World Model United Nations 2011

UN S oc i al, Cu l t u ra l, and H um an Com mittee

Bac kgro u n d G u i d e
 Social, Cultural, and
Humanitarian Committee
Table of Contents
Letter from the Secretary General..............................................................1
Letter from the Under-Secretary General...................................................2
Letter from the Chair...................................................................................3
Introduction................................................................................................4
History of the Committee...........................................................................6
Topic A: Disabled Persons
Origing of the Problem.........................................................................................8
Case Studies.............................................................................................................12
Past UN Action.....................................................................................................13
Proposed Solutions................................................................................................15
QARMA...................................................................................................15
Topic B: The Right to Development
History of the Problem............................................................................................17
Key Actors..............................................................................................................21
Past Actions...........................................................................................................24
Proposed Solutions...............................................................................................24
QARMA........................................................................................................25
Position Papers..........................................................................................27
Closing Remarks......................................................................................27
Appendix.................................................................................................31
Bibliography..............................................................................................35

Cover image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.

 Letter from the
Secretary-General
March 14 - March 18 2011

REIHAN NADARAJAH Dear Delegates,

Secretary-General
It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you to World Model United Nations 2011!
REMEN OKURUWA My name is Reihan Nadarajah, and I will serve as your Secretary-General for
Director-General WorldMUN’s 20th conference. The conference staff of WorldMUN has been
hard at work, ensuring that you receive the best substantive experience before,
IOANA CALCEV during and even after conference has ended. Within this document, you will find
Under-Secretary-General for General the study guide for your committee. Each Chair has worked to display his or her
interest and passion for the topics found within this guide. They have researched
Assemblies
extensively to provide you with the best possible overview of each committee’s
topic area.
SAMIR PATEL
Under-Secretary-General for Economic
This study guide should serve as a launching pad for all your research; research
and Social Councils and Regional
that will be pivotal in ensuring you have as rewarding an experience as possible
Bodies in committee. The WorldMUN Spirit asks each delegate to step into the shoes
of those from entirely different cultures to yours, to gain a better understanding
KATHLEEN TANG across borders, and this starts with your research. As you prepare for conference,
Under-Secretary-General for look closely at this guide, and use the additional resources suggested by your
Specialized Agencies Chair to learn more about the topic, and your represented position on it. Please
also use the additional resources on our website: WorldMUN 101 (a guide
KENNETH LI to everything MUN), and the Rules of Procedure – both of which have been
Under-Secretary-General for Strategy revamped this year. Also feel free to e-mail your Chair, or your Under-Secretary-
General at any point during the preparation process if you have questions or
CHARLENE WONG would like assistance. Later in the winter, we will also place updates on recent
Under-Secretary-General for developments on the topics on the website, written by your Assistant Chairs.
Administration
Good luck with your preparation, and I hope you enjoy reading this Study
APARAJITA TRIPATHI Guide! I look forward to meeting you in Singapore in March!
Under-Secretary-General for Business
Sincerely,
Reihan Nadarajah
Secretary-General
World Model United Nations 2011
secretarygeneral@worldmun.org
 Letter from the
Under-Secretary-General
March 14 - March 18 2011

REIHAN NADARAJAH Dear Delegates of the General Assembly,

Secretary-General
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the General Assembly of
REMEN OKURUWA WorldMUN 2011! My name is Ioana Calcev and I am very excited to be Under-
Director-General Secretary-General for this conference. Model United Nations has been an
important part of my life since high school and throughout college, and I am
IOANA CALCEV genuinely thrilled to meet students from all over the world who strive to make
Under-Secretary-General for General the world a little better each day.
Assemblies
The General Assembly is the organ where every nation has an equal voice in
addressing international problems and promoting new initiatives. This year,
SAMIR PATEL
the General Assembly is home to some of WorldMUN’s most challenging
Under-Secretary-General for Economic
committees. Ranging from traditional United Nations bodies such as the
and Social Councils and Regional
Disarmament and International Security Committee and the Special Political
Bodies and Decolonization Committee to the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The issues discussed in committee promise to be both a great learning experience
KATHLEEN TANG as delegates participate in intense debate, negotiation, and diplomacy.
Under-Secretary-General for
Specialized Agencies Please take the time to read the background guide thoroughly and familiarize
yourself with the topics at hand. Your Chair and Assistant Chairs have been
KENNETH LI working very hard to put together amazing committees that will help you have
Under-Secretary-General for Strategy the best possible experience in Singapore. The following guide is the result of
many hours of research and hard work. However, the background guide is by
CHARLENE WONG no means all encompassing. Rather, it is meant to serve as a launching pad for
Under-Secretary-General for further research and investigation. If you have any questions about the material
Administration at hand please do not hesitate to contact your Chair or myself.

APARAJITA TRIPATHI
Under-Secretary-General for Business
Enjoy reading this study guide and be sure to make the most of it. I look forward
to meeting all of you in Singapore!
Sincerely,
Ioana Calcev
USG General Assembly
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
ga@worldmun.org
 Letter from the Chair

March 14 - March 18 2011

REIHAN NADARAJAH Hello Delegates!

Secretary-General
My name is Edlira Nasi and I’d like to welcome you to the Social and
REMEN OKURUWA Humanitarian Committee of World Model United Nations 2011, the 20th
Director-General conference that the WorldMUN team is organizing!

IOANA CALCEV I am a senior at Harvard, concentrating in Social Studies. I am originally

Under-Secretary-General for General Albanian but have lived most of my life in beautiful Greece! I have been
participating in Model United Nations sessions many years now and I truly
Assemblies
enjoy discussing with and meeting interesting people. Other than that I am
also involved in the Harvard Model Congress Executive Board, where I work
SAMIR PATEL
on a similar conference for high school students. Academically, I am interested
Under-Secretary-General for Economic
in Human Rights issues, interna tional law as well as issues of comparative
and Social Councils and Regional
immigration in Europe and the US.
Bodies
As far as my other interests are concerned, I enjoy sleeping (!) listening to music,
KATHLEEN TANG watching chick-flick movies or simply hanging out with friends.
Under-Secretary-General for
Specialized Agencies The topics I’ve chosen for the SOCHUM Committee to discuss are not only
very interesting but also important for development and human rights issues.
KENNETH LI You will be asked to discuss the issue of the disabled persons and the right
Under-Secretary-General for Strategy to development. For many people both issues are considered an integral part
of the mission of the United Nations. The issue of disabled people has been
CHARLENE WONG transformed in the last 20 years however not in all nations. The second topic is
Under-Secretary-General for one that is considered very controversial as it implies responsibilities for both the
Administration nation states and the international community. I am hoping that you will find the
topics both interesting and challenging.
APARAJITA TRIPATHI
Under-Secretary-General for Business I look forward to meeting all of you and having a great time! Please feel free to
contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
SOCHUM Chair: Edlira Nasi
Edlira Nasi SOCHUM Chair
sochum@worldmun.org
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
 Social, Cultural, and
Humanitarian
Committe
I N T RODUC TION
T he topics that the Social Humanitarian Committee
will be discussing are persons with disabilities
and the right to development. The first topic will be
discussing the situation for persons with disabilities.
While the issue is not a recent one, it is only in the
last 20 years that it has gained recognition and been
considered an important issue for the protection of
human rights. Indeed, if we take a look at statistics
we will see that roughly ten percent of the world
population is disabled in some manner. In SOCHUM
you will be called to make a thorough evaluation of the
status of persons with disabilities. This means that we
will consider the definition of disability, the ways in
which our policies have been successful or have failed
and how we can improve the situation. We will be also
called to put the issue within the broader context of
development, the Millennium goals and the ways in
which the topic of disability is linked to development.
Finally, the committee will produce a resolution that
will incorporate new suggestion for the improvement
of UN programs and goals on disability rights.
The second topic we will be discussing is that of
the right to development. Is there after all such a right?
First we will be discussing how the United Nations
have been defining the right, what the prevalent
opinions in the United Nations have been and how
various nations have reacted in past events when the
right to development has been mentioned as a reason
for nations to intervene and protect populations. In
SOCHUM you will be asked to consider which ones
of our policies seem to have promoted the right to
development and the ways in which they have done
so. Moreover, is there a discrepancy between what
we, as the members of the UN, preach and practice?
Does the interpretation of the right change when we
discuss our own populations vs. when we discuss other
nations’ populations? In the end, you will be asked to
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
provide a comprehensive method for the protection of
the right, by taking into consideration the differences
in standards in many nations but also by maintaining a
standard for the protection of the right.
This study guide is only serving as an
introduction to the topic. It is by no means extensive
and does not cover all aspects of the issue. I hope you
enjoy reading it and please let me know if you have
any questions.
H I S TO RY O F T H E CO M M I T T E E
T he General Assembly committees were created
in 1946. The Social Humanitarian and Cultural
Committee was initially called the Third Committee
of the GA. Like all GA committees, SOCHUM’s
resolutions, decisions, and recommendations are not
binding upon any of the members. However the tone
and recommendations of the committee are crucial as
they can order or recommend studies and programs
that are in most cases indispensable, especially
when dealing with issues such as humanitarian
aid, development or health. Moreover, SOCHUM
has the added responsibility of working on human
rights issues and overseeing many of the projects of
the subsidiary organs and ad-hoc committees. For
example, SOCHUM oversees the work of the Human
Rights Council.
Some of the organs and subsidiary committees
SOCHUM works with are the Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, the Department of
Political Affairs, United Nations Children’s Fund,
United Nations Development Fund for Women,
United Nations Development Programme, UN Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and the
UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
In fact, SOCHUM’s work is related to the
work of most UN committees as the range of topics is
extended. According to the United Nations, SOCHUM
deals with “a range of social, humanitarian affairs
and human rights issues that affect peoples all over
the world.” 1 This explains why the committee deals
with topics such as “the advancement of women,
the protection of children, indigenous issues, the
treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 6
freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial
discrimination, the promotion of the right to self-
determination, and issues related to youth, family,
ageing, persons with disabilities, crime prevention,
criminal justice, and drug control.”2

