1. Study on
Right to Developmentin International Law
What do you mean by Development? Analyze development and
underdevelopment definition under the context of Bangladesh. What do you
mean by Right to Development? What are the roles of State with special
reference to Bangladesh? Linkage between democracy and development
ensuring human rights in Bangladesh
JhumaHalder
11/18/2015

2. Table of content:
What do you mean by Development? _______________________________________ 3
Analyze development and underdevelopment definition under the context of Bangladesh
______________________________________________________________________ 3
What do you mean by Right to Development? ________________________________ 5
What are the roles of state with special reference to Bangladesh? ________________ 8
Linkage between democracy and development to ensure human rights ____________ 9
Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 11
References ___________________________________________________________ 12

3. What do you mean by Development?
Development is a concept which is contested both theoretically and politically and is inherently
both complex and ambiguous. Recently it has taken on the limited meaning of the practice of
development agencies, especially in aiming at reducing poverty and the MDG. There are three
discernable definition of development. These are:
 Development is a process of change.
 Development is policy related and evolution or indicator led based on value judgments
and has short to medium term time horizons development as the MDG’s, for example.
 The third is post modernist drawing attention to the ethnocentric and ideologically loaded
western conceptions of development and raising the possibilities of alternative
conceptions.
The term development is often used in the following combinations: economic development,
socio-economic development, and economic development in USA or elsewhere, the development
of the region of the city. In each case underdevelopment generally refers to any progressive
change primarily in the economic sphere. If the change is quantitative they talk about economic
growth. In a qualititative change we can talk about the structural changes or changes in the
content development, or the acquisition of the economic system of the new features.
Analyze development and underdevelopment definition under the context of Bangladesh
Development indicators have evolved considerably since the 1960s. This evolution has been
inter-woven with disputes on the meaning of development. A major feature of this has been the
contrast between economic indicators such as per capita income on one hand and broader views
of development and wellbeing which include social and psychological dimensions at their centre
on the other hand. Most recently a newly emerging focus is on the distinction between universal
or objective wellbeing and subjective or context-specific wellbeing.
Development is a human right for all individuals and peoples. The formulation of development
as a right is based on the idea that it is not merely an equivalent to economic growth. The
Declaration on the Right to Development describes development as “a comprehensive economic,

4. social, cultural and political process, which aims at the constant improvement of the wellbeing of
the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful
participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits….”
The term “third world” is a remnant of cold war thinking, which divided the world into two rigid
blocs, the capitalist western world and the communist eastern. With all the countries not allied to
the USA or former USSR, they are lumped into the remaining third category. This political use
of the term was very imprecise because some countries like South Africa could not fit well in
any of the categories. Other nations were important political allies of each of the two main
powers but did not even share the same political ideologies. With such imprecision and
ambiguities, the use of the term third world gradually lost meaning, then shifted from political to
economic, and today it is generally used to refer to states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that
are considered not highly industrialized.
The problem the terms “developed” and “underdeveloped” faced, was that many of the so-called
underdeveloped (now developing countries or model countries) societies were already making
remarkable progress at the same time that some of the “developed nations” were undertaking
development projects to become more developed. More recently, the United Nations (UN) has
used the expression “Less Developed Countries (LDCs) and “More Developed Countries
(MDCs) to differentiate between those countries that have not made much economic or industrial
development from those that have some significant achievements. These UN expressions contain
the essential fact of development as a continuing process in both societies be it the developed or
underdeveloped.
Whatever term is used, it is essential to note that there are persistent efforts to contrast living
standards of developed nations with those of other nations to be found in Africa, Asia and Latin
America; even though there may be as many similarities as there are contrasts. Even when these
contrasts in living standards are mentioned, another common characteristic is noticed: focus is on
the under privileged (who are many and should be taken care of) and the upper strata is
overlooked in the LDCs, and for the developed nations, focus is on the living standards of the
wealthy and almost completely are ignored are the poor.

