction strategies and reviews of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal
Integrating human rights into national poverty reduction strategies
This paper is a consolidated report of a study commissioned by the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on developing a conceptual framework for integrating human rights into national strategies for poverty reduction and identifying operational priorities.
It builds on and takes further the 2003 OHCHR conceptual framework on human rights and poverty reduction strategies. It incorporates a human rights analysis of poverty reduction policies of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal.
The paper argues that human rights perspectives contribute new approaches in normative, analytical and instrumental dimensions of poverty reduction strategies.
First, it brings a strong and explicit normative framework legitimized by the backing of international law that emphasises principles of equality, non-discrimination and concern for the most vulnerable, and a social justice agenda to policy priorities.
Second, human rights perspectives introduce new analyses to the causes of poverty - focusing on institutionalised discrimination, lack of political voice, institutional failures to guarantee human rights including weak protection for civil and political rights.
Third, human rights have instrumental (not just intrinsic) value for poverty reduction; human rights empower poor people through the power of legal protection for human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural – of poor people as well as through the power of ideas that legitimize the claims of poor people to surmount obstacles in their lives.
The paper highlights the findings of the analysis of the poverty reduction strategies of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal which assessed economic policy, social policy and governance reforms, focussing particularly on budgets and challenges of horizontal inequalities as root causes of armed conflict.
It finds that while the three countries are vastly different, there are some common issues starting with inadequate attention to equity and distributional issues, especially identity based exclusion and their potential for renewal of violent conflict. In particular these strategies are weak on:
It builds on and takes further the 2003 OHCHR conceptual framework on human rights and poverty reduction strategies. It incorporates a human rights analysis of poverty reduction policies of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal.
The paper argues that human rights perspectives contribute new approaches in normative, analytical and instrumental dimensions of poverty reduction strategies.
First, it brings a strong and explicit normative framework legitimized by the backing of international law that emphasises principles of equality, non-discrimination and concern for the most vulnerable, and a social justice agenda to policy priorities.
Second, human rights perspectives introduce new analyses to the causes of poverty - focusing on institutionalised discrimination, lack of political voice, institutional failures to guarantee human rights including weak protection for civil and political rights.
Third, human rights have instrumental (not just intrinsic) value for poverty reduction; human rights empower poor people through the power of legal protection for human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural – of poor people as well as through the power of ideas that legitimize the claims of poor people to surmount obstacles in their lives.
The paper highlights the findings of the analysis of the poverty reduction strategies of Guatemala, Liberia and Nepal which assessed economic policy, social policy and governance reforms, focussing particularly on budgets and challenges of horizontal inequalities as root causes of armed conflict.
It finds that while the three countries are vastly different, there are some common issues starting with inadequate attention to equity and distributional issues, especially identity based exclusion and their potential for renewal of violent conflict. In particular these strategies are weak on:
- pro-poor growth to increase incomes of poor people and relies on migration and remittances for poverty reduction
- attention to the regional and group based allocation of social investments
- investment in strengthening the judiciary
- attention to land conflicts involving historically oppressed groups
- proactive measures to remove historically entrenched discrimination such as through affirmative action policies