Topic A: Disabled

Persons
S TATEMENT OF THE PROBLE M
E stimates of the number of disabled people in the
world vary according to the different definitions
and parameters used when counting the disabled.
According to the World Health Organization disabled
people make up between 4 to 17 percent of the world
population with variations between developed and
developing countries and rural and urban areas.3 In
general, the UN considers it appropriate to estimate
approximately 10 percent of every community is
disabled . In 1989, UNICEF calculated that there were
514 million disabled people (a number much increased
by now due to the increase of the world population)
and about 75-80 percent of those disabled live in the
developing world.4 Moreover, one out of every four Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour
people will face a mental disorder, in some context http://genevalunch.com/blog/2008/03/04/louise-ar-
considered as a disability, at some point in their life.5 bour-rumoured-to-be-leaving-human-rights-post/
One can therefore understand why the there is a clear link between poverty and impairments
SOCHUM committee would focus on the issue of since causes such as malnutrition, war accidents,
disability. The issue is central not only as a societal, and infectious and non infectious diseases tend to
developmental and cultural issue, but also as an issue be prevalent in the developing world where poverty
that is directly linked to the issue of poverty, welfare as reigns.6
well as to that of the advancement of women and the The issues surrounding disabled persons start
protection of children. first of all with the definition of the word and thus
According to a DAA (Disability in Action)/ the definition of who is to be considered disabled.
UNESCO report (1995),malnutrition accounts for Although in the developing world disability is linked
20 percent of the disabled population, accidents to benefits that the disabled get as part of welfare plans,
(including trauma and war injuries ) accounts for in the rest of the world, where the majority of disabled
15.6 percent, infectious diseases for 11.2 percent, people live, disability isa source of discrimination and
non-infectious diseases for 20 percent, and congenital exclusion. This dangerous interrelation of poverty
diseases for 20 percent of the total disabled and disability puts the disabled in an inferior position
population. The issue of disability is not restricted to where exclusion is a natural occurrence and where the
the developed world; in fact it is more prevalent in the chances of escape are non-existent
developing world. As seen by the above percentages, The role of the United Nations is crucial in

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dealing with this problem. The United Nations have
already adopted the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, which while adopted by
many members of the United Nations, has not changed
the way disabled people are treated especially in the
developing world. Moreover, the United Nations
has yet to embed projects against the discrimination
of disabled persons in the sphere of work done on
development. In fact, many of the current projects lack
the technical support, rehabilitation, technology use
etc. that can make the life of disabled people better.
The United Nations Global Programme on Disability
has stated: “Disability tends to be couched within a
medical and welfare framework, identifying people
with disabilities as ill, different from their non-disabled
peers, and in need of care. Because the emphasis is on
the medical needs of people with disabilities, there is
a corresponding neglect of their wider social needs.”7
The United Nations needs to take coordinate action
that hits on all issues affecting disabled people: societal
norms, practical impediments and discrimination.
O R IGIN OF THE PROBLEM
T he issue of disability has been prominent in the
last 30 years in most international organizations.
Beforehand, little had been done despite the large
eugenics projects, sterilisations and experimentation
that had taken place in Nazi Germany. It was only
after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948), the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1949), the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(1966), and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights were voted that the issues
of disability came to the surface and the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was voted
(2006).8 While I will not cover the history of the
movement, I am providing below a short overview
of key treaties and key-points pertaining to disability
theory.
In the 1970s the UN organized many
rehabilitation programs for disabled persons,
programs that were the first steps towards the
inclusion of disabled persons. In the 1980s the UN
declared the first International Year of Disabled
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
Persons; the first United Nations Decade of Disabled
Persons was announced in 1983, expanding upon
the initial year. Moreover, some countries, following
the example of the UN decade of disabled persons,
adopted decades of disability such as the Asian and
Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993–2003) and
the African Decade of Disabled Persons (1999–2009).
The programs, with varying degrees of success,
were aimed at informing the governments and the
public.9
The first document adopted on disabled people
was the UNCRPD, the United Nations Standard Rules
on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with
Disabilities (1993).10 The document included issues
such as access to services, education, support etc. As
most UN documents though, the recommendations
and decisions of the UNCRPD were not binding on
nations. Therefore, the effectiveness of the document
may have been limited as decisions remained only in
paper and were applied in a limited fashion.
Defining and Measuring Disability
T he UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities defines disabled persons according to
the following: “Persons with disabilities include those
who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual,
or sensory impairments which in interaction with
various barriers may hinder their full and effective
participation in society on an equal basis with
others.”11However extensive, the provision of a
definition leads inherently to the exclusion of some
people from the group of those benefitting from
support for disabled people.12
Its definition is important not only because
it affects the measures which are to be taken to deal
with the issue, but also more significantly, because
definitions tend to formulate the way in which society
thinks about disability. The last few decades have
seen an increase in the efforts to define disability,
both in the international political community and the
medical one. Medical professionals first tried to design
a definition based on the International Classification
of Diseases which was focused on the results that
the disease or disorder had on the person involved.13
In 1980, the World Health Organization adopted
the International Classification of Impairments,
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 8
 Press Conference: Trade Unions at Johannesburg: “Grounding Sustainability in Reality”
27 August 2002
http://www.un.org/events/wssd/photos/020827pressphotos.htm
Disabilities and Handicaps, which while very effective disability.17 Other similar systems that are based on
on the medical community was not particularly the individual model are the economic one (equation
accepted by those suffering from disorders. 14
of disability with human harm that leads to the loss of
The two most usual models of disability are earning capacity), the philanthropic one etc.18
the individual model and the social model. In the The social model sees disability as a social
individual model disability is seen as an “observable construct. Disability according to this model exists as
physical, mental, sensory or psychological deviation a notion not because there is some inherent normality
from normality caused by disease, trauma or another and abnormality, but because we as a society we have
health condition.” The individual model assumes
15
created norms of normality and abnormality. The
there is some normality from which a disabled model sees for example how governments, institutions,
person deviates. Moreover, it places importance on personalities, economic forces etc. form our views of
the individual by not taking into consideration the disability. The model is heavily based on theories of
physical or social environment. Clearly, the model is inclusion and exclusion, minority status and hence
based on medical research that marks the difference of the injustices that are done due to our societal
between normality and deviation.16 Disability in the constructs.19 The Union of the Physically Impaired
individual model can be defined or measured in many Against Segregation has presented a definition that
ways. One of the ways is QALY (Quality Adjusted reads as follows and is heavily based on the social
Life Years). According to QALY, disability can be model:
measured by losses from premature death that the “A disabled person is an individual in their
disability causes or the loss of healthy life from the (sic) own right placed in a disabling situation, brought

