Michael de Laine

Danish govt says human rights best assured by democratic societies based on justice, rule of law

By Michael de Laine, Copenhagen, 5 March 2009

The Danish Government says it believes that human rights are best assured by democratic societies based on justice and the rule of law. Promoting democracy and human rights therefore not only benefits individual human beings, but also entire communities locally and globally. However, respect for human rights is not a matter of course, and countries that violate human rights or attempt to limit or undermine them must face the consequences.

Denmark’s Liberal-Conservative government believes that human rights – which it says are part of a universal value system and have close links with democracy – are best assured by democratic societies based on justice and the rule of law.

The government says this provides the best opportunities for the people and for reducing poverty and promoting sustainable human development, peace and security. The promotion of democracy and human rights, therefore, is not only of benefit to the individual human being, but also to the entire community, locally and globally.

Through a new strategy for Danish development cooperation on democracy and the rule of law, the government now underlines its commitment to democracy and human rights. The intention is to institute a value-based approach to development policy on democracy and human rights which, at the same time, embraces the on-going Danish support and points to new focus areas for the future.

“A key task for the international community is to support the promotion of democracy and respect for human rights within a comprehensive and long-term perspective,” the Danish government says. “Although progress is and will be uneven and flexibility is needed to adapt and respond to changing circumstances, new opportunities and challenges, the Danish government is determined to make the most of these opportunities and to meet new challenges that may arise.”

The government says it is committed to contributing to the deepening of democracy and the realisation of human rights in developing countries for the benefit of poor and marginalised people.

“In fact,” it claims, “democratisation and the realisation of human rights have been priority areas of Danish development cooperation for two decades.”

Claiming a strong commitment, the Danish government says it will:

• Support human rights and democratisation as objectives in their own right and as means of reducing poverty and promoting peace and security.
• Apply a comprehensive and long-term approach.
• Address the political character of the issues involved.
• Promote a dynamic interaction between state and civil society.
• Address the particular challenges of fragile states and fragile situations.

Its new areas of support will include:

• Support for the development of pluralist political systems.
• Increased focus on parliamentary development.
• Increased focus on national human rights institutions.
• Increased focus on informal systems of justice that respect human rights.

“Denmark is actively engaged in multilateral cooperation on human rights and democratisation, particularly with the United Nations, and will strive to increase the synergies between bilateral programmes and multilateral frameworks,” the Danish government says.

As a consequence, it will:

• Encourage ratification of human rights conventions.
• Use human rights conventions ratified by governments in partner countries when designing and implementing Danish support for human rights and democratisation.
• Use decisions and recommendations of the international community related to human rights and democratisation in bilateral development cooperation.
• Use the human rights indicators produced by United Nations treaty bodies in political dialogues with governments in partner countries and in monitoring of programmes.
• Increase cooperation with regional human rights bodies in bilateral development cooperation.

“Lasting peace, security, stability and development can only be achieved through respect for human rights and democratic principles,” the government says. “The relationship between democracy, human rights and poverty is multi-dimensional. For example, some of the underlying causes of poverty include human rights abuses, failure to promote socio-economic rights, lack of access to justice, powerlessness and exclusion.”

Although it notes that the promotion and protection of democracy and human rights are not prerequisites for economic growth, the Danish government says they are central to sustained economic growth and ensuring and maintaining high levels of human development.

It says that promoting and deepening democracy and protecting human rights:

• Leads to a reduction of inequality and improvements in income distribution and education for all members of society.
• Encourages the establishment of institutions, legal guarantees, and protections for the full exercise of human rights - which in turn creates a stable and secure environment and greater opportunities for individuals to flourish.

“For women living in poverty,” the Danish government says, “the most important challenges are ensuring their equal rights, equal access to influence and services, freedom to make decisions about their own lives, a greater say in public affairs, and equality in property rights and family law.”

Good governance is about more than public sector management and institutions.

“Democratic principles and human rights are vital to good governance - they provide a framework of rules and principles that govern the relationships between the state and individuals, and between individual members of society,” the government says.

It notes that human rights violations, poor governance and a lack of democracy are common in fragile states and fragile situations. At the same time, human rights violations and poor governance (including corruption and a lack of democracy) contribute to state fragility and instability and therefore become an obstacle to development, peace and security.

“The degree of promotion of and respect for human rights and democratic principles are therefore key indicators of progress or deterioration in fragile states and regional destabilisation,” the Danish government says. “Efforts to improve democracy and respect for human rights also contribute to instability and fragility.”

As examples, the Danish government says that people who stand to lose resources or influence often offer resistance in the face of the redistribution of power, new awareness and increased expectations stemming from democratisation and the realisation of human rights. This in turn creates resistance and tensions in society.

