GLOBAL COOPERATION NEWSLETTER
March 2009
In this edition:
Governance in the Maghreb countries
New publications
New on ICSW Website
Governance in the Maghreb countries
February saw the first regional conference of Maghreb countries on the subject ofGovernance: individual rights, economic development and social and culturaladvance. The conference was hosted by the newly established Amadeus Institute.
The Maghreb (‫( )اﻟﻌ ﺮﺑﻲ اﻟﻤﻐ ﺮب‬meaning "place of sunset" or "western" in Arabic),
is a region in North Africa. The term is generally applied to all of Morocco, Algeria,and Tunisia. (Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maghreb).
There were four panel discussions on governance in four fields: politics,economics, social and territories.
In the panel on social matters ICSW Global President Christian Rollet spoke on
the role of the civil society in the building of an inclusive society and good
governance in social policies. There were four other panellists: Mrs. Nouzha
Skalli Minister for Social Development, Family and Solidarity (Morocco); Mr.
Abdelhafidh Harguem Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs (Tunisia); Mr. Abdelsam
Aboudrar Chairman of the Center for Corruption Prevention (Morocco) and Mr. El
Houssain El Moujahid Secretary General of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture(Morocco).
The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Kyung-Wha Kangspoke. The following is all but a few paragraphs of Ms. Kang’s speech.
Representing an office whose mission is to see the world through the prism ofhuman rights, I am very heartened that the organizers have identified individual
rights as one of the central elements for discussion at this First Regional
Conference on governance. Indeed, we believe human rights are integral toeconomic development and social and cultural advance, both as a goal and as atool. In a globalized era of deepening interaction and mutual learning amongpeople of different backgrounds, of heightened political awareness and civic
activism around the world, development and social progress are most effectively
pursued when anchored in protection and promotion of universally establishedhuman rights standards. Indeed, the human dimension, articulated in thelanguage of rights, must be fully incorporated for development to be sustainable.
Thus, in my remarks I would like to address human rights as an essential basis ofsocio-economic development and good governance, and why a human rightsbased approach must be taken in overcoming the current economic and financial
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“The origin of the human rights approach can be traced back to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the 60th anniversary of which we commemorated
last December. Article 28 of the Universal Declaration states that “everyone isentitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set
forth in the Declaration can be fully realized.” In other words, social order andprogress should be nurtured in a way that upholds the rights of all individuals
without discrimination. In current parlance, this is called the rights-based
approach to development, which is being continuously refined and increasingly
employed by UN agencies and other actors on the ground as a guiding tool indevelopment cooperation and partnerships.
The political will of member states in support of the rights-based approach has
been reaffirmed over the years, most forcefully at the 2005 World Summit, whichcalled for the further mainstreaming of human rights throughout the United
Nations system, and resolved to integrate human rights into national policies.
More specifically, the rights-based approach is aimed at integrating UN humanrights standards and principles into development programming, and to ensurethat those standards and principles guide all aspects of the development process.
At the practical level, it means helping to build the capacities of governments tobetter meet their human rights obligations, as well as empowering individuals, inparticular the most vulnerable members of society, so that they may claim andenjoy their rights.
The standards and principles are drawn from the full range of UN human rights
instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and humanrights treaties. Of particular relevance for the topic of this conference is theDeclaration on the Right to Development, which stipulates the right of everyone
to participate in economic, social and political development, and articulates theprinciples of “free, active and meaningful participation” in development. Other
key principles drawn from the human rights instruments include equality andnon-discrimination, as well as accountability and the rule of law.
Lately, the rights-based approach to development has been questioned in someintergovernmental fora as a conditionality on development assistance. This is far
from the essence of the rights-based approach. All countries in the world havevoluntarily ratified at least one, and most countries more than three,international human rights instruments. Human rights are also anchored innational constitutions, thus giving concrete expression to the “nationalownership” of human rights. Indeed, as the focus is on the rights of development
beneficiaries, the rights-based approach does not embrace conditionality orexternally imposed models, but rather facilitates local ownership andempowerment of the beneficiaries.
Governance is not government, and good governance is not solely the work of a
responsible government. To be sure, let us go back to the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, which proclaimed in Article 21 that “Everyone has the right totake part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosenrepresentatives”.
“Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country. The willof the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will be
expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal
suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting
procedures.”