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 9

about by environmental, economic and social barriers
that the person, because of their (sic) impairment(s),
cannot overcome in the same way as other persons.
These barriers are all too often reinforced by the
marginalizing attitudes of society. It is up to society to
eliminate, reduce or compensate for these barriers in
order to allow each individual to enjoy full citizenship,
respecting the rights and duties of each individual”20
So does disability lie in the person or does it lie
in society? All detailed definitions of most countries
speak of “impairments”, “conditions” etc. thus placing
disability on the individual model. In these cases, it is
the person who bears the disability. At the same time,
many countries have also adopted non-discrimination
laws that describe societal norms and emphasize that
disabled persons should not be discriminated against
or that they should receive special benefits. However,
all these definitions and laws also demand that one
shows a prima facie disability in order to be a member
of the community of disabled, hence placing again
importance on the individual basis of disability.
Definitions of disability among countries vastly
differ. In the USA, the Americans for Disability Act
(1990) uses a broad definition of disability. “The term
‘disability’ means, with respect to an individual –
• a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more of the major life activities of
such individual;
• a record of such impairment; or
• being regarded as having such an impairment.”
On the other hand, the European Court of
Human Rights has very broadly defined disability.
In the Winterwerp case, Mr. Winterwerp, a national
of the Netherlands, was confined year after year in a
psychiatric hospital and was never given the chance to
prove his mental stability. According to the European
Convention on Human Rights, Article 5, 1(e) which
states that “the lawful detention of persons for the
prevention of the spreading of infectious diseases, of
persons of unsound mind, alcoholics or drug addicts,
or vagrants; “ 22 his freedom can be constricted.
However, the European Court of Human Rights
decided that “Mental illness may entail restricting
or modifying the manner of exercise of such a right
[of liberty], but it cannot justify impairing the very
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
essence of the right. Indeed, “special procedural
safeguards may prove called for in order to protect
the interests of persons who, on account of their
mental disabilities, are not fully capable of acting for
themselves.”23 The case essentially provided a very
broad definition of disability which may be even
considered as an open term that evolves in time.
However, many have argued that in our effort
to avoid discrimination, we have neglected to change
the discriminatory way in which we characterize
disabled people. The term “disabled” implies that
disabled people are lacking in comparison to the
“able ones.” Instead, many suggested that the term
“people with capabilities” is more appropriate as
it suggests a more positive and inclusive view, and
thus non-discriminatory way of referring to people.
The capability approach was first used by Nobel
Prize winner and Harvard Professor Amartya K.Sen
who “advocated focusing on a person’s capability to
function, that is, what the person can do or can be
versus the more standard concentration on opulence
(the person’s real income) or utility (as in traditional
welfare economics).”24 According to Sen’s theory, we
should focus on the opportunities that the perceived
disability/capability can bring.
Development, Poverty, Disability
A s mentioned before, poverty and disability are
unfortunately intricately interrelated. Poverty
leads to unequal opportunities for the disabled;
according to UNESCO less than 10 percent of children
with disabilities in Africa attend school.25At the same
time, disability leads to limited opportunities and thus
to a greater chance of staying in poverty; according to
the International Labor Organization (2007) persons
with disabilities are statistically less likely to be in
formal employment.26 Poor people are more prone
to having disabilities, as they have little maternal
and child health services, no access to clean water,
education etc. Adding to that problem, poor people
have usually very limited political and voting power;
poor disabled people have no chance of avoiding
marginalization.27
In an interesting case study, Manderson notes
that in many poor societies the care of the disabled
is simply impossible due to the cost of long term
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 10
 Slums of Mubai, Inida
http://stateofthenation.ca/?p=428
care. While people take care of their children for a case of women. Women with disabilities are doubly
relatively prolonged period, they do so in expectation excluded and marginalized, and are particularly
of reciprocity. Children are valued not because of vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and sexual
their value as unique individuals but because of abuse. “Globally, women make up three-fourths
their perceived value in the future. In many cultures, of the disabled people in low- and middle- income
children or daughters alone are responsible for the countries; between 65% and 70% of those women
care of their elderly parents. For disabled people, there live in rural areas.”29 Moreover, disabled girls have a
is no such notion of reciprocity (“I took care of you, higher mortality rate due to lack of medical care and
thus you take care of me in my old days”) and the cost support.30 However, this is not only due to the lack
of their care is unbearable in societies where the work of material support, but also due to the lack gender
for living is hard. This does not imply that in these
28
equality. In general women tend to enjoy fewer
cultures people do not care for their disabled, or that social, economic, and cultural advantages. Thus, the
children solely care for their parents out of a sense United Nations have adopted a two-tier program
of reciprocity alone; that would indeed be a cynical to cope with the issue.31 The program considers
view of the world. But poverty, lack of education, both the empowerment of women and the disability
and lack of support all explain why some societies aspect. Although the United Nations has made
cannot care for disabled persons or provide them with recommendations to developing nations, very little has
opportunities for development. been done in the direction of womens’ empowerment
The lack of support is more prominent in the and equal treatment.

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 2005 World Summit
http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/about-rtop/related-themes/2417-pbc-and-rtop

C A SE STUD IES their everyday life.

I n this relatively small section, I will be addressing a
few important and interesting cases that have dealt
with disability in many areas of the world.
US –The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
Signed into law in 1990 by George W.
Bush Sr., this Act is one of the most important
and inspirational in many ways document for the
international community, despite its application on an
individual nation alone. The Act transformed both the
conception of disabled people but it also transformed
the working environments and services in society. The
Act affected the way disabled people are hired, fired,
their working spaces, access to public services and
The Act noted that “the continuing
existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination
and prejudice denies people with disabilities the
opportunity to compete on the equal basis and
to pursue those opportunities for which our free
society is justifiably famous.”32 The statute deals
with five sectors linked with disability: employment,
state and local governments, privately operated
accommodations, goods and services available to
the public, telecommunications and miscellaneous
provisions.33The ADA was not only important because
of its breadth and coverage of principal issues
regarding disabled subjects, but also because it enabled
and empowered disabled persons. The ADA led to

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important structural changes in American businesses
and social life, including small but important details
like making streets and services (both public and
private) accessible, making jobs more accessible and
degrees mandatory, and finally by giving legal and
social power to disabled people to advocate for their
right to health and development.
India
I ndia has an estimated population of disabled people
of about 22 million people.34 In India, Section 2
(10) of persons with Disabilities,Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act
1995, defines disability as “meaning blindness,
low vision, leprosy-cured, hearing impairment,
locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental
illness.”35 The term handicap is often used to describe
disabled people too. However, as the World Health
Organization has noted in many cases, handicap is a
disadvantage term as it implies that one can not fulfill
the requirements of a role.36
As far as legislative protection is concerned,
India has taken significant steps in the legal protection
of personal liberty and social justice. The Indian
Constitution protects social justice; however it does
not directly refer to disabilities. The Mental Health Act
of 1987 provides several protections for the mentally
disabled such as that admission to jail for non-
criminal mentally ill people should be illegal.37 The
National Trusts Act of 1999 which death with cases of
persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation
and multiple diseases provides various protections for
these categories of people including welfare after their
parents’ death, need based services etc.38 The Persons
with Disabilities Act of 1995 treats disability as a civil
right and states that disabled people have been clearly
marginalized in the past. Many of the responsibilities
for the support of the disabled are however up to the
state and not much is mentioned about the social
aspect of disability can be dealt with.39
Even though the legislation seems adequate,
the same cannot be said about the actual results of
this legislation. Given that the implementation of
legislation that transforms social life for disabled
people (in many cases this involves building special
entrances for disabled people, funding awareness
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programs etc.) requires a great financial endowment
in order to be successful, much of what is mentioned
in the Act has been hardly implemented. In many
cases, police detains mentally ill people, while women
are unprotected and vulnerable to physiological and
psychological disabilities.40 Moreover, many great acts
like the Hindu Marriage Act, the Adoption Act, and
the Special Marriage Act show very little protection
and even less sensitivity towards disabled people.41
PA S T U N AC T I O N
I
n 1993, the General Assembly and member states
adopted the Standard Rules on the Equalization of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, which
offer guidelines for policy making. The Standards
referred to accessibility, research, discrimination
etc. A 2005 research pertaining to the impact of
the Standards displayed them as highly ineffective.
While two thirds of countries have taken some
initiative, 79 out of 114 countries have failed to
adopt any guidelines regarding awareness-raising,
media portrayal of disability etc., while in education
little to nothing was done.42Forty seven out of 114
countries had done little regarding employment
accessibility, while in more than half these countries
disabled people do not have the same opportunities as
nondisabled people.43
In 2001, the General Assembly of the
United Nations was due ‘to consider proposals for a
comprehensive and integral international convention
to promote and protect the rights and dignity of
persons with disabilities.’44 The Ad Hoc Committee
established a working group in order to start drafting
a document with NGOs and interested parties and
in October 2004 45 the Montreal Declaration on
Intellectual Disability (Montreal Declaration) at
an international conference organized by the Pan-
American Health Organization (PAHO) and the
World Health Organization (WHO). Even though the
declaration is not comprehensive, it deals with mental
and intellectual disabilities.46
In 2006 the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities was created and adopted, a
document which serves as the most up-to-date and
comprehensive one. Moreover, disabled rights can be
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 13
 1955: A man looks at one of the first documents published by the United Nations, The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.answers.com/topic/universal-declaration-of-human-rights-large-image
inferred from treaties like ICESCR Article 2(1) Development Goal 8.48
and CRC Article 4, which asks that international
assistance is provided to achieve the right to Millennium Goals
health. 47 “This responsibility, which is particularly
incumbent on developed states arises in the context D isability is not clearly mentioned in the
Millennium Development goals, however, the
United Nations has made it one of its priority points.
of commitments made at recent world conferences,
including the Millennium Summit and Millennium So far, the rehabilitation of people in war zones such
as Angola, Burundi, Cambodia etc has been up to

