PHM-Exch> Human Rights for All Post-2015 Joint statement

[Claudio Schuftan]

JOINT STATEMENT

Human Rights for All Post-2015 10 December 2013

Human rights have surged to the forefront of the debate about what will
succeed the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. As human rights and
social justice organizations worldwide, we feel compelled to lay out some
of the baseline implications of embedding human rights into the core of the
sustainable development agenda this time around.

At its essence, a post-2015 framework anchored in human rights moves from a
model of charity to one of justice, based on the inherent dignity of people
as human rights-holders, domestic governments as primary duty-bearers, and
all development actors sharing common but differentiated responsibilities.
Accordingly, the post-2015 framework should be designed as a tool to
empower and enable people—individually and collectively—to monitor and hold
their governments, other governments, businesses, international
institutions and other development actors to account for their conduct as
it affects people’s lives within and beyond borders. A sustainable
development framework founded in human rights can serve as an instrument
for people and countries to help unseat the structural obstacles to
sustainable, inclusive and just development, prevent conflict and stimulate
implementation and enforcement of all human rights—civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights, the right to development, and to a
healthy environment.

The post-2015 framework must then at the very least respect and reflect
pre-existing human rights legal norms, standards and political commitments to
which governments have already voluntarily agreed. International human
rights, environmental and humanitarian law, the Millennium Declaration, as
well as related international consensus documents agreed in Rio, Vienna,
Cairo, Beijing, Monterrey and Copenhagen and their follow-up agreements
must form its non-negotiable normative base.

If it is going to incentivize progress while also preventing backsliding
and violations, human rights principles and standards must go beyond the
rhetorical, and have real operational significance this time around. Among
other things, anchoring the post-2015 agenda in human rights for current
and future generations implies that the framework:

1. Upholds all human rights for all. The framework should stimulate
improved human rights process and outcomes for all people, especially the
most vulnerable, in all countries global North and global South. Along with
economic, social,

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cultural and environmental rights, any successor framework must include
commitments to protect freedom of association, expression, assembly and
political participation if it is to ensure an enabling environment for an
empowered civil society, and protect human rights defenders, including
women human rights defenders, as central agents translating international
political commitments into lived realities.

   1.

   Stimulates transparency and genuine participation in decision-making at
   all levels, throughout all policies including budget, financial, and tax
   policies. Access to information and meaningful and effective participation
   are not only fundamental human rights, but will also be critical to
   developing, implementing, and monitoring an effective and responsive
   post-2015 framework.
   2.

   Integrates meaningful institutions and systems to ensure human rights
   accountability of all development actors. Lofty aspirations for a
   post-2015 agenda will surely fail if proper citizen-led systems of
   monitoring and human rights accountability are not built into the very
   DNA of the framework, with clear and time-bound commitments of all relevant
   actors. While states must remain the primary duty-holder in development,
   all development actors, including third-party states, the private sector
   and international financial institutions should be made responsive and
   accountable for achieving and not undermining global goals. Integrating
   substantive human rights criteria into assessments of progress towards
   development goals and commitments means monitoring both the policy and
   budgetary efforts of governments alongside development outcomes. Any
   post-2015 monitoring mechanism should complement and reinforce the
   Universal Periodic Review process for all states. A framework for ensuring
   accountability would benefit from constructive interaction with the
   existing human rights protection regime, as well as other relevant
   accountability mechanisms. In this context, we call for an accountability
   framework with binding commitments, supported by effective monitoring and
   enforcement mechanisms, to be agreed at the global level. This framework
   should reaffirm the spirit of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to
   Development and it should be based on three fundamental principles: mutual
   accountability (donors and partners are equally
   accountable for development progress); democratic ownership of partner
   countries (alignment of donor countries to policy objectives set by
   developing countries, through inclusive and democratic processes); and
   inclusive partnerships (participation of different varieties of development
   stakeholders, State and non-State actors).
   3.

