In your view, how far can the millennium development goals help Hong Kong people fulfil their human rights and succeed in improving the lives and well being of people all over the world?
Introduction
The eight Millennium Development Goals applicable to ratifying countries was developed in 2001 when different states met and agreed to focus on these common issues and achieve these goals by 2015. These millennium goals that are humanitarian in nature are: “1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2) achieve universal primary education; 3) promote gender equality and empower women; 4) reduce child mortality; 5) improve maternal health; 6) combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 7) ensure environmental sustainability; and 8) develop a global partnership for development.” (United Nations 2005) The language of these eight goals seems simple and straightforward but the implication and the achievement of these goals remain to be daunting. This is because, the agreement of different states to cooperate in order to achieve these common objectives comprise a historical landmark. Apart from this, the identification of the specific goals means that progress is measurable and a period for achieving these goals implies being time-bound. However, the achievement of these goals before the lapse of the designated period would radically change the lives of millions of people. To date, progress is patchy. Although there was a reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty due to the economic progress in Asian countries, the recent dry run in Hong Kong for the eighth goal of developing global partnership for development turned to be less productive than expected.
Millennium Development Goals & Human Rights
The eight millennium development goals are linked to human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that members of the United Nations have recognized and agreed to promote social progress and improve the standards of life in the context of a free world. In consonance with this responsibility, one hundred and forty seven heads of states and governments comprising one hundred and ninety one nations pledged to the achievement of these eight development goals. Every state that agreed to these goals also chose to ratify at least a single human rights treaty. In consequence, the ratification of a minimum of one human rights treaty means that the state is assuming the obligation for the implementation and reinforcement of these goals. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the foundation of the eight millennium development goals means that the achievement of these goals has the effect of fulfilling the human rights provisions in the declaration. (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 2002) State ratification of at least a single human rights treaty implies that the states cooperating towards the achievement of these development goals are also actually advocating facets of universal human rights. Thus, these goals reinforce universal human rights while human rights support these development goals.
To determine the specific link of the eights millennium development goals to the fulfilment of human rights necessitates the identification of the specific human rights provisions upon which these goals are based and determination of the specific ways in which these goals support the respect, fulfilment and advocacy of these rights.
The first millennium development goal is the eradication of extreme hunger and poverty (United Nations 2005). Targeting this development goal helps people fulfil their human rights because the goal is the concrete or tangible actualization of human rights. The underlying foundation of the identification of this development goal is Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child[1] to have full access to health care services and facilities to ensure sufficient levels of nutrition and article 27[2] of the same convention that provides for the fundamental right of children to adequate standard of living that supports their overall development. Another basis for this goal is Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights[3] that contains the recognition of the states ratifying the convention pf their role in the achievement of adequate standards of living through access of food, housing and clothing. These human rights provisions cover rights that people could achieve when the goal of poverty eradication is addressed. Without poverty, people would be able to achieve standards of living that would enable them to live with dignity. People in Somalia wouldn’t have to contend with issues of child mortality and malnutrition when countries help each other substantially eradicate world poverty.
The second millennium development goal is the achievement of universal primary education (United Nations 2005). This achievement of this goal actualizes the fundamental right of people to education as envisioned in three human rights conventions. Article 13[4] and 14[5] of the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for the recognition of states that education influences the development of human dignity and fundamental freedoms. Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child[6] provides for state recognition of right of children to education so that primary education is compulsory and comprises the responsibility of governments to provide free primary education. Article 5[7]and 7[8] of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination provides for the right of all people regardless of race to education and the responsibility of states to ensure the achievement of this right. When states comply with their responsibility to towards the goal to provide free primary education, the states are in effect reinforcing the fundamental right of people to education as requisite to human dignity and exercise of fundamental freedoms. Through the achievement of this goal, children in Papua New Guinea would be able to realize their human right to free primary education.