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organizations like Handicap International. However,
focus has started to shift towards disability too, seeing
as how many of the Millennium goals cannot be
addressed without addressing disability too. 49
According to the United Nations the priorities
of the Millennium Goals regarding the disabled are as
follow:
• “The Millennium Development Goals cannot be
achieved without the full and effective inclusion of
persons with disabilities and their participation in
all stages of the MDGs processes.     enough unless it is accompanied by international effort
• The current MDGs framework, tools and
mechanisms provide several opportunities to
mainstream disability in the MDGs.
• The existing data gaps on disability within the
context of the MDG evaluation and monitoring
continues to be a major challenge. Available data,
however, could be used to support the inclusion
of disability in current MDG evaluation and
monitoring processes, while on-going and new
MDG evaluation and monitoring efforts should
add a disability component as part of their overall
data collection endeavors.   
• Specific measures should be taken for
mainstreaming disability at global, regional and
national levels for short-term, medium-term and
long-term results.   
• With a view to the 2010 periodic review, priority
should be given at this time to targeting actions at
the global level in the context of monitoring.     adjustment of the Millennium goals, and community
• Collaborations should be initiated within
the United Nations system and with relevant
stakeholders to foster strategic thinking and
planning on the MDGs and disability. In this
regard, establishing an informal resource group
could ensure that a platform for on-going dialogue
and feed back is possible.” 50
P R OPOSED SOLUTIONS
Disability requires that we ameliorate the
conditions through which life is made accessible. Thus
we need to address the inherent causes and links of
disability to development and poverty. Moreover,
cultural values should be weighed against international
practices to allow for a culturally sensitive but efficient
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movement to an equal opportunity life for disabled
people.51
Policy
A s mentioned before it is essential that policy
is adopted to enable disabled people to
have ownership over their rights and life. The
mainstreaming of international legislation into
national law is crucial to the protection of disabled
people. However, mainstreaming legislation is not
and pressure to make disability discrimination a rare
phenomenon.
Increasing participation
O ften the group concerned with the issue is not
the group creating legislation. While NGOs
participate in discussions, the voice of the disabled
themselves especially in the developing world is rarely
heard. Participation of disabled groups would allow
for a more effective targeting of policy towards these
groups.
Strengthening the co-operation between and with the
Member States
U nfortunately, the developing countries will hardy
be able to adhere to the standards of treaties
like the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. International cooperation, the better
projects need to be strengthened by the United
Nations and member states.
Accountability
L ike in the case of India, legislation may be adopted
but there is usually little accountability towards
the international community. It is imperative that any
initiative is coupled with a system of accountability
that creates guarantees for the success of projects.
Q uestions A R esolution
M ust A ns w er
T he main thing to remember when dealing with
disability in the United Nations is the fact that the
members of the United Nations do not all perceive
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 15
rights in the same universal, and rather Western
manner in which the international community has so
far identified rights. Similarly, not all nations have the
same resources to devote to protecting the rights of
disabled people. Some questions that this committee
will have to address might therefore have different
answers in different contexts and nations.
How can the SOCHUM committee contribute
to the improvement of the definition of disabled
people? How can that definition be more inclusive of
disabled people instead of marking them as a group
that is lacking to the rest of the “normal” population?
How can cultural differences be addressed? Is there
a universal legislative framework that needs to be
applied? If no, what are the minimum standards
that need to be applied in every nation? How can we
better address the problem presented by the intrinsic
link between poverty, development and disabilities?
How can we better target effective projects related to
disabilities and development? Can we evaluate the
effectiveness that the Millennium goals have had with
regard to disabilities? How can we better cooperate
on issues of disabilities and the achievement of
development goals? How can we address vulnerable
groups like women or children, within the sphere
of disabilities? Can you propose ways in which we
can create more public/non-profit partnerships for
disability projects? Are there ways to improve the
current partnerships? Can you set a time schedule for
the achievement of your goals?
K E Y AC TORS AND POSITION S
European Union and the EU Disability Strategy 2010-
2020
T he European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 is not
in fact a new project but rather a renewal of an
existing program. The EU Commission has set up a
High Level Group of Member States’ Representatives
on Disability, which will review initiatives and
politics of governments regarding disabilities and
will draw ideas that can be applied elsewhere in the
EU too. The EU has also a budget (Budget line B3-
4111), which allows it to implement measures that
support organizations for disabled people as well as
organizations that are run by disabled people.52
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At the same time though, the European Union
does not see the measures as being adequate to fighting
discrimination. To that end, the Commission has
also decided to go ahead to a revision of the policies
implemented towards non-discrimination. The EU
will review whether its social policies have been
inclusive of disability issues and how these measures
have affected disabled people. .53 This revision would
make it possible that the governments do not waste
money on programmers but instead adjust their
existing social policies to respond to disabled persons’
requirements.
Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of
People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region
T he decade of 1993 to 2002 was proclaimed to be
the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons.
The Asia and Pacific Region is especially important
to the issue of disability as some of the greatest issues
with the protection of disabled people are presented
there. The Proclamations specifically notes that most
of the services for disabled people have to be provided
by families, society and NGOs and not by the social
care sector of nations. In some nations there is clear
lack of legislation that protects disabled people.54
Moreover, while the growth rate of nations in Asia
Pacific is the highest one in the world, it has not led
to many improvements. Adding to that there is also a
difficulty in evaluation progress in the area, as in most
cases data and statistics is not reliable. The area also
faces the challenge of being rather diverse in both its
development levels and protections that are provided
to each nation’s citizens. A second campaign was
proclaimed for 2004-2013 and in 2010 the United
Nations Economic and Social Committee for Asia and
Pacific declared that there is need for a third campaign
for 2013-2022. Moreover, the committee suggested
that disability needs to be incorporated in the overall
agenda for development for Asia Pacific.55
PAHO
The Pan American Health Organization has adopted
guidelines for the protection of disabled people, with
a special focus on persons with mental problems. The
reason there is a focus on mental health problems
is because in Latin America especially, mental
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 16
rehabilitation centers tend to violate many of the provide new points instead of “recycled,” and possibly
rights of their patients, including, but not limited already proven ineffective recommendations. The
to, the right to privacy, communication, voluntary best resource for this purpose is the United Nations
admittance into a clinic and to the right to be treated website and more specifically the following agencies
with humanity and respect.56 On November 1990 and documents:
PAHO adopted the Declaration of Caracas which set • “Fifth Quinquennial review and appraisal of the
the basis for the protection of persons with disabilities World Programme of Action concerning Disabled
and mental health problems. In 2009, PAHO also Persons” (Report of the Secretary General)
adopted the Principles of Brazil. The principles of • “Keeping the promise: realizing the Millennium
Brazil reiterate the need to promote mental health Development Goals for persons with disabilities
rehabilitation programs but also the need for towards 2015 and beyond” (Report of the Secretary
exchange of information regarding successful and General)
unsuccessful policies thus far implemented in Latin • Participation Of Persons With Disabilities In
American countries. Moreover, the document notes Pacific Island Countries In The Context Of The
that there has been a dramatic rise in recent years in Asian And Pacific Decade Of Disabled Persons,
mental health issues as a result of urbanization and 1993-2002, And Beyond
the increase of morbidity and psychosocial problems • United Nations Enable
among both adults and children and adolescents.57 • United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights
F urther R esearch
A s I mentioned in my introductory note, this
guide is simply a review of views and theories
on disability issues. The guide is merely a way for
you to be introduced to the issue and is by no means
extensively covering the topic. Further research will be
necessary if you want to offer new ideas and solutions
to this problem.
While not everyone is interested in disability
theory, I consider studying the theory behind
definitions of disability as a great way to understand
the way in which the notion of disability has evolved
and how definitions affect our perception of normality
and abnormality. One of the greatest scholars that has
written on both disabilities and development issues is
Martha Nussbaum, whose book Frontiers Of Justice: 
Disability, Nationality, Species Membership has been
influential in modern philosophical thought. Beyond
theory though, I would suggest that you go over the
treaties adopted so far both by the United Nations
and regional groups and unions like the EU. Ideally,
you should be able to make a two-fold chart of the
legislative and actual measures taken so far by different
interest groups and different areas of the world. This
will help you assess whether the issue lies in legislation
or implementation. Moreover, this will allow you to

