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The integration of human rights into the practice of development cooperation has been increasingly debated during the last decade, particularly thanks to Amartya Sen and UNDP work. However, while a consensus seems to exist around the core principles of an "appropriate" development process, there are still a number of different interpretations of how human rights and development relate, and what is meant by rights-based approaches. This paper addresses the idea that the concept of right to development, correctly understood as "the right to a process of development in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized", following the definition of Arjun Sengupta, can be a very useful tool to provide a common normative framework to this discussion. Little attention has been given to identifying the extent to which the concept of the right to development and a human rights-based approach to development differ. Whether the two paradigms have many common points, as the emphasis given to concepts like equality, freedom, participation and non discrimination, there are also some important differences. Expressed simply, the right to development is broader that the human rights-based approach, because it involves a critical examination of the overall development process, including financial allocation, and priorities in international development cooperation. Thus, the right to development cannot be equated with a rights-based approach to development, because it not only prescribes certain rules according to which development should be realized, but also defines development itself as a human right. This definition has important consequences not only in terms of theoretical debate, but also in its practical implications related to policy-making and international cooperation. The most important of these consequences is a shift, in the discourse of international development cooperation, from a context of need/charity/aid to a context of right/respons

This briefing introduces the contribution of the right to the highest attainable standard of health to reducing maternal mortality. This briefing indicates key contributions that the right to health can make in the context of policy making and through the human rights community's traditional techniques, such as letter writing campaigns, taking court cases and advocacy. It also indicates key actions that may be required by policy makers and the human rights community.

This Practice Note outlines a framework for human rights integration in poverty reduction and provides practical steps to guide UNDP programming. The framework is purposely kept generic, as it should be applicable to a range of country situations and programming modalities; whether the focus is on macroeconomics, trade policies, micro-finance, reporting on the Millennium Development Goals, or livelihood skills. Full Practice Note in PDF format (364kb); Number of pages: 19p

In spite of the enshrining anti-poverty programs and objectives of the poverty eradication programs contained in India's five year plans, women's poverty in India, even after 58 years of independence, is glaring. This paper, based on a field survey, addresses the issues of economic constraints and the denial of women's access to productive assets in the form of land ownership and human capital such as education, skill-training. The article contributes to the overall picture of female poverty at the national level. The author finds an exaggerated emphasis being placed on women laborers and inadequate economic opportunities among them as the major obstacle to reducing female poverty. Because of these constraints and discrimination, women enter into the unorganized sector, i.e. the agriculture sector. This paper examines how lack of skills, heavy physical work of different types, long hours of work with limited payment, lack of guarantee of minimum wages, lack of job security, lack of minimum facilities at the work place are the characteristics of the informal sector which contribute to women's economic disempowerment. With regard to the economic position of Indian women, it is clearly evident that India is principally an agricultural economy, and despite their significant contributions to economic production, they are far from equal to men. Land, for example, is a critical asset in rural areas. Evidence points to gender disparities in access to this and other assets necessary for poverty reduction. Having rights to land is a crucial factor in determining how people will ensure their basic livelihood. In all cases women's more limited access to these assets hamper their efforts to reduce poverty and diminishes the effectiveness of poverty reduction more generally. Although the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution (in its preamble with respect to fundamental rights, fundamental duties and directive principles) with respect to

Clean water and sanitation are not only about hygiene and disease; they're about dignity, too.… [E]veryone, and that means ALL the people in the world, has the right to a healthy life and a life with dignity. In other words: everyone has the right to sanitation.' Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, Chair of the UN Secretary General Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. 2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. Tellingly, the Millennium Development Goal sanitation target, to halve by 2015 the proportion of people living without access to sanitation, remains the most off-track of all the MDG targets. The impact of a lack of sanitation on health, education and economic growth is profound. Every day, at least 5,000 children under the age of five die due to diarrhea, a disease directly related to poor sanitation. Lack of adequate sanitation in schools is a critical barrier to school attendance, particularly for girls. The resulting economic cost to individuals and to governments of ill-health and under-education is at least nine times greater than the cost of addressing this problem. Full paper in PDF format (1.53MB); Number of pages:

Water is a limited natural resource and fundamental for life and health. In 2000, the World Health Organization estimate that of the world's 6 billion people, at least 1.1 billion lack access to safe drinking-water and 2.4 billion persons live without access to sanitation systems. An estimated 14 to 30 thousand people, mostly young and elderly, die everyday from avoidable water-related diseases (e.g. diarrhoeal diseases). The lives of these people who are among the poorest on our planet are often devastated by this deprivation, which impedes the enjoyment of health and other human rights.

A growing movement thinks so, saying it will guarantee that the poor have water. But at a water conference in Turkey, officials voice concern about implementing such a right.