The third development goal is promotion of gender equality and women empowerment founded upon a number of human rights (United Nations 2005). The entire Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women provides for the fundamental rights of women achievable through the actualization of the goal on gender equality and women empowerment. Article 3[9] and 7[10] of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights contains the recognition of states of the equal rights of men and women and the concurrent responsibility to ensure equal employment conditions and opportunities. Article 3, 6 and 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights contains the recognition of states of their responsibility in ensuring equality between men and women in the enjoyment of civil and political rights. The achievement of the goal of promoting gender equality and women empowerment would ensure the realization of women of their fundamental rights so that women around the world would not have to deal with inequality in employment opportunities and conditions such as not being allowed to work in certain professions or being bypassed during promotions.
Fourth development goal is the reduction of child mortality (United Nations 2005) based on article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child[11], that children have the fundamental right to life so that states are obligated to make sure that children are accorded the opportunity to realize maximum opportunities for survival and development. The achievement of the goal of reducing child mortality means that the 2 million and 153,000 newborns that die each year in the United States and Bangladesh (Green 2006) respectively would substantially decrease.
The fifth development goal is the improvement in maternal health (United Nations 2005) founded on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Article 24 (d) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child[12] also provides for the responsibility of state parties to take the necessary measures to ensure pre-natal and post-natal health care serviced for mothers. Through the realization of the goal of improving maternal health, mothers in Vietnam would realize their human right to pre-natal and post-natal health care so that the maternal mortality rate of 100 for every 100,000 pregnant mothers (Vietnam News 2004) would significantly decrease.
The sixth development goal is the combating of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other potentially fatal diseases (United Nations 2005) is founded on article 24 (c) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child[13] that state parties have the responsibility to take measures to combat diseases. This is also supported by peoples’ fundamental right to life and health in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With the cooperation of the Central African Republic government with the international effort to achieve the goal of combating HIV/AIDS the 250,000 in the country with HIV would be treated and the spread of the disease to other people would be minimized so that the citizens of the state would realize their human right to life, health and dignity and freedom World Health Organization 2006).
The seventh development goal is the environmental sustainability linked to the several fundamental rights specifically covering the provision of safe drinking water covered by General Comment 14 that was considered in November 2002 and addressing of the issues of slum dwellers contained in General Comment 4 and 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Environmental sustainability is rooted to the recognition of states that environmental resources are non-renewable so that states have to exercise diligent stewardship in ensuring that there would be sufficient resources for future generation to use (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Division for Sustainable Development 2006). The achievement of the goal of ensuring environmental sustainability would allow present and future generations to realize their fundamental right to life, health, dignity and freedom. Commitment to the achievement of the goal is needed if states are to play the role of environmental stewards especially since recent research on environmental sustainability index of all states show a highly patchy result (Esty et al. 2005).
The eighth development goal is the development of global partnership towards development founded on article 1 (3) of the United Nations Charter[14] providing for international cooperation to meet global problem, article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights[15] calling for international cooperation for resource maximization, and article 4 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child[16] providing that state parties should maximize resources and optimize international cooperation venues for the achievement of global development. The achievement of the goal of realizing global partnership for development provides the channel through which all the other goals may be attained. With the attainment of these goals, the human rights upon which these goals were founded would also be realized.
Millennium Development Goals & Improvement in the Well Being of People
The eight millennium development goals, if attained, fulfil the human rights of people around the world because it is these rights that serve as the bases of the identification of these measurable and time-bound goals. It is the realization of the fundamental rights of all people that serves as the underlying reason for the determination of these tangible goals. Concurrently, the realization of the fundamental rights of individuals means the radical improvement in the lives and well-being of people around the world. Development is a protracted encompassing process that involves the integration of global efforts towards the simultaneous achievement of all these goals.
These goals improve the lives and well-being of people around the world by addressing various facets of the lives of societies, which are economic, political, socio-cultural, environmental, and health aspects.