“Because of this, the promotion of democracy and human rights in fragile states requires a willingness to take and manage risks, and flexibility in planning and implementation to respond to developments and take advantage of possible windows of opportunity,” the government says. “Good examples of how efforts must be adapted to dynamic political realities – both in time and geographically – are provided by the current Danish support to Afghanistan and Nepal.”

The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness is an international agreement that commits donors and development partners to increasing efforts to harmonise, align and manage aid for results, with a set of monitorable actions and indicators, the Danish government says. In keeping with the Paris Declaration, efforts are based on national strategies and priorities and undertaken in close cooperation with partner countries. This approach requires a certain degree of discretion to be given to local actors when deciding on relevant initiatives in any given country.

“Implementing the principles and commitments of the Paris Declaration and the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) will advance human rights and democratisation by improving the effectiveness of development cooperation in these areas,” the government says.

At the same time, applying human rights and democratic principles to development will advance the implementation of the Paris Declaration and the AAA by building on experiences and approaches from these fields - thereby further anchoring the development process with the very people it aims to support, especially with regard to ownership and mutual accountability.

The Danish government says that both donor and developing countries can support broad-based, national ownership of the development agenda by including parliaments and by ensuring that adequate funds are allocated to capacity development for civil society (especially those organisations representing minorities, marginalised and vulnerable groups).

“This will improve inclusive participation in decision-making and broaden and deepen ownership of development processes,” it adds.

Donors and developing countries can also use existing human rights standards and institutions to help develop concepts and practices of mutual accountability. The human rights framework is essentially a global accountability framework which should be drawn upon during this process. It represents an opportunity for framing the concept of accountability on mutually agreed standards within an internationally recognised normative framework. Furthermore, human rights accountability processes demonstrate that public accountability can be most effectively achieved by engaging a broad range of stakeholders.

“The principles of aid effectiveness will continue to govern Denmark’s support for democratisation and human rights,” the government says.

“It is now more than 60 years ago that the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” says Per Stig Møller, Denmark’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. “Unfortunately, respect for human rights is still not a matter of course and we continue to see grave violations of human rights throughout the world. Executions and stoning in Iran, torture in Indonesian prisons, brutal assaults on women and children in Congo and severe restrictions on freedom of expression in many parts of the world, just to mention a few examples.”

He adds that the strategy is a specific reflection of the high priority the government places on the effort to foster democracy and human rights and the current challenges that follow from globalisation, also in the area of human rights.

“On the basis of the universality of human rights, the strategy sets out the challenges which Denmark and like-minded countries face in the work to promote and protect human rights, including the attempts that are being made to limit and undermine fundamental rights such as freedom of expression,” Møller says.

The strategy describes the government’s value-based point of departure for tackling these challenges together with other countries. It also states that there must be consequences for countries that violate human rights and attempt to undermine or limit human rights.

Further, the strategy contains a presentation of the issues where Denmark will make a special effort in the years ahead – including human rights defenders, freedom of expression, the rule of law, gender equality, corporate social responsibility, torture and the death penalty, freedom of religion, the fight against terrorism, indigenous peoples and children.

“Active Danish efforts for human rights in an international context rest on a long-established tradition in Danish politics and on broad political support,” the Foreign Minister says. “This is linked to our conviction that indifference to the sufferings of others is unacceptable. The Danish view is that human rights and compliance with these rights are fundamental to the lives, integrity and dignity of all human beings. At the same time, lasting peace, security, development and stability can only be achieved through respect for human rights. It is our hope that Denmark with this strategy will be able to provide a continued and strengthened contribution to this work.”

“With this strategy, the government underlines that democracy and human rights are independent objectives in development cooperation work,” says Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation. “At the same time, democracy and human rights are crucial means in the fight against poverty and in the promotion of peace and stability.”

Tørnæs says Denmark’s goal with this strategy is consolidating the importance of democracy and human rights for individuals and societies – not at least in developing countries – and to reaffirm the last 15–20 years’ focus on human rights and democracy in development assistance.

She adds that Denmark in the future will place increased focus on the following action areas:

• The development of pluralistic political systems, including the strengthening of parliaments and parliamentary processes in a working democracy as well as capacity development of political parties and cross-party dialogue.
• The strengthening of national human rights institutions.
• The improvement of poor and marginalised groups’ access to the legal system and to local conflict resolution, including support for informal legal systems that respect human rights.

“The strategy will be directional for both the thematic programmes regarding good governance, democracy and human rights and for all other Danish-financed development assistance,” Tørnæs adds. “As is the case with regard to other Danish development assistance, the target group will be poor and marginalised people in developing countries.”

Click here for the document listing the strategic priorities for Danish support of good governance.