Conclusion

Human development and democratic governance are closely linked to human rights contained in international legal standards. Taking a human rights-based approach means not only that planning and policy-making should be informed by human rights at the “front end” of the governance process (for example, budget making, program development and decentralisation initiatives), but also that rights should be enforceable if violated – human rights, whatever their source, should be linked to remedies, and in many jurisdictions, such rights are enforceable. Across all these initiatives, MDGs and other indicators linked to human well being form a road map for promoting ESC rights.

NHRIs should insist that the connections be made to human rights in all major development and democratic governance projects. A simple template can be used to show the horizontal connections between State responsibility, the NHRI potential role, and the possible strategic venues for UNCT intervention. Because of the UN’s close connections to such projects in developing countries, UNCTs are uniquely positioned to provide the necessary tools should a NHRI choose to move this direction.