Economic development through the goal of eradicating poverty and hunger means the improvement in the lives of people around the world through the existence of income for households from gainful employment. The existence of income further implies that households and individuals are able to purchase their basic needs such as food and clothing, acquire basic services such as housing, and have other things that would provide them with a life of dignity. Since poverty and hunger are directly linked with source of income, the eradication of poverty and hunger entails the states responsibility to develop and introduce income-creating opportunities for people. However, it should be considered that the goal of eradicating poverty and hunger is also linked to the political, socio-cultural, health, and environmental aspects.
Socio-cultural development pertaining to the goals of ensuring primary education and the achievement of gender equality and women empowerment translates to the betterment of the lives of people around the world by creating opportunities or situations for people to become emancipated from their current condition. Ensuring free primary education means that people acquire the basic knowledge and skills for the purpose of finding gainful employment as well as the exercise of analytical faculties necessary in personal decision-making upon the presentation of life’s options. Achievement of gender equality and women empowerment implies that women would be emancipated from lack of opportunities for self-development through education, employment as well as decision-making. Again, these improvements are related to the other aspects.
Health development is realized through the goals of minimizing child mortality, maternal health, and arresting potentially fatal and communicable diseases means the improvement of the lives of people around the world through the longevity and quality of peoples’ lives since they are in full health. Being in good health means that people are able to pursue the activities they want to engage in.
Environmental development covered by the goal of ensuring environmental sustainability contributes to the improvement of the lives of people around the world by securing the resource needs of people for both short and long term. Specific areas of improvement brought about by the achievement of this goal include the continued supply of potable drinking water, fresh air, clean food, and hygienic living environment. Having all these means that people are healthy and sufficiently fed, which are necessary requirements for people to be able to go to work and children to attend school. These in turn enable people to achieve higher standards of living and quality of life. When governments regulate the utilisation of scarce resources and spearhead programs against pollution and activities destructive to the environment, it also contributes to the betterment in the lives of people by developing a healthy and safe environment. It should also be considered that most of the natural calamities being experienced by people around the world are linked to environmental degradation, particularly the greenhouse effect.
Finally, political development through the goal of global partnership for development, though indirect, also enhances the well-being of people. Global partnership among the states that have agreed to the achievement of the millennium development goals works as the factor that gels and directs international cooperation and efforts towards the achievement of these goals. Through global partnership, industrialized and developing countries are able to pool financial and logistic resources in order to develop unified or linked programs directed towards the achievement of these common goals. Despite the difficulty that this poses especially with conflicting interests, stress should be given to the fact that this goal is important to the achievement of the other goals and that the almost one hundred ninety countries that agreed to cooperate for the achievement of these goals are bound to their voluntarily assumed responsibilities.
Conclusion
The eight millennium development goals, if achieved, would radically alter the lives of millions of people around the world by allowing people to realize their human rights and experience multi-faceted improvements in their lives. However, the achievement of these goals is difficult due to the complexity of the problem and the number of parties in interest. Thus, there is need for greater commitment and initiative from states if the radical change promised by the achievement of these development goals is to be realized.
[1] Article 24 (1) States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services.
[2] Article 27 (1) States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
[3] Article 11 (1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.
[4] Article 13 (1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
[5] Article 14 Each State Party to the present Covenant which, at the time of becoming a Party, has not been able to secure in its metropolitan territory or other territories under its jurisdiction compulsory primary education, free of charge, undertakes, within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed plan of action for the progressive implementation, within a reasonable number of years, to be fixed in the plan, of the principle of compulsory education free of charge for all.
[6] Article 28 (1) States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
[7] Article 5 In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights: (v) The right to education and training;
[8] Article 7 States Parties undertake to adopt immediate and effective measures, particularly in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information, with a view to combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination and to promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations and racial or ethnical groups, as well as to propagating the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and this Convention.
[9] Article 3 The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the present Covenant.
[10] Article 7 The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work…
[11] Article 6 (1) States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. (2) States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.
[12] Article 24 (2) States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures: (d) To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers;
[13] (c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution;
[14] Article 1 (3) To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and …
[15] Article 2 (1) Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures.
[16] Article 4 States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation.