5. Bangladesh is an interesting puzzle. It is representative of the contemporary postmodern
condition when nothing is clear-cut. It is at once both highly developed as well as
underdeveloped. Bangladesh is a country that is economically backward and politically quite
advanced. Many political and social scientists have often equated democracy with development
and capitalism with political freedom. Bangladesh belies both these assumptions. It is a
reasonably free society while being one of the world’s poorest economies. Even the Freedom
House ratings, which are quite biased against non-Western societies in their measurements, rate
Bangladesh as a reasonably free state.
Bangladesh is a highly developed state in political terms. But sadly it exposes an American myth
that prosperity follows freedom. Bangladesh is a “poor democracy”. Its per capita income is less
than $500 a year. 36% of the population is below poverty level and nearly 35% of the population
is unemployed. Annually a large section of the country is submerged in floods and as sea levels
rise with global warming Bangladesh will face more drastic environmental threats with
devastating economic implications.
Lack of industrialization, poor infrastructures, and untapped human resources continue to
challenge Bangladesh in its quest for economic well being. Poverty and disasters continue to test
the moral and political fiber of the nation. There are no shortcuts out of the environmental and
economic troubles of Bangladesh. But we must remember that in spite of all its difficulties,
Bangladeshis have found a way to live in freedom, respect each other’s dignity and remain
connected with God.

6. What do you mean by Right to Development?
The right to development was first recognized in 1981 in Article 22 of the African Charter on
Human and Peoples' Rights as a definitive individual and collective right. Article 22 (1) provides
that: "All peoples shall have the right to their economic, social and cultural development with
due regard to their freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the common heritage of
mankind."
The right to development was subsequently proclaimed by the United Nations in 1986 in the
"Declaration on the Right to Development," which was adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly resolution 41/128. The Right to development is a group right of peoples as opposed to
an individual right, and was reaffirmed by the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action.
The concept of the Right to Development is controversial, with some commentators disputing
whether it is a right at all. The meaning of the right to development has been elaborated in a
number of sources. The right to development is now included in the mandate of several UN
institutions and offices. The Preamble of the Declaration on the Right to Development states,
"development is a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which aims at
the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the
basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution
of benefits resulting there from."
Bearing in mind the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations relating to the
achievement of international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic,
social, cultural or humanitarian nature, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion,
United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development.
The right to development is an essential recognition of an age-old attempt to fulfill the
uniqueness in man. It is a formal realization of the fact that if mankind is to abide by the

7. conventions that guarantee a safe existence it must be given the opportunity to develop within
itself the characteristics that will ensure the upholding of these commitments. Man must be
allowed to foster the part of him that transcends race, religion, language and gender, and so to
focus on his essence. It is, thus, a call to the spiritual. In this sense, the Convention on the Right
to Development represents a much-needed attempt to restore to large sections of the world's
population the dignity that is their birthright. We should recall minding the sentiments espoused
by the Convention on the Rights of the Child that the right-to development should not be granted
at a price, that a child must have the right to grow and develop "in conditions of freedom and
dignity." In light of this, the Baha'i International Community fully concurs with the conclusions
presented in the Report of the "Global Consultation on the Realization of the Right to
Development" (E/CN.4/1990/9) and commends the excellent work it has done.
For those in a position to affect such recognition of the freedoms and rights of oppressed
minorities and maltreated citizens, the challenge is largely to raise the consciousness of the
equality of all mankind to the level of principle. It is to ensure that the standard of human rights,
including as an essential prerequisite the right to development, will not suffer at the hands of
compromise and self-interest. It is not sufficient merely to accept the contraction of the world
into an interdependent entity; it should be our foremost consideration, when dealing with the
issues raised by the right to development, to commit ourselves to the fundamental belief that
humanity must be united in its consciousness of a global society and to remain steadfast in this
belief. If this belief is to be the lodestone of our thinking, then we must, of course, consider the
right to development as a freedom that is as much a gift to future generations as it is a cause in
ours. If this eternal sense of human rights is to remain free from the manipulation of expediency
and parochial attitudes, it must assume an origin beyond and above political or economic
ideologies. For Baha'is, the right to development is a spiritual bounty and, in this sense, is not a
man-made convention that has arisen from circumstance. With this backbone of belief, we may
call to mind a few of the problems that beset human progress and, thus, the cause of
development. Let us consider one such shameful state of affairs: the role of women. It is 1/3
something of an axiom to say that the emancipation of women is vital to the full realization of
the universal right to development. As one Baha'i text puts it:

