Poverty and human rights in Africa

Historical dynamics and the case for economic social and cultural rights

Bibliographic Data

ID12593333
AuthorsArchangel Byaruhanga Rukooko (Makerere University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume14
Issue1
Pages13-33
Publication date2010-01-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe International Journal of Human Rights (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1364-2987 • E-ISSN: 1744-053X
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13642980902933654
OpenAlexW2093897615
LanguageEN
Citations received2

Although the relationship between poverty and human rights is only recently beginning to be examined it has always been dynamically intertwined. Poverty is a relative concept but its intrusion into human dignity is unmistakable. This article argues that human rights are strong tools for fighting poverty. Traditionally in Africa, poverty and wealth were communal and communality defined their existence. At the same time poverty in Africa is interrelated with diverse factors, such as racism, the impact if colonialism, and in the current era of globalisation, the operation of multi-national companies. Poverty is also highly related to governance and typically the African big-men syndrome and so-called ‘irrational belief’ structures. Although the UN Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights may not be a panacea for progress, if combined with other sets of human rights, it is a suitable weapon to combat poverty

Basic needs · Cultural rights · Culture of poverty · Development economics · Dignity · Economics · Globalization · Human rights · International human rights law · Panacea (medicine · Political economy · Political science · Poverty · Sociology · Human Rights and Development · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa

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