Linkage between Human Rights and Development – Democracy is not enough!
A question went through my mind recently: Why is the practice of human rights limited in underdeveloped or developing countries? Here, what I mean by human rights are basic needs like education and health care. I am not talking about political rights to vote or rights like the right to freedom of speech. Rather, what I am interested in, in this context, are the ESC (economical, social and cultural) rights Uvin mentions[1] because a person who does not have enough to eat is going to have only a little interest in voting for this or that political party. Moreover, it is likely that this individual cannot read or write to understand and participate in what the political party is doing. On the other hand, if there are no schools or hospitals, how can one get educated and have good medication? Furthermore, for people who do not know what they are going eat in the evening, the question of the political system of the country is irrelevant. So, the question that arises is: How important is the political system of the country? I claim that democracy is a necessary but insufficient condition, for development.
I am taking Nepal as an example. Nepal is and has always been a sovereign country. When the absolute monarchy ended and the constitutional democracy began[2] in 1990, lots of people were overjoyed and took to the streets to celebrate. I believed then, as I do now, that at least half the people on the streets did not know the meaning of democracy. Afterwards, I heard stories like a discussion between a policeman and a taxi driver. The policeman wanted the driver to move his car because he was parking in a prohibited area. The taxi driver replied: “We have democracy now and we can do whatever we want.” Would the story have been different if this taxi driver had been educated?
Why has democracy not helped Nepal to develop? I visit Nepal once in a while. My subjective perception is that the situation there has gotten worse since the beginning of democracy. Back in 1990 or 1994, there was no load shedding of 9 hours a day in Kathmandu like there is today. I remember the light going out for an hour or so, maybe once or twice a week. With no electricity for 9 hours a day, even the best run factory cannot perform well. Is this purely subjective? I tried to do some research work.
Nepal has developed in terms of literacy rate and mortality rate[3]. But the development has been marginal, especially during the last 10 years. GDP[4] per capita for 2007 was US $419. Not only that, in other fields like security and corruption, it has gotten worse. In 2004[5], Corruption Perceptions Index Score for Nepal was 2.8, position 90 (together with India) out of 145 countries. In 2009[6], the score has been 2.3, position 143 (India 84) out of 180 countries. In the article “Fight corruption, save development”[7], it is stated: “United Nations has warned that corruption kills development and is one of the biggest impediments to reaching the Millennium Development Goals.”
Due to the frequent so called bandhs (shutdowns) and demonstrations, the general security conditions remain volatile. Back in 1990, I used to come back home from dancing classes at 8 or 10 p.m. alone. Now, no one dares to walk alone after dark in Kathmandu. The recommendations in various embassy sites in the internet are not very encouraging[8]. Tourism was and remains the key source of income for Nepal. Even if the tourists were never harmed directly, the tourism has suffered a lot due to the security conditions in Nepal. Many businesses relating to tourism have gone bankrupt leaving thousands of Nepalese without job. The unemployment rate in Nepal for 2009 is 46 %.[9]
Sen says that famines do not occur in democracies[10]. I would like to add that this is true only for a functioning and stable democracy. The famine is certainly not so bad like in Darfur but the famine conditions exist in certain regions of Nepal, sometimes over months. The reasons are for example China closing the border[11] or the erosions and draught due to deforestation. Due to the prevailing famine conditions, people have started to move to India[12] or to the capital city Kathmandu.
There is a strong correlation between the human rights and development. If the people have the opportunity to exercise the rights like education and social security, they can take part in the society to build it. Development in turn gives the people more opportunity to exercise their rights. In this context, democracy alone is not enough. It needs able people to take care of it and make the right use of it. Not only the politicians but also the citizens are responsible. But to have educated people, one needs development in terms of schools and health care to make them capable of doing the right things. Democracy is a good tool which needs to be used correctly. When applied correctly, it can create an appropriate environment for the application of human rights and provide a sound ground for the economical development.
[1] Peter Uvin, Human Rights and Develoment (page 14)
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jana_Andolan
[3] http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTSARMACECOGRO/34004333-1148991370527/21048630/Nepal.pdf
[4] http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Nepal
[5] http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2004
[6] http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table
[7] http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2009/December/fight-corruption-save-development.html
[8] http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/nepal
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_980.html
[9] http://www.indexmundi.com/nepal/unemployment_rate.html
[10] Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (page 51)
[11] http://www.mikeldunham.blogs.com/mikeldunham/2008/06/untold-story-ne.html
http://www.nepalhumanrightsnews.com/news.asp?id=523
http://www.himalayanchildren.org/nepal/children.htm
[12] http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cnotes6%5Cnote562.html
© 2010, Karma Tamang. All rights reserved.