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Human Rights Economy (HRE)

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The Human Rights Economy (HRE) envisages economies that are consistent with human rights laws. It is a conceptual framework introduced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in recognition that despite the Universal Declaration for Human Rights indicating that all individuals and organs of society need to respect human rights (preamble, art 29), the application of human rights relative to economic policies, investment decisions, business models, and consumer choices has been significantly lacking. OHCHR indicates this failure has contributed substantially to poverty, hunger, enormous income and wealth inequalities, environmental degradation, debt distress, political instability, and systemic discrimination.[1] The OHCHR advocates for the adoption of the Human Rights Economy to ensure that economic and social decision-making are guided by human rights law.[2] The concept posits that by applying human rights law to all aspects of society, a more equitable and sustainable economy will be created. The Human Rights Economy, like human rights, applies to all political and economic systems.[3]

Definition

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According to the OHCHR a Human Rights Economy places individuals and the planet at the core of all economic, social, and environmental policies, plans, and programs.[4] The Human Rights Economy framework aims to ensure that development, economic, industrial and trade policies, investment decisions, business, and consumer choices are guided and their success measured by human rights norms and standards.[5] Further, the Human Rights Economy actively encourages free and meaningful participation, empowers marginalized groups, and deliberately strives to eliminate discrimination and reduce inequalities.[6] It seeks to dismantle structural barriers and impediments to equality, justice, well-being, sustainable growth, and shared prosperity at both national and international levels.[7]

History

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The human rights economy is an attempt to rekindle the letter and spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The UDHR was written in the context of the atrocities of World War II and the Great Depression.  The drafters designed the document to apply to all aspects of society to create peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive societies; a world free from fear and want.

Human rights were to apply to all political and economic systems.  They have procedural and substantive elements.

At the time of the drafting of the UDHR, there was a global consensus that market capitalism had numerous imperfections, creating problems of concentration of wealth and power, while at the same time many lived in poverty.  In response, Keynesian economics and socialism were growing in influence, both economic systems posited that the well-being of people should be the purpose of an economic system.

The human rights economy is designed to contribute to the thinking of what is next after the period of neoclassical economics, as again there is growing consensus that the economic system has contributed to skyrocketing inequalities of wealth, income and power and have contributed significantly to environmental degradation and climate change.

Norms and Principles Underpinning a Human Rights Economy

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The Human Rights Economy is based on the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)[8],and reflects the universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of all human rights and their application to everyone.

The Human Rights Economy operationalizes all human rights treaties including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights (1976), the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (1976), both the First Optional Protocol (1976) and the Second Optional Protocol (1989), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), among others within the economy.[9]

Key Pathways to a Human Rights Economy

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According to OHCHR, it should be noted that human rights experts, policymakers, and economists often do not speak the same language.  It will take time to bring these languages and framings together to create the potential synergies and stimulate the needed changes. Many states already contribute to the creation of a human rights economy, but often the policies are not made consciously evaluating the desired human rights outcomes or necessarily are the results measured from a human rights perspective.  Even so, many policies, investment decisions, businesses and consumers choices already contribute to the creation of a human rights economy.  Many do not.  Much work is needed to make the effort conscious, create measures for success and greatly deepen and significantly expand these efforts.

There are multiple key pathways[10] to a Human Rights Economy. The key pathways are far from exclusive or exhaustive.  According to OHCHR these involve a context-specific, evidence-based approach that highlight ten critical areas:

1. Renewed Commitment to Realizing Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR)[11]

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  • ESCR are not optional, but progressive, they are to be understood as part of the rule of law and treated as such.

2. Human Rights as Guardrails for Fiscal Policy[12]

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  • Allocating 'maximum available resources' for the progressive realization of ESCR. This includes ringfencing ESCR investments in the context of debt payment. Progressive taxation and addressing revenue leakages. Transparency and prevention of corruption.
  • Assessment of budgets and their impact on human rights.
  • Use public procurement to fulfill human rights obligations

3. Accelerating Efforts to counter discrimination and inequalities to Leave No One Behind (LNOB)[13]

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  • Investing in the production and use of disaggregated data.
  • Allocating resources for disaggregated data collection and management.

