5.2.2 NHRI Constraints
For many international partners and donors, development projects are often grounded in economic policy decisions, without the benefit of a human rights-based approach. Despite growing acknowledgement of the importance of a human rights-based approach to development, there are obstacles because development is still often conceived, planned and executed in largely economic terms.
NHRIs themselves are increasingly called upon to get involved in development-related issues. Two related factors impose constraints on their ability to do so. First, the immediacy of core protection issues require urgent actions in areas like torture and arbitrary detention, can push development-related issues to the margins of NHRI work. Second, the realisation of certain rights central to development, such as ESC rights, cannot be instantly achieved, but requires progressive and long-term effort. Immediate and urgent demands on a NHRI may make it difficult for it to make the continuous and long-term effort necessary to achieve success.
This gap between rhetoric and fact, and the time-lines in seeing results, present NHRIs with real challenges. They must find ways to ‘get at’ development issues and human rights-based approach to development, in spite of the focus often given to economic issues. They must have the vision and long-term organisational focus to wait for results, even as most critics will be calling for immediate change.
Many NHRIs also face jurisdictional issues, as their mandates focus mainly on civil and political rights, or on limited aspects of equality rights.
Finally, these rights require positive actions by the state and these decisions – which are ultimately about allocating resources to initiatives like housing, education and health care – are viewed in terms that are seen as governance and policy decisions. Their justiciability is frequently called into question, notwithstanding current initiatives worldwide to the contrary. UNCTs should be aware of these limitations, and can provide examples of how to use the legal system to support NHRIs in the areas of human development and democratic governance.
Despite these constraints, NHRI engagement with national development priorities has the potential to bring HRBA to development issues as they relate to issues addressed in this chapter, such as justiciability of ESC rights, the achievement of MDGs, poverty reduction strategies and budget analysis and monitoring, as well as public administration initiatives like decentralisation.
In Nigeria, progress towards MDGs has been slow and the formulation of poverty reduction strategies has not been inclusive and participatory. Effective interventions by the NHRI might have been helpful. However, in the view of the country office, the Nigerian Human Rights Commission’s overwhelming focus on its traditional roles of human rights monitoring and documentation, as well as its severe capacity gaps, have limited its ability to apply a HRBA to development.
Source: Mr. Samuel Egwu, Team leader, Governance, UNDP Nigeria
UNCTs may have an especially important role in helping NHRIs manage constraints and identify priority areas of action generally through the strategic planning process, as discussed in Module 2 of the Toolkit. As regards human rights priorities among development goals, however, the most evident development gaps in terms of MDGs or other goals will provide good starting points.