   Is backed by national mechanisms of accountability, such as judiciaries,
   parliaments, national human rights institutions, reinforced by regional and
   international human rights mechanisms such as the treaty bodies and the
   Universal Periodic Review mechanism, so as to ensure the implementation of
   the post-2015 commitments. The post-2015 development agenda is well-placed
   to encourage governments to improve access to justice for people living
   currently in poverty by monitoring measures to eradicate existing
   barriers.
   4.

   Ensures that the private sector, at the very least, does no harm. The
   post-2015 framework must reflect current international consensus that
   governments have a duty to protect human rights through the proper
   oversight and regulation of private actors, especially of business and
   private financial actors, to guarantee in practice that they respect
   human rights and the environment, including in their cross-border
   activities. At the very least, no governments should allow their
   territory to be used for illegal or criminal activities elsewhere, such as
   tax evasion, depositing assets obtained through

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corruption, environmental crimes or involvement in human rights violations,
no matter the perpetrator.

   1.

   Eliminates all forms of discrimination and diminishes inequalities,
   including socioeconomic inequalities. Human rights can only be realised
   within socio-economic and environmental boundaries if we also reduce
   inequalities of wealth, power and resources. Governments have a particular
   obligation under human rights law to protect the rights of the most
   marginalized and excluded, and to take additional measures to ensure
   that they enjoy their rights on an equal basis with others.
Protecting decent
   work, and diminishing unfair wage disparities is also fundamental to
   reducing socio-economic inequality, as is reforming tax and fiscal
   policy and promoting human rights alternatives to austerity nationally and
   globally to unleash the resources necessary to finance human rights
   fulfillment. The timely collection and disaggregation of data on the
   basis of various grounds of compound discrimination is essential to
   identify, make visible and respond to inequalities and violations of human
   rights and to increase accountability. At a national level, data should be
   collected and disaggregated based on country-relevant factors as defined by
   rights-holders.
   2.

   Specifically and comprehensively supports women's rights. Addressing gender-
   based violence, guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights, ensuring
   women’s rights to and control over land, property and productive
   resources and their economic independence, recognizing the care economy and
   ensuring women’s rights to social protection and the equal
distribution of paid
   and unpaid work, and their rights to participation in decision-making are
   critical, not only to realize women's human rights and achieve gender
   equality, but for enabling women’s full and active participation in
   economic, political and social life.
   3.

   Enables the currently disadvantaged and commonly discriminated against
   and excluded groups to be effective agents of their own development by
   drawing on the provisions of human rights standards aimed at eliminating
   discrimination on grounds such as race, disability, migrant or indigenous
   status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.
   4.

   Upholds the legal obligation to fulfill the minimum essential levels of
   economic, social, and cultural rights, without retrogression. This would
   imply a focus on universal or “zero” targets, such as the provision of
   comprehensive social protection floors, universal health coverage, minimum
   food security guarantees, and other floors below which no one anywhere will
   be allowed to fall.
   5.

   Tackles structural drivers of inequality, poverty and ecological
   devastation at the global level. A genuine and balanced global
   partnership then would enable people and institutions to monitor the common
   but differentiated responsibilities of all actors to eliminate rather than
   perpetuate these global obstacles. To be good-faith partners then,
   governments, business and international institutions must assess the
   human rights impact beyond their borders of their policies and agreements
   in areas such as corporate accountability, environment, trade, investment,
   aid, tax, migration, intellectual property, debt, weapons trade and
   military cooperation, monetary policies and financial regulation. Existing
   human rights norms can provide a common set of standards and useful
   yardstick to assess policy coherence for sustainable development.

At a time of great uncertainty, multiple crises and increasing insecurity
and conflict, let us not found the 21st century sustainable development
framework on 'bracketed rights’ and broken promises, but instead on a bold
reaffirmation of human rights for all.

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This joint statement is supported by 324 organizations:
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