Rights to food and water are also human rights, says Dutch development minister

Bert Koenders. Photo: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

During his opening address at the Seminar on Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals, [Dutch] development minister Bert Koenders said that the refugees in Sri Lanka and Pakistan have the right to food, drink [that might not go down so well in Pakistan, presumably what is meant is water], and shelter. He said that these social and economic rights are also human rights, and that the governments responsible must ensure that they are not violated. He would hold them accountable for that.

His words were supported by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navanethem Pillay. She stressed the importance of human rights in achieving the MDGs and called for the deployment of legal instruments to this end.

‘Without human rights there will be no MDGs,’ said Koenders.

[...] Mr Koenders organised this seminar because human rights and development cooperation are inextricably linked.

Source: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26 May 2009

Quotes from his speech:

“Development organisations – like my own – should seek to build people’s capabilities to do so [be active subjects of their own development], by guaranteeing their rights to the essentials of a decent life: education, health care, water and sanitation, protection against violence, including domestic violence”.

” [I]n March 2008 the Netherlands recognised the right to drinking water and sanitation as a human right. This is a significant step forward in efforts to achieve the seventh Millennium Development Goal. It gives NGOs and lobbying organisations real leverage to persuade governments to do more for the most vulnerable in society”.

[...] we are now looking to see whether our bilateral development pilot projects can be implemented under that right [the right to water]. In this seminar, we want to explore ways of fleshing out initiatives like these. Because sectoral water policies can only work when they empower users and give them rights.

Read the full speech here