The Declaration on the Right to Development as a First Step towards a Comprehensive Southern Vision on Human Rights

Abstract

As the first successful joint action undertaken by the Global South at the international level in the area of human rights, the Declaration on the Right to Development can serve as a source of inspiration for drafting a Comprehensive Southern Vision on Human Rights. The drafters will have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (udhr) to fall back on. The udhr is a “people’s charter” aimed at applying human rights in people-to-people relations. As a combination of different world views, it is meant to appeal to people from different backgrounds. It includes multiple human rights approaches, including community-oriented ones, and calls for relying on the local political, social and cultural context. It allows rights to be implemented through formal as well as social institutions, and puts duties on a par with rights. The following elements could be included in the document: the need to rely on culture, customary law, and morality; the need to respect subsidiarity and non-interference; the importance of collective rights; the recognition that the right to subsistence and development are paramount rights; the acknowledgement that rights and duties complement each other; and the acceptance that human rights need to be implemented within their local political, social and cultural context.