8. "The denial of such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the world's population
and promotes in men harmful attitudes and habits that are carried from the family to the
workplace, to political life, and ultimately to international relations."
In developing countries, but, of course, not in these countries alone, women remain the beasts of
burden.
What are the roles of state with special reference to Bangladesh?
Bangladesh is not the only case where interests other than Islamic unity have proven more
powerful. The quick disintegration of the United Arab Republic, a union of Syria and Egypt that
combined Islam, asabiyyah (Arab nationalism) and external threat (from Israel), is another case
of Islamic entities splitting for interests other than Islam.
The second myth that Bangladesh has exposed is the claim by some Muslims and many
westerners that Islam and democracy are incompatible. Bangladesh while not exactly an
exemplary democracy or an advertisement for Islamic governance has nevertheless succeeded in
demonstrating that a community dominated by Muslims can have Islam as the state religion and
still provide democratic rights to its citizens and freedom of religion to its minorities.
There are cases of religious discrimination and harassment of minorities in Bangladesh. For
example in 1992, when the Babri Masjid was destroyed in India by Hindu nationalists nearly 80
Hindu temples were desecrated in Bangladesh as an act of revenge. If what the Hindus did was a
travesty, then what the Bangladeshi Muslims did was 80 times worse. Also in April, unknown
miscreants blew a Roman Catholic Church. But these infrequent tragedies apart, Bangladesh is
striving to be a good state that treats all its citizens justly.
Its constitution at least is determined to do justice to all. It recognizes the primacy of Islam
(Article 2A) but guarantees the freedom of religion of all communities (Article 41). Article 11 of
the constitution asserts that the Republic will be a democracy that respects all the human rights
and freedoms of all its citizens. Article 39 specifically protects the freedom of speech and
expression of every citizen (39a) and 39b guarantees the freedom of the press. Cynics, especially

9. those who neither understand nor respect democratic principles, maybe tempted to underestimate
the importance of their constitution. However, the key is their implementation. In the era of
globalization and global interdependence, having these rights enshrined in the constitution is an
important first step. International pressure, especially from NGOs and human rights activists has
a greater impact on states that already claim to respect these rights. Often moving court in cases
of human rights violations provides effective remedy. But in states whose constitutions do not
already enshrine human rights; states can continue to violate their own citizens with impunity
leaving no recourse to domestic as well as international human rights activists.
Linkage between democracy and development to ensure human rights
Democracy and human rights are clearly different notions; “they are distinct enough for them to
be viewed as discreet and differentiated political concepts.” Whereas democracy aims to
empower “the people” collectively, human right aims to empower individuals. Similarly, human
rights is directly associated with the how of ruling, and not just thewho, which may be the case in
an electoral democracy, though not in a substantive democracy. Thus, “democracies” exist that
do not necessarily protect human rights, while some non-democratic states are able to ensure
some, though not all, human rights. On another level, the international acceptance,
institutionalization, and legal aspects of human rights mentioned above do not apply to
democracy.
These distinctions have influenced the traditional separation of the theories and fields of human
rights and democracy. From the human rights perspective, many have adhered to the
separationist theory, which argues that “democracy is not immediately needed for the
observation of human rights and that the maintenance of an essential link between human rights
and democracy may well have the effect of delaying the implementation of human rights norms
in various states.” A recent corollary of the separationist theory is the “democracy as neo-
imperialism” notion that charges that “democracy is a ‘Western-centric’ approach to government
that is not found indigenously in all societies and is not desirable for all peoples.”

10. Human rights and democracy have historically been viewed as separate, albeit parallel,
concepts. However, understandings of both human rights and democracy are dynamic and
varied, and recent re-conceptualizations of both ideas have led to the emergence of a discourse
that recognizes their interdependence. Specifically, definitions of democracy have expanded
from the traditional procedural democracy to encompass the ideals of a substantive, liberal
democracy. Likewise, the human rights framework has begun to further develop conceptions of
social, economic, and cultural rights, in addition to civil and political rights, thus expanding the
notion of human rights to include human security, and extending human rights to the collective
as well as the individual level. These renewed definitions present opportunities for recognizing
the convergence of the theories and fields related to human rights and democracy.
The necessity of acknowledging the interdependence of democracy and human rights is
becoming especially important in emerging democracies such as Palestine. In these cases, in
which the development and reform of democratic institutions is starting to take place, it is
imperative to ensure that such institutions are built on foundations of both human rights and
democracy if they are to be sustainable. To be sure, previous attempts at democracy by the
Palestinian Authority (PA) in the 1990s proved to be ephemeral, largely due to the absence of
protection for human rights. Likewise, human rights advocates have found it difficult to affect
systemic change in the absence of a legitimate democracy. Thus, as Palestine looks ahead to
new opportunities for democracy in the future, it is necessary to integrate the broadened human
rights framework, including human security, with the ideals and institutions of a liberal,
participatory democracy.
Many local communities in developing countries and in Bangladesh are in the trap of poverty
created during the colonial and neo-colonial period due to multifarious reasons. As a result, the
most of the people in the developing countries still continue to live in abject and endemic
poverty. Unequal distribution of resources, consumerism and materialism created out of
capitalism is considered to be inimical to sustainable development. The lavish use of energy and
much consumption of resources by the affluent sections of the society have caused
environmental damages. For a developing and poor country like Bangladesh, the important
principles that must be addressed for the success of sustainable development are thus: eradication