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This key democratic right of participation in public affairs is an essential elementof a human rights-based approach. Good governance can only be possible if
based in human rights, including the principles of accountability, transparency
and participation. In this context, it is important to stress that civil society,through the work of non-governmental organizations and professional
associations as well as of individual human rights defenders, is key to exercising
the required oversight and to promoting accountability and the rule of law.
Equally, freedom of expression, particularly the role of media and independentjournalists, as well as freedom of association are also seen as an essential part ofgovernance. Governments have the responsibility to encourage these roles by
opening channels through which people may seek redress against human rights
violations, be it through the independent judiciary, ombudspersons or national
human rights institutions.
At this time of economic crisis, there is concern that there will be setbacks in theenjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. Thus in February 2009 in
Geneva, the Human Rights Council held a special session on the impact of the
global economic and financial crises on the universal realization and effective
enjoyment of all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Among themost critical impacts, the Council highlighted higher unemployment rates,
reduced access to social security, health and education, inability to pay foradequate food and housing.
At the opening of the meeting, the High Commissioner asserted that while it isimperative to respond to the current crises with a thorough review of thefunctioning of the international financial and monetary mechanisms, a humanrights approach is needed to make the solutions more equitable and sustainable
in the medium and long run. Accountability is at the heart of the human rightsbased approach, which offers the legal rationale and ground to guide policies andprogrammes countering the negative effects of the financial crisis at national,
regional and international levels. Crucially, human rights-based policies go
beyond temporary stop-gap measures and address the deeply rooted causes ofdiscrimination and marginalization in order to prevent crises from snowballingand having enduring effects on ever larger sectors of the populations, and lead tointernational responses to the economic downturn that serves the interest ofindividuals and communities most adversely affected and marginalized by thecrises.
In other words, the human rights responsibilities of States are not diminishedbecause of economic or financial crisis, although the level of obligations of Statesis inevitably affected by the availability of resources. Even in times of growing
budget constraints, economic policy decisions must pay particular attention to
the necessary allocation of resources to fulfil basic human rights obligations toensure access to education, health care, social security, adequate food andhousing, and other rights.
The decision-making on the allocation of resources must be transparent, andscarce resources must be allocated in a way that ensures no group of thepopulation is discriminated against. Particularly in times of crisis, it is essentialthat those who are already most vulnerable should not be the ones to suffer thebrunt of any resource shortfalls. Education, for example, must be provided in an
equal manner to girls and boys, and health services must take into account the
specific health needs of women, the elderly, children or those with disabilities.
In summing up, if we are to effectively address the challenges of today andreduce vulnerability, we need to embrace a human rights approach to
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countries of the world to varying degrees, the reality still lags behind, eventhough it has been sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
first challenged States to take a critical look at their relationship with the rights
of individuals and devise a proactive programme of reforms to address theirresponsibility towards promoting such rights. OHCHR’s mission is to assist all
governance actors so as to accelerate the full implementation of the rights-based
approach and the full realization of the aspirations of the Universal Declaration.
New publications
South-South Learning Unit
Title: South-South Cooperation in Times of Global Economic Crisis Authors:
Michelle Morais de Sá e Silva Series: One Pager # 76
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager76.pdf
Title: Is the South Ready for South-South Cooperation? Author: Melissa
AndradeSeries: One Pager # 77
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager77.pdf
Title: Brazil-Africa Newsletter Series: Newsletter # 4 of the Africa-Brazil
Cooperation Programme on Social Development
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/publications/cct/brazil/news_eng4.pdf
The first One Pager argues that South-South cooperation is likely to survive thecurrent global slump. However, as the second one argues, the South needs todevelop the capacity to cooperate and invest in the institutional architecture
required for South-South learning. The Brazil-Africa Newsletter highlights recent
activities from the Africa-Brazil Cooperation Programme on Social Development.
New on ICSW Website
Upload date
26.02.2009

Content
European Newsletter February 200901.03.2009

South Asia Newsletter March 200918.03.2009

European Newsletter March 200924.03.2009

International Union of Black Sea NGOs
Newsletter No3, March 2009

Link
www.icsw.org/doc/ICSW_Europe_
newsletter_February_2009.doc
www.icsw.org/doc/South_Asia_Ne
wsletter_No2_March09.doc
www.icsw.org/doc/ICSW_Europe_
newsletter_March_2009.doc
www.icsw.org/doc/IUBSNGO_News
letter_No_3_March_2009_eng.pdf

The content of this Global Newsletter may be freely reproduced or cited provided thesource is acknowledged. Views do not necessarily represent policies of ICSW.
Newsletter Editor: Denys Correll – Executive Director.
ICSW C/- MOVISIE Netherlands Centre for Social Development
PO Box 19129
3501 DC Utrecht
NetherlandsWebsite www.icsw.org Email: icsw@icsw.org
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