Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals

1
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and theMillennium Development Goals

• Richard Leete
• United Nations Resident Coordinator
• Malaysia
• 24 February 2004
• Kuala Lumpur

2
Human Rights (H/Rs) and DevelopmentTwo Sides of
Same Coin
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs

• United Nations aims to
• achieve international cooperation in solving
  international problems of an economic, social,
  cultural or humanitarian character
• promote and encourage respect for H/Rs and
  fundamental freedoms for all without distinction
  
• (UN Charter, 1945)
• In September 2000, 189 leaders at United Nations
  Millennium Summit adopted the Millennium
  Declaration containing, inter alia, a set of
  development goals, and recognised their
• collective responsibility to uphold the
  principles of human dignity, equality and equity
  at the global level
• (Millennium Declaration, 2000)

3
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs

• 8 mutually reinforcing time-bound goals, with 18
  related targets to be achieved by 2015
• an accountability framework and a global
  partnership for progressively eradicating poverty
• MDGs respecify goals and targets of 1990s global
  conferences do not override other conference
  goals
• MDGs at forefront of global development agenda
  and a unifying tool for entire UN system
• MDGs a natural platform for national plans
• Capture multidimensionality of poverty

4
The MDGs
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs

• MDG 1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Target 1 Halve of people whose
  income ltUS1 a day
• MDG 2 Achieve universal primary education
• MDG 3 Promote gender equality and empower women
• MDG 4 Reduce child mortality
• Target 5 Reduce by 2/3 under 5
  mortality rate
• MDG 5 Improve maternal health
• MDG 6 Combat HIV-AIDS, malaria and other
  diseases
• MDG 7 Ensure environmental sustainability
• Target 10 Halve of people without
  sustainable
• access to safe
  drinking water and basic
• sanitation
• Target 11 By 2020 to have achieved
  a significant
• improvement in
  the lives of at least a 100
• million slum
  dwellers
• MDG 8 Develop a global partnership for
  development

5
MDGs and H/Rs
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs

• Focus on nationally owned goals and targets
  consistent with rights-based approach to
  development
• - Helps create awareness of rights and
  mobilises resources for
• meeting obligations and entitlements
• UN approach to poverty reduction emphasises a
  rights-based approach to development, including
  civil and political rights
• Generally poorest whose rights are ignored and
  who lack access to information and services
• - Globally 1.2 billion people live in
  extreme poverty
• - H/Rs a means of empowering the poor

6
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs
Some of Worlds Regions Reduced Extreme Poverty
Between 1990 and 2000 In Others Poverty is on
Rise and 2015 MDG Target Unlikely to be Met
Linear trend from 1990-2000
Current trend
MDG goal in 2015
On target
Ahead of target
Behind target
Population living in extreme poverty ()
7
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs
Progress in Reducing Child Mortality Between 1990
and 2000 but Faltering in Poorest Regions
Linear trend from 1990-2000
Current trend
MDG goal in 2015
On target
Behind target
Under-five mortality rate per 1000 live births
South Asia
Middle East and North Africa
Europe and Central Asia
Latin America and Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
East Asia and Pacific
8
What is Adequate Housing?
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs

• AH, as part of right to an adequate standard of
  living, is a H/R
• Habitat Agenda with its special focus on almost 1
  billion in urban slums
• AH includes adequate privacy space security
  lighting and ventilation construction materials
  and facilities
• AH increases chances of people being able to
  enjoy other H/Rs
• AH linked to degree to which rights to hygiene
  and highest attainable level of mental and
  physical health can be enjoyed
• AH key factor associated with morbidity and
  mortality
• AH highly correlated with extreme poverty and
  other MDGs, which disproportionately affects
  women, access to improved sanitation, piped water
  and electricity
• Globally 1.2 billion people living in extreme
  poverty

9
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs
MDG Target of Universal Access to Improved
Sanitation Achieved in Malaysia
Malaysia
Urban
Rural
Per cent of household with improved sanitation
10
Equality and Non-DiscriminationBasic H/Rs
Principles
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs

• Disaggregation of development indicators key for
  pro-poor policies and strategies
• Sex, age, ethnicity, location, income, etc
• Sharp poor-rich differentials in social and
  economic outcomes in most countries
• Differentials in access to basic services
• Cultural and traditional barriers
• Lack of womens empowerment

11
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs
Progress in Achieving Universal Access to Piped
Water in Malaysia But Not in All States
12
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs
Most Malaysian households now have access to
electricity but still unavailable to the poor
1991
Access to electricity
gt 95
90-95
80-90
lt80
2000
13
Conclusions
Understanding the United Nations, Human Rights
and the MDGs

• MDGs and H/Rs complementary and supportive of
  agenda to eradicate global poverty and improve
  quality of life
• H/Rs provide agreed normative standards for
  achievement of MDGs MDGs support progressive
  realisation of H/Rs
• Resource constraints but progressive
  realisation and global partnership critical
• Need policies that put equity at core of agenda
  and entail participation, empowerment and
  ownership