11. of human poverty, empowerment through traditional institutions, and the introduction of locally-
based planning with the participation of its beneficiaries. (Quoted in Hasan, 1999). Alongside
government programmes and activities for sustainable development, community-based an
organization that emanates from and is operated by the community itself has a better chance of
mobilizing people is adopting a culture of sustainable development. Since poverty is a major
issue in many developing countries, and so is in Bangladesh, much more attention should be paid
to eradicate this chronic and socially embedded problem. At the same time, people’s
participation and empowerment of local people through traditional practices demand an
underlying importance for sustainable development. If decision comes from the people in a
bottom-up process and people’s participation is ensured and encouraged, the goal of sustainable
development can certainly be achieved over a period of time. In this context voluntary
organizations can play a very pivotal role to encourage and mobilize local people and resources
with an aim at supporting local groups for sustainable development.
Conclusion
Many development scholars attributed the dismal economic performance of many countries to
the problems of governance. And sustainable development cannot be achieved without good
governance. So in this backdrop, sound local governance is a crying need and a prerequisite for
sustainable social and human development. Achieving sustainability through local governance is
a common issue in many developing countries like Bangladesh. The importance of decentralized
governance is increasing in every democratic country and so is in Bangladesh for its multifarious
benefits and utilities. Taking all these facts into consideration, we can take a point of local
governance, which shows greater potentials in achieving sustainable development through an
improved system of governance at local level.
Bangladeshis have also shown that Muslim societies allow women more opportunities for self-
expression in the public arena than they are given credit for. Bangladeshi women are not only
well integrated into the political arena but are also quite active in the economic sphere. The
micro-enterprise project (Grameen Bank) initiated by Dr. Muhammad Yunus has shown that
empowering women is an important strategy to fight poverty and underdevelopment.
Bangladeshi women have shown that while remaining within the moral sphere of Islamic values,

12. women can play an important role in the economic well being of their immediate families and
the political well being of their nation.
The problems of sustainability in the developing countries can be held responsible for poverty
and issues related to it. Poverty is a social disease, which hinders ‘long term’ productive life, and
so needs to be eradicated. The path of sustainable development is easier through the alleviation
of poverty. Frank (1996) also underlines the importance of community participation and
beneficiary involvement in sustainable development programmes. Empowering communities
with formal skill development training is also important for sustainable development. The
aforementioned aspects of sustainable development can be achieved by decentralizing the
management of resources upon which local communities depend, and giving these communities
an effective say over the use of these resources (WCEP, 1987). Sustainable development calls for
human beings to be placed at the centre of the stage; and appropriately constituted local
governments are the best institutional mechanism to achieve this imperative towards promoting
sustainable development (Ahmad and Ahmed, 2002).
References
1. An article by Muqtedar Khan “Bangladesh: A Poor Muslim Democracy”
2. http://development.asia/issue01/focus.asp
3. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/news/savitri.htm
4. Human Rights and Democracy: Conceptualization and Application in Palestine By
J.Norman, July 2005
5. LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN
BANGLADESH: THE NEED FOR ACCELERATED VOLUNTARISM AND
PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION, MD. AL-AMIN, MD. NAZRUL ISLAM, TOFAYEL
AHMED
6. The Interrelationship between Poverty, Environment and Sustainable Development in
Bangladesh: An Overview by Mahbuba Nasreen, Professor of Sociology, University of
Dhaka. Email: mnasreen@bdcom.com, Khondokar Mokaddem Hossain Professor of
Sociology, University of Dhaka, and Debasish Kumar Kundu, Graduate student,
Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka

13. 7. Third World and the Meaning of Development · by Akwalla Johanness
8. United Nations General Assembly resolution no - GA/SHC/3912 on 28 November 2007
(54 Meeting on RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT, GIRL CHILD, PROTECTION OF
MIGRANTS AMONG ISSUES ADDRESSED)