Is the convergence of human development and human rights finally a real possibility? : the analysis of the European vision on development from a bidimensional perspective: the development and human rights based approaches

Abstract

This thesis analyses the document European Vision on Development that was published by European Commission in 2006 as part of the European Consensus on Development. This document contains shared values, objectives and principles that shall guide the activities of the Union and member states in the field of development cooperation policy on a basis of complementarity. The overarching objective is eradication of poverty and the achievement of millennium development goals in the context of sustainable development. The shared values, principles and objectives stated in the Vision have been reaffirmed by Treaty of Lisbon. This work examines the theoretical framework underlining the European Vision on development in the light of Human Development and the Human Rights Based Approach to development to find out how far the EU development policy consider the indivisibility of rights and therefore the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights in its development policy. The main premise is that if sustainable development and the eradication of poverty are to be achieved, there has to be a combined strategy between the concept of human development and respect for human rights, crucial in the current context of global poverty that evidence massive violations of economic and social rights.