4. Human rights enhancing investment and trade policies

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  • Anchoring host country's human rights obligations in trade and investment policies, assessing human rights impacts, and ensuring policy coherence with international human rights obligations.

5.  Reinforcing human rights in business operations, including through effective policies and regulations[14]

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  • Ensuring business operates with respect for human rights, including ESCR, across global value chains, is a key element of a human rights economy. Achieving this requires States to adopt a smart mix of effective measures – national and international, mandatory and voluntary - anchored in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
  • Incorporating human rights into corporate governance and board members' fiduciary duty, conducting human rights due diligence, and integrating negative human rights costs or externalities into pricing so no human rights costs are imposed on those not in the transaction.[15]

6. Enshrining human rights at the core of industrial policies[16]

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Aligning industrial policies with the human rights framework ensures the transition to an economy that is fair, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable, creating decent work opportunities and upholding the human rights of workers and affected communities.

7. Investing in Care and Support Systems Anchored in Human Rights[17]

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  • Recognizing and valuing unpaid care work.
  • Actively involving care and support providers and recipients, including older persons, persons with disabilities, children, and women and girls, in transforming care and support systems.[18]

8. Measuring Society's Success Beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP)[19]

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  • Understanding that improvement of the level of respect of all human rights for everyone is THE measure of success for a society.

9. Promote the responsible and sustainable use and management of economic and natural resources

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The fair and equitable distribution of resources and development benefits, to ensure the ability of both present and future generations to effectively enjoy all human rights, including their right to a clean, healthy sustainable environment.

10. Fostering Consumer and Political Participation and Fiscal Transparency[20]

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  • Empowering individuals to participate in decision-making, advocating for their rights.

Reference

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  1. ^ OHCHR (20 April 2023). "Türk issues call to build economies that advance human rights for all". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  2. ^ OHCHR (6 February 2023). "Türk calls for a human rights economy". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  3. ^ UNESCO (3 May 2023). "A solution in plain sight for a better world: a human rights economy". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  4. ^ OHCHR (6 April 2023). "Building economies that place people's human rights at the center". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  5. ^ Aspeninstitute (19 January 2023). "Economics Reimagined: A Discussion on Building a Human Rights Economy". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  6. ^ Bartmann, Y., & Lienert, S (October 2020). "BUILDING BACK BETTER" (PDF). Retrieved 24 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ NYFED (27 September 2022). "Exploring Baby Bonds as a Tool to Improve Economic Security". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ^ United Nations. "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  9. ^ United Nations. "Human Rights". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  10. ^ UNESCO (11 October 2023). "UNESCO and OHCHR jointly launch a call for the establishment of university chairs on the Human Rights Economy". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  11. ^ UPR (19 October 2023). "Integrating a human rights economy in public policies". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  12. ^ OHCHR (16 June 2023). "Joint Declaration on SDG Summit adopted by the 29th Annual Meeting of Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts, and Chairpersons of the Working Groups of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council" (PDF). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  13. ^ Center for Economic and Social Rights (26 October 2020). "A Rights-Based Economy: Putting people and planet first". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  14. ^ OHCHR (16 June 2023). "Joint Declaration on SDG Summit adopted by the 29th Annual Meeting of Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts, and Chairpersons of the Working Groups of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council" (PDF). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  15. ^ OHCHR (13 December 2023). "How to Make Economic Reforms Consistent with Human Rights Obligations" (PDF). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  16. ^ Ampofo-Anti, O. & Saba, A. (2023). "How a rights-based economy can help us overcome the social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time". GLOBAL STUDY ON NEW ECO-SOCIAL CONTRACTS (PDF). UNRISD. p. 36.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ WHO (2023). "Health for All – transforming economies to deliver what matters Final report of the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All" (PDF). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  18. ^ Barclay, L. (2018). Disability with Dignity: Justice, Rights and Equal Status. Routledge.
  19. ^ OHCHR (20 April 2023). "Statement by UN Human Rights Chief on human rights economy". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  20. ^ Leite, M., & Kohonen, M. (2023). Righting the Economy: Towards a People's Recovery from Economic and Environmental Crisis. AgendaPublishing.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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