Roundup: Experts discuss development-based approach to human rights

The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday held a high-level panel discussion on mainstreaming human rights within the United Nations system, focusing on the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights with the right to development being emphasized.

During the discussion, speakers said that inequality in levels of development was hampering the protection and promotion of human rights in many regions of the world. It is time to adopt a development-based approach as the basis for overcoming those inequalities, they said.

Martin Khor, executive director of the South Center, Malaysia, noted that basic needs such as water, food or health have become human rights and that international cooperation was necessary to achieve these rights nationally.

According to Khor, the international system of trade, technology, intellectual property and financial investments must be examined in order to prioritize legitimate human rights, and the Council should find more specific ways of bring human rights to the mainstream in economic and social areas.

Speakers also mentioned the post-2015 development agenda, emphasizing the importance of including the right to development among the agenda's goals.

Flavia Pansieri, United Nations deputy high commissioner for human rights, noted that significant progress has been made since the adoption of the United Nations Charter 70 years ago.

But problems persisted such as one in three women still experiencing physical or sexual violence and hundreds of thousands of women and girls still dying from preventable causes related to childbirth every year.

"Fairness and the rule of law have to extend to the economic sphere and human rights have to be at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda," she said.

In a keynote address, Abbas Bagherpour Ardekani, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva, speaking on behalf of the Non Aligned Movement, said that the commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights should be based on genuine cooperation and constructive dialogue, and should focus on strengthening the ability of member states to implement their obligations.

"Cultural diversity should be a source of unity rather than division and should not be used as a rationale for new ideological and political confrontation," Ardekani said.

The director of the strategic partnerships division of UN Women, Kristin Hetle, underlined the role of gender equality and women's rights in achieving peace and security, saying that violence and discrimination continued to affect women and girls, and that the lack of resources for women's rights was a key challenge for reviewing the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action.

"In order to be truly transformative, the post-2015 development agenda had to address economic inequalities, which required alternative approaches that emphasized equality, human rights and economic, social and environmental sustainability," said Hetle. Endit