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 Topic B : Right to
Development
H istory and D iscussion of the
P roblem
O n Human Rights Day 2006, the High Commissioner
for Human Rights Louise Arbour stated:
“All countries, independent of national wealth, can
take immediate measures to fight poverty based on
human rights[…] But as much as States bear the
primary responsibility for their own development,
the international community must also meet the
commitments it has made to support the efforts of
developing countries. Many rich countries have yet
to meet development assistance targets they have
accepted, yet they continue to spend ten times more
on military budgets. They also spend nearly four times
their development assistance budget “an amount
almost equal to the total gross national product of
African countries” to subsidize their own domestic
agricultural producers. Indifference and a narrow
calculus of national interests by wealthy countries
hamper human rights and development just as
damagingly as discrimination at the local level.”58
Many theorists see the right to development as
another facet of social disparities and inequalities. Their
main claim is that the right to development is another
way of ensuring distributive and commutative justice.
This approach states that it is unfair and immoral to
deny some people access to basic human services.. Paul
Farmer, founder of Partners in Health and a Harvard
University Professor of Medical Anthropology, has
advocated the social justice approach, especially the
right to health as a universal human right.59 At the
same time however, he notes that the human rights
movement has failed to consider the importance of
economic, social and cultural rights in its quest for
development. For example, he is against reformism and
the efforts of many people and developed countries to
assist countries via adoption of technological advances
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or imitation developed countries’ practices.60 At the
same time, however, this approach is largely based on
subjective standards. Much of what we consider to be
an injustice is based on our subjective view of what are
deemed basic standards of life.
Another Harvard professor and Economics
Nobel prize winner, Amartya Sen has advocated for
a capabilities approach to development. For Sen,
development is not the acquisition of more goods but the
ability and freedom to choose how one is going to live
his life.61 Sen’s capability approach is important in that it
shifts attention away from the importance of income in
development economics and to the importance of other
factors such as premature mortality, undernourishment
and illiteracy.62 Martha Nussbaum, another philosopher
provided a link between capabilities and human rights,
by providing a list of ten areas of life where people should
be rendered capable, or otherwise have the freedom of
choice. 63
The right to development may be one that is
to be protected according to international law but the
legislation that actually provides for it is quite vague.
The right has not transcended the boundaries of soft
law as it is still derived from two important, though not
universally adopted, pieces of legislation: the Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 64 The first
covenant refers to civil rights, whereas the second one
asks states to protect citizens. Both Covenants are non-
binding and are not universally accepted legal norms.
Still, the right to development is considered of equal
importance as other UN defined rights.
According to the United Nations Development
Programme:
“Human development shares a common vision with
human rights. The goal is human freedom. And in
pursuing capabilities and realizing rights, this freedom
is vital. People must be free to exercise their choices and
to participate in decision-making that affects their lives.
Human development and human rights are mutually
reinforcing, helping to secure the well-being and dignity
of all people, building self-respect and the respect of
others.”65
The right first appeared after the decolonization
process in the 1950s and 1960s, as more developing
countries of the world started joining the United
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 18
 Disabled people in Athletics
Nations. On 26 November 1957 “the General Assembly
expressed the view that a balanced and integrated
economic and social development would contribute
towards the promotion and maintenance of peace
and security, social progress and better standards of
living, and the observance of and respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms.”66A factor that led to
the emergence of the right was also the 1973 Arab oil
embargo, which took place because of the Yom Kipur
War. Moreover, as the divide between the North and the
South widened, a “New International Economic Order”
was created. 67
In 1977 the General Assembly of the UN
adopted a resolution that stated:
“Human rights questions should be examined globally,
taking into account both the overall context of the various
societies in which they represent themselves as well
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as the need for the promotion of the full dignity of the
human person and the development and well-being of the
society.”68
Most of the countries realized that the goals
discussed in the UN were either very difficult to
achieve or unattainable due to structural obstacles that
problematized long-term commitment to these goals.69
With the onset of the Cold War, much of the right to
development was forgotten. However, with the fall of
communism and renewed optimism, countries returned
to discussing the right. In 1986 the General Assembly
adopted Resolution 41/128 which declares that there
is a right to development with the Declaration on the
Right to Development.70 What is unique about this right
is that it is not limited only to individuals, as are most
rights that are protected by the UN. Specifically, Article
1 (2) of Resolution 51/128 declares that:
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 19
 “All human beings have a responsibility for
development, individually and collectively, taking into
account the need for full respect for their human rights
and fundamental freedoms as well as their duties to
the community, which alone can ensure the free and
complete fulfillment of the human being, and they
should therefore promote and protect an appropriate
political, social and economic order for development.”
Moreover the resolution ensured that this
responsibility to uphold the right belongs to the
government, in Article 2 (1): “States have the primary
responsibility for the creation of national and
international conditions favourable to the realization of
the right to development.”71
The Resolution defined what the right to
development includes:
• Full sovereignty over natural resources
• Self-determination
• Popular participation in development
• Equality of opportunity
• The creation of favourable conditions for the
Enjoyment of other civil, political, economic, social
and cultural rights 72
While the majority of these goals are thrust upon
individual governments, in essence they place
responsibility on the international community as well.
Terms such as “sovereignty” and “self determination”
point to the international community and its
responsibility to make sure that such rights are protected.
In March 2010, the Endorois people, a sub
tribe of Central Kenya won a case against the Kenyan
government. The Endrois were evicted from their
lands near Lake Bogoria in the 1970s.73 The Endorois
suggested that this movement would not allow them to
have access to clean water anymore, to their worship
sites, and other requirements of their pastoral life.
The Kenyan government did not respond to these
claims and did not compensate the tribe. In return, the
Endorois people turned to the judicial branch and after
finding no remedy at the national court level, moved
to the regional African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Rights. The ACHPR decided that Kenya had
violated Articles 1, 8, 14, 17, 21 and 22 the African
Charter which included the rights to free practice of
religion, property, education, culture, natural resources
and development. This is one of the first instances in
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which an international tribunal recognized a right to
development.
But with whom does this responsibility to
protect lie? Kirchmeicher defines the responsibilities
of the state with regard to the right to development to
be threefold: First, there is the obligation of all states to
abstain from any actions that could cause violations of
human rights. Then, there is the duty to actively protect
citizens and human rights against any acts that could
violate rights. Finally there is the duty to fulfill rights by
means of legislation and a framework of realization of
their economic, social and cultural rights.74
However, what does the complete fulfillment
of the right to development entail? The right to
development is not explicit for many states and cannot
exist alone. It implies the existence of other rights that
support its existence and are directly linked to it. These
corollary rights are listed below.75 Please note that there
are more rights related to the right of development,
such as the right to education, health etc. that must also
be taken into consideration.
Right to adequate standard of living
A ccording to Article 11 (1) of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights “States Parties to the present Covenant recognize
the right to an adequate standard of living for himself
and his family, including adequate food, clothing and
housing, and to the continuous improvement of living
conditions.”76 The right to an adequate standard of living
is a basic right directly correlated with both the right
to development as well as the right to food, a healthy
environment etc.
Right to a healthy environment
O ften considered an extension of the right to health,
the right to a healthy environment has come to
be viewed as a unique right directly linked to the right
to development, due to the broader humanitarian
implications of climate change. The Asia Pacific Forum
estimates that the rise in sea levels can potentially
displace up to three million people in the region alone,
leading to the creation of a new class of “environmental
refugees”77 According to the African Charter on Human
Rights the right to development is dependent on the
right to live in a healthy environment:
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 20
“All peoples shall have the right to a general satisfactory
environment favorable to their development.78
This does not appear to be the trend for all
regional organizations though. According to the
Stockholm Declaration of the 1972 United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment, the right to a
healthy environment exists, but it is also a responsibility
of people and not simply an eternally granted right.
Specifically, the Declaration states that “Man has the
fundamental right to … adequate conditions of life,
in an environment of a quality that permits a life of
dignity and well-being,” but additionally that man
“bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve
the environment for present and future generations.”79  As a result, there are no international bodies that are
The Additional Protocol to the American Convention
on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights also states in Article 11 that there is a
right to a healthy environment and that:
1. “Everyone shall have the right to live in a healthy
environment and to have access to basic public
services.
2. The States Parties shall promote the protection,
preservation, and improvement of the
environment.”80
Right to Food
I n our globalized world, resources are controlled by
small groups of people and corporations. So far, global
consensus dictates that national governments should be
responsible for food and agricultural issues and that
international bodies only have an advisory role.81 This
opinion has been partly reinforced by the international
system that is based on the idea of sovereign nations.
responsible to ensure food security, since this issue
seems to be restricted to specific territories and is not
of a global nature. However, as writers like John Tobin
have stated, in fact huamans are not as independent
as they think, and food security is one more issue that
illustrates man’s interdepedence. Tobin suggests that we

Special Olympics are one of the most noteworthy activities serving people with intellectual disabilities 2003
Olympics Ireland
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2003_Special_Olympics_Opening_Crowd.JPG

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 governments to protect its population from these four
egregious crimes. Most important is the critical role and
responsibility of the international community through
the United Nations to protect those same populations85.
The Summit Outcome document establishes a four part
approach to R2P as follows:
• “Each individual state has the primary responsibility
to protect its population from genocide, war crimes,
ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity; and
this responsibility includes prevention.
• The international community should assist states to
exercise this responsibility and ensure early warning
capabilities are established and maintained.
• The international community has a complementary
responsibility to protect populations , which
is fulfilled through appropriate diplomatic,
humanitarian, and other peaceful means through
the UN and in accordance with Chapters VI and
In many countries children with learning disabilities
VIII of the UN Charter.” 86
do not get the chance to be schooled
should not try to figure out responsibility after there has
K E Y AC TO R S A N D P O S I T I O N S
been a failure to deliver, but rather turn to cooperation.
The African Union

