LI Buyun*

 

The right to life and the right to development are primary rights of man. This is a basic view of Chinese human rights. Yet many foreign scholars refuse to consider the right to development as part of human rights; while, many domestic scholars hold different opinions towards the meaning of the right to development. To Clarify the precise meaning of the right to development is an important theoretical human rights issue. 

 

The difference between the right to development and the development is that the former is a kind of right while the latter is a philosophical concept, which refers to the evolution from lower level to higher one of anything. As a matter of right, the right to development must have three basic elements: first, the subjects of the right, that is, who enjoy the right; second, the content of the right, that is, the subjects’ demand of the right; third, the subject of the duty, that is, who or which organization bears the duty and obligation for such a demand. To clarify this issue, the right to development should be interpreted in both narrow and board senses. 

 

Right to development in its narrow sense is a collective right of human bening. Its bases in international laws are the 16th paragraph of the Declaration on the Right to Development (A/RES/41/128): “Confirming that the right to development is an inalienable human right and that equality of opportunity for development is a prerogative both of nations and of individuals who make up nations.” Phrases like “bearing in mind”, “recognizing”, “considering”, “recalling”,and “considering”, are also used in other paragraphs while only in the last paragraph “confirming” is used for the conclusion of the declaration, stressing that such a right of man is “inalienable”.

 

Right to development in its narrow sense is the main fruit of the developing countries’ efforts in promoting the formulation of the Declaration on the Right to Development. At that time, what the developed countries stressed was that an individual in any country had the right to equally participate in and enjoy the fruits of development. The proposing and drafting of the Declaration on the Right to Development was a special demand of the developing countries. At the voting stage, six developed countries abstained from voting, and one voted against it. Such a result shows that the right to development is mainly the need of the developing countries, that is, the developing countries have the right to “equal developing opportunities”.

 

There are three theoretical bases for the right to development. First, undesirable old economic and political order long exists in international society, which seriously restricts the development of developing countries. Second, it is the common wish and pursuit of human beings to have equal right and the right to equal developing opportunities. Third, countries at different developing phases co-exist with each other. If the development of developing countries long legged behind, it would hinder the further development of developed countries. 

 

According to various international documents, the content of the right to development in its narrow sense is mainly asking international organizations and all developed countries to take measures to promote the development of developing countries. Take the Economic and Social Council of United Nations as an example. Its main task is to guarantee that developing countries enjoy the right to equal developing opportunities. Countries should cooperate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating obstacles to development. The international community should promote an effective international cooperation for the realization of the right to development and the elimination of obstacles to development. (Article 10, Part I of theVienna Declaration and Programme of Action). The World Conference on Human Rights calls upon the international community to make all efforts to help alleviate the external debt burden of developing countries in order to supplement the efforts of the governments of such countries to attain the full realization of the economic, social and cultural rights of their people (Article 12, Part I of theVienna Declaration and Programme of Action); and carries out Generalized System of Preferences in WTO system; etc..

 

Right to development in its broad sense is at first a right of man for each and every individual. Its bases in international laws are the 13th paragraph of the Annex of the Declaration on the Right to Development (A/RES/41/128): “Recognizing that the human person is the central subject of thedevelopment process and that development policy should therefore make thehuman being the main participant and beneficiary of development”, which is applicable to both developed and developing countries. An individual in any country has the right to equally participate in and enjoy the fruits of development. So is it applicable to both the millionaires and the homeless. However, those who should be the actual beneficiaries are people at the bottom of society. Due to their weak status in society, they usually have no right or freedom to participate in development, nor can they enjoy the fruits. 

 

The connotation and meaning of right to development in its broad sense is applicable to every country. Its application and manifestation in China is mainly based on the scientific outlook on development. The core theory of the scientific outlook on development is people-centered. Development is for the people, by the people and of the people sharingin its fruits. Such an expression mainly interprets the right to development from the perspective of individual human rights. Yet according to the narrow interpretation of the Declaration on the Right to Development (A/RES/41/128), some special regions and ethnic minorities of a country should enjoy special rights to development. For example, in China, the development of the western region and the minority areas, due to geographic or historical reasons, is long lagged behind. They should have special rights to development. Corresponding with three theoretical bases of right to development in its narrow sense, people in these areas should be given the right to equal development opportunities with those in the eastern region. It is the state’s duty to take various measures to speed up their development. 

 

The interpretation and view of the right to development in China is a combination of both the narrow and the broad. Only in this way can the scientific connotation of the right to development be precisely mastered and fully realized. With the guidance of this theory, China has made great achievements. Since the Reform and Opening up in 1978, China has entered a new great era. The GDP has kept 10% yearly growth rate continuously for more than 10 years, which is considered as a miracle in the economic development of human beings. China has become the 2nd largest economic body in the world. The livelihood of people has been highly improved. All these are closely related with the firm implementation of the policies “development by the people and of the people sharingin its fruits” and providing special aids to the western region and the ethnic minority areas. Nowadays, China is still the largest developing country faced with a serious situation and task of continuous development. In the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, the Central Committee put forward the strategy of “four comprehensives”, increasing the role of market economy from being “basic” to “decisive”, stressing “the separation of politics and communities”, insisting decentralization, improving social security system, and continuously enhancing the aids to the ethnic minorities and the western region. All these are to secure the right to development, to arouse the initiative, activity and creativity of the people to participate in development, and to ensure that the country will be increasingly prosperous and the people would get happier and happier. 

