Abstract
Susan Mathews examines the complex and largely unsettled relationship between the millennium development goals (MDGs), poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) and human rights discourse, partly through analysing the proposal that PRSPs be aligned to MDGs. A major risk is that the MDGs and PRSPs aligned create an amalgam of policy formulae that bring together the goal stringency of the former and the macroeconomic and structural reform orthodoxy of the latter, which could seriously hamper poverty reduction and disempower low-income countries and its poor peoples.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alston, Philip (2004) ‘A Human Rights Perspective on the Millennium Development Goals’, paper prepared as a contribution to the work of the Millennium Project Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development, Millennium Project, UN.
Alston, Philip (2005) ‘Ships Passing in the Night: The current state of the human rights and development debate seen through the lens of the millennium development goals’, Human Rights Quarterly 27(3): 755–829.
Alston, Philip and Mary Robinson (eds.) (2005) Human Rights and Development: Towards Mutual Reinforcement, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bullard, Nicola (2003) ‘The Millennium Development Goals and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: two wrongs don't make a right’, in Focus on the Global South Anti Poverty or Anti Poor: The Millennium Development Goals and the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, Bangkok: Focus on the Global South.
Cornwall, Andrea and Karen Brock (2005) ‘What do Buzzwords do for Development Policy? A critical look at ‘participation’, ‘empowerment’ and ‘poverty reduction’’, Third World Quarterly 26(7): 1043–1060.
Darrow, Mac and Amparo Tomas (2005) ‘Power, Capture, and Conflict: A call for human rights accountability in development cooperation’, Human Rights Quarterly 27(2): 471–538.
Driscoll, Ruth and Alison Evans (2005) ‘Second-Generation Poverty Reduction Strategies: New opportunities and emerging issues’, Development Policy Review 23(1): 5–25.
Filmer-Wilson, Emilie (2005) ‘The Human Rights-Based Approach to Development: The right to water’, Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 23: 213–241.
Fukuda-Parr, Sakiko (2004) ‘Millennium Development Goals: Why they matter’, Global Governance 10: 395–402.
Khoo, Su-Ming (2005) ‘The Millennium Development Goals: A critical discussion’, Trocaire Development Review 43–56.
Millennium Project (2005) Investing in Development – A practical plan to achieve the millennium development goals, London: Earthscan.
Nyamu-Musembi, Celestine and Andrea Cornwall (2004) ‘What is the ‘right-based approach’ all about? Perspectives from international development agencies’, IDS Working Paper, No. 234: 1–61.
Nyamu-Musembi, Celestine (2005) ‘An Actor-oriented Approach to Rights in Development’, IDS Bulletin 36(1): 41–51.
OECD (2005) Integrating Human Rights Into Development: A synthesis of donor approaches and experiences, Paris: OECD.
Oxfam International (2004) ‘From ‘Donorship’ to Ownership? Moving Towards PRSP Round Two’, Oxfam Briefing Paper, No. 51.
Piron, Louise-Helene (2005) ‘Rights-Based Approaches and Bilateral Aid Agencies: More than a metaphor?’ IDS Bulletin 36(1): 19–30.
Rajagopal, Balakrishnan (2003) International Law from Below: Development, social movements and third world resistance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Roberts, John (2005) ‘Millennium Development Goals: Are international targets now more credible’, Journal of International Development 17: 113–129.
Sadasivam, Bharati (2005) ‘Wooing the MDG-skeptics’, Development 48(1): 30–34.
Salomon, Margot E. (2005) ‘Towards a just institutional order: A commentary on the first session of the UN task force on the right to development’, Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 23(3): 409–438.
Shetty, Salil (2005) ‘Can a rights-based approach help in achieving the millennium development goals’, IDS Bulletin 36(1): 73–75.
Statement of the Asia-Pacific Civil Society (2003) Forum on the Millennium Development Goals and the Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger, Bangkok, 6–8 October 2003.
United Nations (2003) The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation Towards a Common Understanding Among UN Agencies, Stamford: Connecticut.
United Nations (2004) ‘Report of the Working Group on the Right to Development in its fifth session’, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2004/23 Geneva, 11–20 February 2004.
Uvin, Peter (2004) Human Rights and Development, Bloomfield: Kumarian Press.
World Bank/IMF Development Committee (2005) Global Monitoring Report 2005- From Consensus to Momentum, Washington, DC: World Bank.
Additional information
Examines the complex relationship between the MDGs, PRSPs and human rights
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mathews, S. Discoursive Alibis: Human rights, millennium development goals and poverty reduction strategy papers. Development 50, 76–82 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1100362
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1100362