Abstract
This chapter argues that social development should pay more attention to human rights and good governance. In order to make this case, the lack of attention to rights and governance in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is reviewed. It also discusses the way that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have attempted to update and revise the social development agenda for the next 15 years with more attention to human rights and good governance. Drawing on the MDGs and SDGs as flashpoints, it discusses trends within social development from the perspective of human rights and good governance. This chapter contends that social development can only be effectively realized in societies where governments represent their citizens and act on their behalf to bring about social improvements. In many countries, corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, and violations of human rights have severely impeded implementation efforts. Ways of addressing this challenge and ensuring the achievement of human rights and good governance are discussed in the final section.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abbot, K., & Bernstein, S. (2014). The high-level political forum on sustainable development: Orchestration by default and design. Global Policy, 6(3), 222–233.
Abbot, K., Genschel, P., Snidal, D., & Zangl, B. (Eds.). (2015). International organizations as orchestrators. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Amnesty International, Center for Economic and Social Rights, Center for Reproductive Rights & Human Rights Watch (AI, CESR, CRR & HRW). (2015). Accountability for the post-2015 agenda: A proposal for a robust global review mechanism. Retrieved from http://cesr.org/downloads/post-2015_accountability_proposal.pdf
Androff, D. (2016). Practicing rights: Human rights-based approaches to social work practice. New York: Routledge.
Biermann, F., Stevens, C., Bernstein, S., Gupta, A., Kabiri, N., Kanie, N., et al. (2014). Integrating governance into the sustainable development goals. POST2015/UNU-IAS Policy Brief #3. Tokyo: United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability.
Edwards, M. (2015, January). Benefits and costs of the governance & institutions targets for the post-2015 development agenda. Governance and Institutions Viewpoint Paper, 7. Copenhagen Consensus Center. Retrieved from http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/sites/default/files/governance_viewpoint_edwards.pdf
Midgley, J. (2007). Development, social development, and human rights. In E. Reichert (Ed.), Challenges in human rights (pp. 97–121). New York: Columbia University Press.
Midgley, J. (2012). Millennium development goals. In K. Lyons, T. Hokenstad, N. Huegler, & M. Pawar (Eds.), Sage handbook of international social work (pp. 512–516). London: Sage Publications.
Midgley, J. (2014). Social development: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Midgley, J., & Conley, A. (Eds.). (2010). Social work and social development: Theories and skills for developmental social work. New York: Oxford University Press.
Nilsson, M., & Persson, Å. (2015). How do we get real national ownership of the post-2015 agenda? Research note for the workshop on Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, Center for Law and Global Affairs, Arizona State University, April 25–26, 2015. Retrieved from http://conferences.asucollegeoflaw.com/sdg2015/workshop-materials/
Norström, A., Dannenberg, A., McCarney, G., Milkoreit, M., Diekert, F., Engström, G., et al. (2014). Three necessary conditions for establishing effective sustainable development goals in the anthropocene. Ecology and Society, 19(3), 8.
Ramcharan, B. (2015). The law, policy, and practices of the UN Human Rights Council. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV.
Satterthwaite, D. (2014). Guiding the goals: Empowering local actors. SAIS Review of International Affairs, 34(2), 51–61.
Slotin, J., & Eagin-Cossart, M. (2013). Why would peace be controversial at the United Nations? Negotiations toward a post-2015 development framework. New York University, Center on International Cooperation. Retrieved from http://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/negotiations_post_2015_dev_framework.pdf
UN. (2014, December 4). The road to dignity by 2030: Ending poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet: Synthesis report of the Secretary-General on the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. A/69/700. New York: United Nations.
United Nations (UN). (1986). Declaration on the right to development. New York: Author Retrieved from http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r128.htm.
United Nations (UN). (2015). The millennium development goals report. New York: United Nations Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/MDG/english/UNDP_MDG_Report_2015.pdf.
United Nations (UN). (2016). Good governance and human rights. Issue Brief. New York: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/GoodGovernance/Pages/GoodGovernanceIndex.aspx
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) (2014, May). Governance for sustainable development: Integrating governance in the post-2015 development framework. Discussion Paper. New York: UNDP. Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Discussion-Paper--Governance-for-Sustainable-Development.pdf
United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR). (2007). Good governance practices for the protection of human rights. New York: Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GoodGovernance.pdf.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2015). UNHCR Global trends report 2014. New York: United Nations Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/556725e69.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Androff, D. (2017). Human Rights-Based and Good Governance Approaches to Social Development. In: Midgley, J., Pawar, M. (eds) Future Directions in Social Development. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-44598-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-44598-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-44597-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-44598-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)