A
82
ccording to the Banjul Charter which was adopted
But what happens when this right is not ensured
in 1981 and Article 22:
by national governments? To what degree is the
“All peoples shall have the right to their economic, social
international community obliged to help? One of the
and cultural development with due regard to their
recent legal principles in the UN is the responsibility
freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the
to protect (R2P). While the principle was created with
common heritage of mankind. States shall have the duty,
gross human rights violations in mind, many writers
individually or collectively, to ensure the exercise of the
have stated that it also implies duties for other rights.
right to development.”
While the Charter predates the resolution
The Responsibility to Protect
of the UN on the right to development, this regional
“T he ‘responsibility to protect’ should imply that
affected states, donor governments, and partner
agencies alike, make all efforts to bring sovereignty,
charter indicates that in the African context, the right to
development is seen as a collective right to be protected
by the nation and not simply one to be left to an
political will, mandates and resources into alignment
individual’s own agency to provide for his basic needs.
with better protection….”83France’s foreign minister,
In general, the African Union regrets the fact that there
Bernard Kouchner (who was one of MSF’s founders), has
is no collective protection of the right to development.
suggested invoking a UN principle of the “responsibility
While it agrees that there should be partnerships
to protect”84
created, it also notes that the focus of the discussion
During the 2005 World Summit, the UN
has unfairly shifted to the responsibility of the countries
General Assembly unanimously adopted the collective
themselves to provide for the protection of the right,
international “responsibility to protect” (R2P)
instead of trying to find ways in which countries can
populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing,
collaborate to promote the right.87
and crimes against humanity. The World Summit
According to Professor Stephen Marks, there is a
Outcome document recognized the responsibility of all

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group of countries called “Like-Minded Group” (LMG) has not voted for resolutions that would advance the right
which consists of some of the African countries and to development.89 For the US there is a human right to
other developing nations: Algeria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, development that should allow each human to act freely
China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, in tapping into his full potential. However, the US does
Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, not agree that there is a right of nations to development
Sudan, and Vietnam. Their interests lie mainly in since the right to development is a human right, and
promoting the idea that the responsibility to protect nations are obviously not entitled to the same right as
should be employed to “reduce inequities of international individuals. Therefore, the US still blocks resolutions
trade, the negative impacts of globalization, differentialthat make any indication of a debt of responsibility of
access to technology, the crushing debt burden, and developed countries to developing countries due to the
similar factors they see as detrimental to the enjoyment right of development. Resolution (A/RES/64/172) was
of human rights and development.”88 adopted last fall in the General Assembly regarding the
Right to Development, Preambular paragraph 7 stated:
United States “Deeply concerned that the majority of indigenous peoples

T he United States’ position is rather ambiguous: while in the world live in conditions of poverty, and recognizing
the country recognizes the right to development, it the critical need to address the negative impact of poverty

Disability initiatives need to take into consideration development issues

http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2010/jun/g31.asp

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 23

and inequity on indigenous peoples by ensuring their
full and effective inclusion in development and poverty
eradication programmes. …”90
The United States voted against this resolution
because the topics seemed “extraneous.” Moreover,
the United States representatives at the UN Human
Rights Council stated in 2003 that “States . . . have no
obligation to provide guarantees for implementation of
any purported “right to development.”91
However that does not seem to the official
position of the government after the change in political
leadership. President Obama recently declared that
“too often, this community has heard grand promises
from Washington, that turned out to be little more than
empty words. And I pledged to you then that if you gave
me a chance, this time it would be different.” and that he
“intend[s] to send a clear message that all of our people
– whether they live in our biggest cities or our most
remote reservations – have the right to feel safe in their
own communities, and to raise their children in peace,
and enjoy the fullest protection of our laws.”92
Germany & European Union Nations
W hile supporting the right to development,
Germany also notes that the right should not
focus on international cooperation but domestic policies
that are enabled by the developing nations. Therefore,
for Germany there is no reason any state should think
that another state has a particular responsibility towards
it. Instead, Germany focuses on economic development
that can be achieved through “equity with growth.” For
Germany, trade, development and human rights can all
ensure that the right to development is provided. This
view of the right can be combined with the Millennium
Development goals to provide the necessary ground for
the development of the right.
However, the main position of Germany and
many other European countries remains that rights
are understood differently in different contexts and
that member states should be aiming to help these
countries through trade and nation-specific definitions
of rights.93 Moreover, countries in the EU prefer to keep
their commitment on a volunteer basis as a way to avoid
further future demands from developing countries.94
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PA S T U N AC T I O N S
T
he most important document for the right to
development is obviously the Declaration to the
Right to Development, which was adopted in 1986, which
is described in other sections of this guide. In 1993, at
the World Conference on Human Rights, 171 countries
adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action that revived the development process and
human rights protection. At the Vienna Conference the
Right to Development was for the first time described
as “an integral part of human rights.”95 The Commission
on Human Rights established the open-ended Working
Group on the Right to Development by its resolution
1998/72 and Economic and Social Council decision
1998/269.96 Though initially projected to be in place for
two years, the mandate of the group has been extended.
The mandate of the open-ended Working Group
includes, among other functions:
“to monitor and review progress made in the promotion
and implementation of the right to development to review
reports and other information submitted by States and
international or non-governmental organizations”97
P roposed S olutions
National Action
T he Working Groups stressed that “[s]tates have the
primary responsibility to ensure the conditions
necessary for the enjoyment of the right to development,
as both an individual and a collective right. Development
cannot be seen as an imported phenomenon or one
that is based on the charity of developed countries.”98
Countries themselves have the responsibility to grow
economically. Development should involve devising
policies that will be beneficial in the long term and that
will allow for the protection of the right to development.
Beyond this, the population as well as the government
should be actively participating in development efforts;
the point is not simply to allot blame to national decision-
making but to allow citizens to have ownership over the
state and the problems it faces.99 This includes dealing
with issues such as the extreme levels of corruption that
many developing countries face and the structuring of
appropriate goals for the future.
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 24
 The combination of disability and old age can prove to be a significant burden on families. In the developed
world many old people have opted or been led to live in elderhostels.
http://www.niamhsmyth.ie/news.html
International Cooperation GDP towards the realization of the right to development.

I nternational cooperation involves not only the UN

but also other agencies that work with it such as
the World Bank, the IMF, and the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development. The UN should
play a larger role in the promotion of the right, and
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights should also play a bigger role in making sure
that the right is not simply mentioned but also actively
respected.100 Moreover, financial institutions like the
OECD and the World Bank need to be involved in the
process, not only as lending institutions but as active
promoters of the right to development.101 Efforts should
include investment floes, exchange of technology, and a
commitment to spending important percentages of the
However one must note that while international
cooperation has been invaluable, it has also placed great
burdens upon developing nations. “It is submitted that
the structural adjustment policies of the IMF and World
Bank, whatever their contribution to debt relief, have
placed an intolerable burden on the poorest populations
of the developing world.102
Q uestions a R esolution
M ust A ns w er
• Is the right to development a collective or individual
human right?
• Is it even a human right?

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 25

 The United Nations, as part of a “peace day” celebration in Liberia, organized a soccer match among amputees:
All people with disabilities have a right to participate actively in society.
Photograph: UN / Christopher Herwig
• Who should exercise the right to development? • What measures have been successful, and what
Governments or individuals? measures have failed? What can be learned and
• Who should ensure the right to development? applied from each?
• Who is supposed to protect and enable the
enjoyment of that right? Is the international S uggestions for F urther R esearch
T
community responsible for the protection of the his has been an introduction into the topic of the
right to development? Is the responsibility legal or right to development. Many aspects of the right
moral alone? could not have been possibly covered in one guide, and
• Can one be entitled to such a right when there are therefore to understand all aspects of the topic, delegates
no resources to satisfy this right? will have to move to further research.
• How can the international community promote the In this guide I have attempted to give a theoretical
protection of this right? framework for the right, through which more specific
• Which are the different sectors of development one solutions can be found. If you are interested in knowing
will have to address in protecting this right?

