The right to development: a North-South divide?

• Position: World Conference on Human Rights

The growing economic divide between North and South may well be reflected in the upcoming World Conference on Human Rights, as many developing and industrialized countries define their human rights concerns in sharply different terms. One basic difference over how much emphasis to place on the "right to development" may set the tone for a pointed debate at the Vienna conference.

Many developing countries contend that political and civil rights cannot be separated from or be given priority over economic, social and cultural rights. increasingly, they have asserted that development is an essential human right and objected to what many see as the industrial countries' narrow view of human rights as solely involving political and civil liberties. Indeed, in their view, economic development and an adequate living standard are preconditions of expanded political and civil rights. Further, the "collective rights" of people, some argue, may take precedence over certain rights of individuals.

A number of industrial countries, on the other hand, contend that some individual freedoms must exist for successful development to take place. Some have pressed developing countries to open their political processes and better protect their citizens' civil rights.

Partially reflecting both points of view, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali recently declared that "development provides the foundation for human rights advances and ... equally, human rights is the key which unlocks the creative energies of people so central to economic progress".

The UN has acknowledged development as a right, implicitly or explicitly, practically from its inception. In 1948, the right to development was confirmed in Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "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 Universal Declaration also recognized the rights to work, to education and to an adequate standard of living. The Covenant stressed the "essential importance of international cooperation" in realizing this right.

The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made this commitment more explicit, obligating States to "recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living ... including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions".

The 1969 Declaration on Social...