Introducing Human Rights into National Human Development Discourse

UNDP Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) partnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the incorporation of international treaties into national law. Based on the understanding that international law may contribute to the rule of law, which is in turn instrumental for development, and the understanding that human rights provide for equity and sustainable development processes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a series of awareness-raising workshops on human rights based approaches to development for government officials. These workshops enjoyed wide participation, and have produced wide agreement on the importance of human rights based approaches to Lao PDR’s development. Having introduced human rights into a national development discourse where they were not previously applied, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now seeks to strengthen government actors’ understanding of what a human rights based approach entails, and to build the capacities of the government to apply human rights principles in development. .

Lessons Learned Concentrating advocacy efforts on a single government actor may lead to partnership, increasing political legitimacy and improving the effectiveness of advocacy work with other actors. Introducing politically charged concepts into a national discourse may be facilitated by a strategic partner, but the introduction and acceptance of specific language does not control how concepts will be implemented by government counterparts, which requires thoughtful and significant awareness raising and capacity development.

Tools Developed The International Law Project has not produced any tools.