Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000 Issue No.510

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Critical rights to a better life

By Dina Ezzat

A few days ago the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) chose Cairo to launch the Arabic edition of its annual report on human development, for which the English edition was issued this summer.

This year's report is titled Human Rights and Human Development. The UN's message, stated on the front cover, is clear and simple: "Any society committed to improving the lives of its people must also be committed to full and equal rights for all."

Among the key indicators for human development upon which each national study is based are struggles for human freedoms and democracy and efforts to empower people in the fight against poverty.

In Egypt's case, the report noted favourably the legislature's commitment to the principles of human rights. The report also says that Egypt is one of the countries signatory to the core covenants and conventions on political, economic, social and cultural rights.

While Egypt's application of these covenants and conventions may not be exemplary, it is making steady progress, noted the report.

Sections in the report show a clear increase in the number of 12 to 23-month-old children who have access to full immunisation.

"In 1992 only 67 per cent of all 12 to 23-month-old infants were fully immunised. By 1998 the rate of coverage had increased to 93 per cent." Such results indicate "impressive progress overall," says the report.

However, even within the framework of this progress, access to immunisation is highly uneven with greater coverage of urban as opposed to rural areas. There is also discrimination between regions. Coverage ranges "from 83 per cent in urban Lower Egypt to just 52 per cent in rural Upper Egypt."

Legal reform is another area for which Egypt was lauded for its efforts. In the chapter titled "Promoting the right to human development" the legal gains made by Egypt in ending gender discrimination in divorce are noted.

"The start of the 21st century witnessed a major victory for women's rights in Egypt with the passage of a law in February 2000 enabling a woman to obtain a divorce without her husband's consent." Added to this, the khul' law is praised for authorising the courts to deduct alimony from the husband's wages if he fails to pay support to his wife. The report also hails Egypt's justice minister who drafted this law as being "progressive."

"The law was the product of a dynamic and persistent alliance of civil court judges, women's groups, lawyers and progressive Muslim clerics. They won in part because they argued their case in the context of their culture, emphasising aspects of Islam that confer equal rights on women."

Indeed, according to the report's Gender Empowerment indicators, Egypt is making steady progress allowing it to improve its ranking in this area to 68th in the world compared to 86th where it stood in last year's report. And, according to the Gender-Related Development Index, Egypt moved from 103rd position to 99th in the space of a year.

However, according to the Human Development Indicator, Egypt ranks 119 among the 174 countries assessed in the report -- a slight improvement compared to its ranking last year when it held the 120th position. Canada held first place, while Sierra Leone occupies the last.

The Human Development Indicator rankings are based on three indicators: longevity, as measured by life expectancy at birth; educational attainment, as measured by a combination of the adult literacy rate and the combined enrollment in various stages of school; and standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita.

Among the countries that appear with Egypt in the medium human development table are Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, China, Indonesia and Iraq.

In terms of progress in human development, Egypt ranks second to Indonesia, having achieved considerable ground during the period between 1975 and 1998.

In his foreword to the report, UNDP director Mark Brown argues that "the time is right for a report aimed at drawing out the complex relationship between human rights and human development." Brown insists that human rights "are not, as has sometimes been argued, a reward of development," but rather, "critical to achieving it."

And in his introductory remarks, UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan writes: "Today we know more than ever before that without respect of the rights of the individual, no nation, no community, no society can be truly free."

With the release of the Arabic edition, many more social workers and concerned government officials potentially have access to the message of the Human Development Report 2000: human rights are a must if human development is to be significant and sustainable.

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