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 26

more about the theoretical aspects of the right, one of the
most prolific writers on the topic is Professor Stephen
Marks. His book “The Human Right to Development:
Between Rhetoric and Reality,” which is available
online through the Harvard Law School Journal, is a
great source for an introduction to the topic. The same
is the case for the book Reflections on the Right to
Development (ed. Sengupta, Negi, Basu), which was
published in 2005 by the Centre for Development and
Human Rights.
For more information on the topic you can also
explore the book “The right to development: a primer” by
the Centre for Development and Human Rights, which
discusses all aspects of the topic, including rights that
are directly correlated with the right to development.
Beyond this point, your best resource is the internet.
You will be able to find all resolutions from the GA and
various human rights committees and working groups
on the internet. Seeing as this topic is relatively new and
not one that has been of keen interest to the UN so far,
information is quite disperse and available by separate
organs and organizations.
Position Papers
T he position papers are a very important part of your
preparation for the committee, not only because
they will be summarizing the main points that you
support and the goals that you are trying to achieve but
also because they are going to help you organize and
better prepare yourself for the conference. You will see
that by writing your country’s positions on a piece of
paper you will better understand what the policy really
is. The position paper is traditionally organized in some
paragraphs that mention the statement of the problem,
previous action and solutions that your country would
support sections.
This first paragraph should include all those
important issues that are related to the problem
according to the policy of your country. For example,
on the topic of disability you could write about how
your country regards the right to disability and whether
it is of importance to its policy.
The second paragraph should refer to the
actions that your country has made in the past and the
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
policies that it has adopted or suggested for adoption in
the past. For example, if we are discussing the right to
development you could mention how your government
has actively pursued the protection of the right, policies
it has adopted and/or aid it has provided.
The last section should briefly mention solutions
that the country’s policy would allow or policies that
have been suggested and the country’s policy does not
agree with. For example, when discussing disability
you should mention whether your country views it
as possible to adopt disability policies that provide
for the transformation of cities or the transformation
of legislation in the workspace, especially if your
country is a developing country that cannot afford such
investments and radical changes.
Closing Remarks
T
he topics that we will be discussing are important
not only for the protection of the rights of
marginalized groups in every society but also because
they pose questions about both the effectiveness of our
development policies for those groups and the ways in
which we understand human rights.
However the point of the discussions of these
topics is to improve the situation and it exactly here that
the heart of this process, the readings and the discussions
lie. This study guide will help you start thinking about
the topic but if you want a more detailed understanding
of the situation try to find other readings. Try to do as
much reading as possible because in the end it will be
worth it.
That being said, I very well understand that it
is not possible to now the most minute detail or know
every resolution voted and decisions taken! After all the
topics are very general and encompass many different
arenas of policy and UN work. Sometimes it might
feel that you are lost among the different medical,
philosophical, social and human rights sources you may
find; I myself faced the same problem. Try to see what
will help you understand the problem and eventually
lead you to some proposals. If at any point you feel lost,
cannot find information and you do not know what to
do please do not hesitate to contact me! Best of luck
with your research and I look forward to seeing!
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 27
 Endnotes
1 United Nations 61st Session. Available at:http://
www.un.org/ga/61/third/third.shtml
2 Third Committee-SOCHUM. Available at:http://
www.un.org/en/ga/third/index.shtml
3 Majid Turmusani. “Disabled People and Economic
needs in the Developing World. A political perspective from
Jordan.” Ashgate:2003, page 16
4 Turmusani page 17
5 World Health Organization (WHO), The World Health
Report 2001: Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope 1
(2001) [hereinafter World Health Report 2001].
6 Ibid page 19
7 Victor Pineda.’AWorld Enabled’ Fighting for the
Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities” in UN Chronicle.
No 4, 2004
8 -- “UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
disabilities” European Journal of Health Law 14 (2007) 273-298,
page 273
9 Maria Kett, Raymond Lang & Jean-Francois
Trani “disability, development and the dawning of a new
convention: a cause for optimism?” in Journal of International
Development J. Int. Dev. 21, 649–661 (2009)
10 Kett page 654
11 UN Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities
12 The UN Convention page 276
13 Aart C. Hendricks. Different Definition-Same Problems-
One way out? in Disability Rights Law and Policy, International
and National Perspectives. (ed. Mary Lou Breslin, Silvia Yee)
Transnational Publishers: 2002, page 199
14 Hendricks page 199
15 Ibid page 199
16 Ibid page 200
17 Ibid page 200
18 Ibid page 200
19 Ibid 201
20 Waddington in Different Definition-Same Problems-One
way out?, page 202
21 Americans for Disability Act, 42 USC §12102(2)
22 European Convention on Human Rights
23 Winterwerp v. Netherlands 6301/73 (1979)
24 Sophie Mitra. “The Capability Approach and
Disability” in Journal Of Disability Policy Studies Vol. 16/NO.
4/2006/ PP. 236
25 Maria Kett, Raymond Lang & Jean-Francois Trani
“Disability, Development and the Dawning of a New Convention:
A Cause For Optimism?” in Journal of International Development J. Int.
Dev. 21, 649–661 (2009)
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
26 Kett page 650
27 Kett 650
28 Lenore Manderson. “Disability Global Legislation
and Human Rights.” In Society for International Development,
2004, 47(2), (29–35), page 32
29 --Women with disabilities and International
Development. US Aid. Available at:http://www.usaid.gov/
our_work/cross-cutting_programs/wid/gender/wwd.html
30 Ibid
31 Women and Girls with Disabilities. UN Enable.
Available at: http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.
asp?navid=13&pid=1514
32 Silvia Yee ad Marilyn Golden. “Achieving
Accessibility: how the Americans With Disabilities Act is
Chnaging the Face and Mind of a Nation’ Disability Rights
Law and Policy, International and National Perspectives. (ed.
Mary Lou Breslin, Silvia Yee) Transnational Publishers: 2002,
page 413
33 Ibid page 414
34 Awadesh Kumar Singh. Rights of the Disabled.
Perspective, Legal protection and Issues. Serials
Publications:2008
35 Singh page 173
36 Ibid page 174
37 Ibid page 178
38 Ibid page 179
39 Ibid page 180
40 Ibid page 181
41 Ibid page 181
42 Sergio Urias. “Overview of the United Nation
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. LLM
paper. Haravrd Law School.2007, page 16
43 Urias page 16
44 Paul Hunt, Judith Mesquita. “Mental Disabilities
and the Human Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of
Health” in Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 28, Number 2, May
2006, pp. 332-356
45 The UN Convention page 276
46 Hunt page 352
47 Ibid page 352
48 Hunt page 352
49 Stewart W Mercer, Rhona MacDonald. “Comment”
in The Lancet Vol 370 August 18, 2007
50 MDGs. United nations Enable. Available at:http://
www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1470#about
51 Manderson 32
52 The European Union Disability Strategy. Available
at:http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/soc-prot/disable/
strategy_en.htm
53 Ibid
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 28
54 E/ESCAP/SB/PIDC(7)/1, April 2002 “Participation
Of Persons With Disabilities In Pacific Island Countries In The
Context Of The Asian And Pacific Decade Of Disabled Persons,
1993-2002, And Beyond”
55 “Promotion of rights of persons with disabilities
stressed”. Abrar Online. 25 October 2010
56 Almeida & Vasquez. PAHO Advocacy Strategies
for the Protection and Promotion of the Human Rights of
Persons with Mental Disabilities and Their Family Members”
6 August 2002. Ad Hoc Committee on an International
Convention.
57 The Brasilia Principles
58 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 (1982)
“Message of United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Louise Arbour.” Available at: http://www.un.org/
democracyfund/XNewsHumanRightsDay.htm
59 Stephen Marks. “The Human Rights Framework for
Development: Seven Approaches” in Reflections on the Right to
Development (ed. Sengupta, Negi, Basu). Centre for Development
and Human Rights:2005, page 31
60 Marks, page 30
61 Marks, page 31
62 Ibid 31
63 Marks, page 34
64 Felix Kirchmeicher. “The Right to
Development:Where do we stand?” Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
Number 23, July 2006. Available at: http://www.fes-
globalization.org/publicationsGeneva/FESOccPapers23.pdf
65 Human Development Reports. UNDP. Available at:
http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev/
66 N. J. Udomban. “The Third World and the Right to
Development: Agenda for the Next Millennium” in Human
Rights Quarterly 22 (2000) 753–787 © 2000 by The Johns
Hopkins University Press, page 763
67 Udomban, page 763
68 G.A. Res., GAOR 32nd Sess., U.N. Doc. A/Res/32
(1977)
69 Kirchmeicher 8
70 Declaration on the Right to Development, G.A. Res.
41/128, annex, 41 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 53) at 186, U.N.
Doc. A/41/153 (1986) [hereinafter DRD]
71 Resolution 51/128
72 The right to Development. Available at: http://
www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/
DevelopmentIndex.aspx
73 Yeniva Massaquoi “Toward a Right to Development?
: Reflecting on the Endorois Decision”. In Legal Frontiers. 9
April, 2010. Available at:
http://www.legalfrontiers.ca/2010/04/toward-a-right-to-
development-reflecting-on-the-endorois-decision/
74 Kirchmeicher 12
Harvard WorldMUN 2011
75 Lynch, Owen.“Human Rights, Environment, and
Economic Development: Existing and Emerging Standards in
International Law and Global Society” in the Center for International
Environmental Law. Available at: http://www.ciel.org/Publications/
olp3iii.html
76 International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights
77 “Protect Right to Healthy Environment” Asia
Pacific Forum. Available at: http://www.asiapacificforum.
net/news/jurists-call-for-right-to-environment.html
78 African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples’
Rights, adopted June 27, 1981, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3
79 “Do we have a Human Right to a Healthy
Environment?” April 23, 2009.Available at: http://www.
wbez.org/episode-segments/do-we-have-human-right-
healthy-environment
80 Additional Protocol to the American Convention on
Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights “Protocol of San Salvador” Available at: http://actrav.
itcilo.org/actrav-english/telearn/global/ilo/law/oasadd.htm
81 Kent, George. “Global obligations for the right to
food” Rowman & Littlefield. 2008, page 3
82 Kent, 8
83 Erika Feller, Statement by the Assistant Highth
Commissioner for Protection, at 4, delivered to the 57 Session
of the Executive Committee to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/
excom/44b36a6d2.html, Geneva, 2 October 2006.
84 “Aid Trickles in, Misery Mounts”. The Economist.
May 12th 2008. Available at: http://www.economist.com/
world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11358899
85 Barbour. Brian. 2008. Embracing the ‘responsibility
to protect’: a repertoire of measures including asylum for
potential victims. Issues in Refugee Research: Research Paper 159.
The UNHCR Policy Development and Evaluation Service.
Available at: www.unhcr.org/publications, p3
86 Embracing the ‘responsibility to protect’ p 6-7
87 Kirchmeicher 14
88 Marks, Stephen. The human right to development:
Between Rhetoric and Reality. Harvard Human Rights
Journal. Available at: http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/
orgs/hrj/iss17/marks.shtml#fn3
89 Kirchmeicher 14
90 Jasper, Susan. “US position on collective rights
needs clarification” in Indian Country Today. 27 September
2010. Available at: http://www.indiancountrytoday.
com/opinion/US-position-on-collective-rights-needs-
clarification-103706804.html
91 United States Government, Statement at the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights, 59th Sess., Comment on
Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 29
the Working Group on the Right to Development (Feb. 10,
2003) in Marks, Stephen. The human right to development: Between
Rhetoric and Reality. Harvard Human Rights Journal. Available at:
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss17/marks.
shtml#fn3
92 US position on collective rights
93 Kirchmeicher page 13-4
94 Kirchmeicher page 15
95 Vienna Declaration Paragraph 10: “The World
Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the right to
development, as established in the Declaration on the Right
to Development, as a universal and inalienable right and an
integral part of fundamental human rights.”
96 Office of the UNHCR. Available at: http://www2.
ohchr.org/english/issues/development/groups/index.htm
97 Ibid
98 Report of the Working Group on the Right to
Development, 3d Sess., U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/ 1995/27
99 Udomban page 773
100 Ibid page 781
101 “The right to development: a primer”, Centre for
Development and Human Rights. Sage 2004, page 64
102 Ibid page 778

