A critique of right to development

The United Nations adopted the resolution to declare Right to Development as an inalienable human right on 4 December 1986. The idea was reinforced in 1993 through the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The Right to Development has always been a controversial issue as several developed countries have objected to the declaration of Right to Development on the pretext of (i) perceived defects of the very idea of development as a matter of right; (ii) being contrary to the concepts of economic liberties and entrepreneurship; and (iii) conceptual confusion pertaining to economic, social and cultural rights. On the other hand, the developing countries consider it obligatory on the part of developed countries to contribute whole-heartedly towards formation of new international economic order and they use the declaration as a means to demand a holistic transfer of resources in the form of foreign aid and liquidation of debts from the industrialized countries. This paper provides a critique of the Right to Development in the context of fast emerging global milieu where citizens of the world are concerned about inequity, poverty and environmental degradation.