 

To fully interpret the scientific connotation and important meaning of the right to development, one must realize that the right to development and the right to life are primary rights of man, both of which are closely connected with each other. Though people have different opinions towards the right to life, there is one consensus, that is, it is a “comprehensive” right.  In my opinion, literally, the basic connotation of the right to life should be that everyone should have the right to survive, and to live a decent, dignified life. Therefore the main international law basis of this right should be International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

 

There have long been differences and disputes among scholars and countries on the relations between the universality and the specialty of the right of man, between economic and political rights and between individual and collective human rights, which is obviously shown in the drafting of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (adopted by the 2nd World Conference on Human rights). At last all the participants reached a rational compromise, that is, Article 5, Part I of the Declaration: “All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated. The internationalcommunity must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and withthe same emphasis. While the significance of national and regional particularities and varioushistorical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of the countries, regardlessof their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights andfundamental freedoms.” Chinese government took part in the draft of this Declaration and fully agreed with such a “declaration”, and naturally this provisions, and strictly followed it in practices.

 

Some scholars like to use this passage (Article 5, Part I of the Declaration) to criticize the view that “the right to development and the right to life are primary rights of man”. This is a misunderstanding. Such a view of the Chinese government has its specific meaning, which is not in conflict with the passage mentioned above. There are two aspects of its meaning. First, it never denies that all human rights are important. Yet in the mutual connections and mutual influences of all human rights, there must be one that plays a more important role. This is related to the historical materialism world view. In his speech before Marx’s tomb, Engels had said that “mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.” “It is from this most basic fact that Marx realized a basic rule of historical development: the development of productivity is the ultimate and decisive force of the development and progress of human society.”¹ This is a rule that has been proved by the whole history of human civilization. In other words, if a country is backward in economic development and its people are in poverty, it would be very hard for it to have advanced democracy, science and cultures. This can also be illustrated by a simple example. If a man was still in hungry, what he needed was not a ballot, but a bag of flour. Second, because the situations of different countries vary, the priority of their human rights development strategies would be rather different. Since the livelihood of people in developed countries gets increased, and people receive higher education, they would naturally have more interests and capacities to care about politics. In contrast, to improve the whole level to human rights security, developing countries will certainly put economic development and increasing in people’s livelihood in prioritized positions. All these never obstruct the governments to pay close attention to various human rights. 

 

All over the world, eliminating poverty is still the largest challenge. Future We Want, the outcome document of the latest United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (2012, Rio+20), notes that “Eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. One in five people on this planet, or over 1 billion people, still live in extreme poverty, and that one in seven or fourteen per cent is undernourished, while public health challenges, including pandemics and epidemics, remain omnipresent threats. In this context, we note the ongoing discussions on human security in the General Assembly. We acknowledge that with the world's population projected to exceed nine billion by 2050 with an estimated two thirds living in cities, we need to increase our efforts to achieve sustainable development and, in particular, the eradication of poverty, hunger and preventable diseases.”

 

The document also notes that “We recognize that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable and promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are the overarching objectives of and essential requirements for sustainable development. We also reaffirm the need to achieve sustainable development by promoting sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for all, reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living, fostering equitable social development and inclusion, and promoting integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems that supports, inter alia, economic, social and human development while facilitating ecosystem conservation, regeneration and restoration and resilience in the face of new and emerging challenges.”

 

The document clearly mentions that “people are at the centre of sustainable development”. “We recognize that opportunities for people to influence their lives and future, participate in decision-making and voice their concerns are fundamental for sustainable development. We underscore that sustainable development requires concrete and urgent action. It can only be achieved with a broad alliance of people, governments, civil society and the private sector, all working together to secure the future we want for present and future generations.” Heads of all states also reiterate that “We reaffirm the importance of supporting developing countries in their efforts to eradicate poverty and promote empowerment of the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including removing barriers to opportunity, enhancing productive capacity, developing sustainable agriculture and promoting full and productive employment and decent work for all, complemented by effective social policies, including social protection floors, with a view to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.”

 

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development restates the connotation and meaning of the right to development and further consolidates states’ consensus on it. In this respect, comprehensively interpreting the connotation and meaning of the right to development, and insisting that the right to life and the right to development are primary rights of man are of great significance to both the future continuous development of the world and China (the current largest developing country in the world with its population taking up 1/5 of the whole).

 

                                                (Translated by Qi Jun)

 

*LIBuyun, Director and Professor of the Human Rights Institute, Guangzhou University.

 

1. Karl Marx and Frederick Engles, Vol.3, People’s Publishing House, 1995, pp 776-778.