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 30

 Appendix
4 1 / 128. D eclaration on the R ight to D e v elopment
The General Assembly,
Having considered the question of the right to development,
Decides to adopt the Declaration on the Right to Development, the text of which is annexed to the present
resolution.

Declaration on the Right to Development

The General Assembly,
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,

Recognizing that 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 therefrom,

Considering that under the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights everyone is entitled to a
social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in that Declaration can be fully realized,

Recalling the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

Recalling further the relevant agreements, conventions, resolutions, recommendations and other instruments of
the United Nations and its specialized agencies concerning the integral development of the human being, economic
and social progress and development of all peoples, including those instruments concerning decolonization,
the prevention of discrimination, respect for and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms, the
maintenance of international peace and security and the further promotion of friendly relations and co-operation
among States in accordance with the Charter,

Recalling the right of peoples to self-determination, by virtue of which they have the right freely to determine their
political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development,

Recalling also the right of peoples to exercise, subject to the relevant provisions of both International Covenants
on Human Rights, full and complete sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources,

Mindful of the obligation of States under the Charter to promote universal respect for and observance of human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,

Considering that the elimination of the massive and flagrant violations of the human rights of the peoples and
individuals affected by situations such as those resulting from colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, all forms

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 31

of racism and racial discrimination, foreign domination and occupation, aggression and threats against national
sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity and threats of war would contribute to the establishment of
circumstances propitious to the development of a great part of mankind,

Concerned at the existence of serious obstacles to development, as well as to the complete fulfilment of human
beings and of peoples, constituted, inter alia, by the denial of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights,
and considering that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent and that, in
order to promote development, equal attention and urgent consideration should be given to the implementation,
promotion and protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and that, accordingly, the
promotion of, respect for and enjoyment of certain human rights and fundamental freedoms cannot justify the
denial of other human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Considering that international peace and security are essential elements for the realization of the right to
development,

Reaffirming that there is a close relationship between disarmament and development and that progress in the field
of disarmament would considerably promote progress in the field of development and that resources released
through disarmament measures should be devoted to the economic and social development and well-being of all
peoples and, in particular, those of the developing countries,

Recognizing that the human person is the central subject of the development process and that development policy
should therefore make the human being the main participant and beneficiary of development,

Recognizing that the creation of conditions favourable to the development of peoples and individuals is the primary
responsibility of their States,

Aware that efforts at the international level to promote and protect human rights should be accompanied by efforts
to establish a new international economic order,

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,

Proclaims the following Declaration on the Right to Development:

Article 1
1. The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples
are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in
which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.

2. The human right to development also implies the full realization of the right of peoples to self-determination,
which includes, subject to the relevant provisions of both International Covenants on Human Rights, the exercise
of their inalienable right to full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources.

Article 2
1. The human person is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 32

of the right to development.

2. All human beings have a responsibility for development, individually and collectively, taking into account the
need for full respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as their duties to the community,
which alone can ensure the free and complete fulfilment of the human being, and they should therefore promote
and protect an appropriate political, social and economic order for development.

3. States have the right and the duty to formulate appropriate national development policies that aim 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 the benefits resulting therefrom.

Article 3
1. States have the primary responsibility for the creation of national and international conditions favourable to the
realization of the right to development.

2. The realization of the right to development requires full respect for the principles of international law concerning
friendly relations and co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

3. States have the duty to co-operate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating obstacles to
development. States should realize their rights and fulfil their duties in such a manner as to promote a new
international economic order based on sovereign equality, interdependence, mutual interest and co-operation
among all States, as well as to encourage the observance and realization of human rights.

Article 4
1. States have the duty to take steps, individually and collectively, to formulate international development policies
with a view to facilitating the full realization of the right to development.

2. Sustained action is required to promote more rapid development of developing countries. As a complement
to the efforts of developing countries, effective international co-operation is essential in providing these countries
with appropriate means and facilities to foster their comprehensive development.

Article 5
States shall take resolute steps to eliminate the massive and flagrant violations of the human rights of peoples
and human beings affected by situations such as those resulting from apartheid, all forms of racism and racial
discrimination, colonialism, foreign domination and occupation, aggression, foreign interference and threats
against national sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity, threats of war and refusal to recognize the
fundamental right of peoples to self-determination.

Article 6
1. All States should co-operate with a view to promoting, encouraging and strengthening universal respect for and
observance of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without any distinction as to race, sex, language
or religion.

2. All human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent; equal attention and urgent
consideration should be given to

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 33

the implementation, promotion and protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

3. States should take steps to eliminate obstacles to development resulting from failure to observe civil and
political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.

Article 7
All States should promote the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security
and, to that end, should do their utmost to achieve general and complete disarmament under effective
international control, as well as to ensure that the resources released by effective disarmament measures are used
for comprehensive development, in particular that of the developing countries.

Article 8
1.States should undertake, at the national level, all necessary measures for the realization of the right to development
and shall ensure, inter alia, equality of opportunity for all in their access to basic resources, education, health
services, food, housing, employment and the fair distribution of income. Effective measures should be undertaken
to ensure that women have an active role in the development process. Appropriate economic and social reforms
should be carried out with a view to eradicating all social injustices.

2.States should encourage popular participation in all spheres as an important factor in development and in the
full realization of all human rights.

Article 9
1. All the aspects of the right to development set forth in the present Declaration are indivisible and interdependent
and each of them should be considered in the context of the whole.

2. Nothing in the present Declaration shall be construed as being contrary to the purposes and principles of the
United Nations, or as implying that any State, group or person has a right to engage in any activity or to
perform any act aimed at the violation of the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in
the International Covenants on Human Rights.

Article 10
Steps should be taken to ensure the full exercise and progressive enhancement of the right to development,
including the formulation, adoption and implementation of policy, legislative and other measures at the national
and international levels.

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 34

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page 273

“Women with disabilities and International Development”. US AID. Available at:http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/

cross-cutting_programs/wid/gender/wwd.html

Aart C. Hendricks. Different Definition-Same Problems-One way out?in Disability Rights Law and Policy, International
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Almeida & Vasquez. PAHO Advocacy Strategies for the Protection and Promotion of the Human Rights of Persons
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Lenore Manderson. “Disability Global Legislation and Human Rights.” In Society for International Development,
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Majid Turmusani. “Disabled People and Economic needs in the Developing World. A political perspective from
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Sophie Mitra. “The Capability Approach and Disability” in Journal Of Disability Policy Studies VOL. 16/NO.
4/2006/ PP. 236–247

Harvard WorldMUN 2011 Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee 35

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asp?navid=13&pid=1514

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asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11358899

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segments/do-we-have-human-right-healthy-environment

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democracyfund/XNewsHumanRightsDay.htm

“Protect Right to Healthy Environment” Asia Pacific Forum. Available at: http://www.asiapacificforum.net/news/
jurists-call-for-right-to-environment.html

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