Introduction

The Capability Approach and Human Rights

Bibliographic Data

ID2183552
AuthorsPolly Vizard (0000-0003-0740-377X), Sakiko Fukuda‐parr (0000-0002-6004-3606), Diane Elson
Year2011
Volume12
Issue1
Pages1-22
Publication date2011-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Human Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-9888 • E-ISSN: 1469-9516
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19452829.2010.541728
OpenAlexW2076824508
LanguageEN
Citations received43
References cited29

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1 Sen's treatment of human rights reflects the ideas set out in the Dewey Lectures, which highlighted the ways in which '[m]inimal demands of well‐being (in the form of basic functionings, e.g. not to be hungry), and of well‐being freedom (in the form of minimal capabilities, e.g. having the means of avoiding hunger)' can be viewed as rights that 'command attention and call for support' (1985a Sen, A. K. 1985a. 'Well‐being, agency and freedom: the Dewey Lectures 1984'. The Journal of Philosophy, 82(4): 169–221. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 217). Other earlier contributions included the concept of metarights (1985b Sen, A. K. 1985b. "'Rights as goals' (Austin Lecture)". In Equality and Discrimination: Essays in Freedom and Justice, Edited by: Guest, S. and Milne, A. 11–26. Wiesbaden, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH. [Google Scholar]). 2 See Sen (1985c Sen, A. K. 1985c. Commodities and Capabilities, Amsterdam: North‐Holland. [Google Scholar]) for the distinction between entitlements, capabilities, conversion factors, and contextual variables. For a fuller elucidation of Sen's notion of entitlement, see Sen (1981 Sen, A. K. 1981. Poverty and Famines, Oxford: Clarendon. [Google Scholar]). 3 In particular: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948), U.N.G.A. Res. 217 A (III) (1948); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (New York, 16 December 1966) 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into force 3 January 1976; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (New York, 7 March 1966) 660 U.N.T.S. 195, 5 I.L.M. 352 (1966), entered into force 4 January 1969; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (New York, 16 December 1966) 999 U.N.T.S. 171 and 1057 U.N.T.S. 407, entered into force 23 March 1976 [the provisions of article 41 (Human Rights Committee) entered into force 28 March 1979]; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (New York, 18 December 1979) 1249 U.N.T.S. 13, 19 I.L.M. 33 (1980), entered into force 3 September 1981; Convention on the Rights of the Child (New York, 20 November 1989) 1577 U.N.T.S. 3, 28 I.L.M. 1448 (1989), entered into force 2 September 1990. 4 The General Comments of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/comments.htm. 5 See General Comments 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 6 The examination of case law in this paragraph draws on the analyses in Vizard (2006 Vizard, P. 2006. Poverty and Human Rights: Sen's Capability Perspective Examined, Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], pp. 140–194) and Fredman (2006a Fredman, S. Presentation at Equalities Review Seminar on the Capability Approach and Human Rights. October26. [Google Scholar], 2006b Fredman, S. 2006b. 'Human rights transformed: positive duties and positive rights'. Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper, 38 Public Law, pp. 498–520 [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=923936], accessed 2 August 2010 [Google Scholar], 2008 Fredman, S. 2008. Human Rights Transformed: Positive Rights and Positive Duties, Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). 7 Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity and others v State of West Bengal and another, AIR 1996 Case summary available at http://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/caselaw_show.htm?doc_id=401236, accessed 24 October 2010. 8 Olga Tellis and Ors v Bombay Municipality Corporation and Ors. Etc., July 10, 1985. Case summary available at http://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/caselaw_show.htm?doc_id=401006, accessed 24 October 2010. 9 Supreme Court of India, 2001, unreported, 2 May 2003; order of the Supreme Court as summarized in Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (2003 Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions. 2003. "'50 leading cases on economic, social and cultural rights: summarises'". In Working Paper No.1 ESC Rights Litigation Programme, [http://www.cohre.org/downloads/50leadingcases.pdf], accessed 2 August 2010 [Google Scholar], p. 24). 10 Government of the Republic of South Africa, the Premier of the Province of the Western Cape, Cape Metropolitan Council, Oostenberg Municipality v Grootboom and others, decided on 4 October 2000, Case CCT 1100 Constitutional Court of South Africa. 11 Minister of Health and others v Treatment Action Campaign and others, decided on 5 July 2002, Case CCT 8/02. 12 Viceconte, Mariela Cecilia v. Argentinian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Poder Judicial de la Nación, Causa no 31.777/96, 2 June 1998. Case summary available at http://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/caselaw_show.htm?doc_id=419811, accessed 24 October 2010. 13 Inter‐American Court Of Human Rights, Villagran Morales Et Al. Case Judgment Of November 19, 1999. Case summary available at http://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/caselaw_show.htm?doc_id=417163, accessed 24 October 2010. 14 Airey v Ireland 6289/73 ECHR 1979, [http://echr.coe.int/echr/en/hudoc], accessed 24 October 2010. 15 Marckx v Belgium 6833/74 ECHR 1979, [http://echr.coe.int/echr/en/hudoc], accessed 24 October 2010. 16 Plattform 'Ärzte für das Leben' v Austria 10126/82 ECHR 1988, [http://echr.coe.int/echr/en/hudoc], accessed 24 October 2010. 17 Savage v South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, House of Lords 2008–09 UKHL 74, [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldjudgmt/jd081210/savage-1.htm], accessed 24 October 2010 18 The Social and Economic Rights Action Center for Economic and Social Rights v. Nigeria, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Comm. No. 155/96, (2001), available at University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, [http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/comcases/155-96b.html], accessed 24 October 2010. 19 Opuz v Turkey, ECHR 33401/02 2009, [http://echr.coe.int/echr/en/hudoc], accessed 24 October 2010. 20 This report built on the contribution of Sen who authored Chapter One on the conceptual relationship between human rights and human development/capabilities. 21 This point is further developed in Fukuda‐Parr (2006 Fukuda‐Parr, S. 2006. 'Millennium Development Goal 8—international human rights obligations?'. Human Rights Quarterly, 28(4): 966–997. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), which examines commitments of Goal 8 of the MDGs in line with the international obligations for development, and suggests a number of issues beyond the MDG8 targets. 22 For example, Kenneth Roth (2004 Roth, K. 2004. 'Defending economic, social and cultural rights: practical issues faced by an international human rights organization'. Human Rights Quarterly, 26: 63–73. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) argues that international human rights non‐governmental organizations like Human Rights Watch, of which he is president, are not well equipped to advocate economic and social rights since this requires technical expertise of fields that human rights specialists do not possess. 23 For example, Chapman (1996 Chapman, A. 1996. 'A violations approach for monitoring the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights'. Human Rights Quarterly, 18: 23–66. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) argues that the need for technical knowledge of diverse fields to assess possibilities of achieving realization of economic and social rights is overwhelming. She therefore advocates focusing on 'violations' in monitoring economic and social rights

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