Lunch Seminar: The Power of Freedom – Uniting Human Rights and Development

Are the quests for human rights and economic development compatible?

The connection between rights and development has long been recognized, but economic freedoms are not so readily applied in practice. Human rights advocates and economic development experts rarely engage each other and often work at cross purposes.

Development experts often advocate incoherent approaches to development. Top-down poverty-reduction and growth strategies supported by aid agencies tend to eclipse the fundamental role of economic freedom in development and end up breaching basic rights, including personal choice, thereby promoting inappropriate institutions and policies.

In a new thought-provoking book, Jean-Pierre Chauffour (Lead Economist for International Trade at the World Bank) argues that the answer to the question depends on the place given to economic freedom in both human rights and development –  when freedom advances, prosperity and human rights progress. When freedom is threatened—especially economic and civil liberties—fundamental human rights are violated and economic development suffers.

Empowering people with economic freedom, civil rights, and political liberties is the best way to ensure development and respect for the individual. Chauffour’s book, which will be discussed at this seminar, provides major lessons to meet the challenges of securing freedom, peace, and prosperity.

You are invited to contribute your views to this lunch time discussion in a relaxed and informal setting.

RSVP by 25 May to [email protected]

A light lunch will be served.

Limited space available