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Human rights a precondition for development, says expert

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Frank discussion at the opening seminar of the EBRD Business Forum (Zhovtis, Roth, Ignatieff).

Michael Ignatieff, human rights professor at Harvard University, poses the question: “Rights are what you can afford when you become rich”?

Torture is “not systematic”. Vladimir Norov, Uzbekistan's first deputy minister for Foreign Affairs.

The application of human rights “is inconsistent with international standards”. Yevgeny Zhovtis, director, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.

"Uzbekistan does not come close to meeting the EBRD’s political or economic goals.” Kenneth Roth, executive director, Human Rights Watch.

Economic and political rights are a precondition for economic development, according to human rights professor Michael Ignatieff. Chairing the opening session of the Business Forum at the Annual Meeting of the EBRD on Sunday 4 May, Ignatieff said, “Some people believe rights are what you can afford when you become rich. But rights are what make countries rich.” He explained that places in which rights are routinely violated are usually unstable and thus are not viewed favourably by investors.

The discussion turned around rights in the EBRD region – the countries of the former soviet bloc – with a particular focus on the Central Asian state of Uzbekistan where the annual meeting started the same day. The EBRD was created after the Berlin Wall fell, to promote transition from command economies to market economies and democracies.

Ignatieff, a journalist, author and Carr Professor of Human Rights Practice at Harvard University, noted Uzbekistan has the lowest level of foreign investment of any country in the EBRD region. “When power is stacked economically, politically and socially, you have monopolies,” he told the packed ballroom. “You have stagnation and corruption. When property rights are not widely diffused, when property is for the rich and not for the poor, you not only don’t have justice, you don’t have a good economic climate.”

Defining a healthy investment climate

Ignatieff said a good investment climate embraces:

• stability and security: “the absence of terrorism, civil war, external aggression”.

• the rule of law: enforceable contract law, property rights, independent judiciary, prosecutors and police. “You can’t just have it in the constitution, it has to be a fact.”

• accountable public institutions

• basic freedoms, “from arbitrary arrest, torture, of speech and religion, to travel, to acquire and transfer and transmit private property”.

In Uzbekistan, “the system under which rights are denied…succeeds for the few and not for the many,” Ignatieff said.

Torture is “not systematic”

In his remarks panellist Vladimir Norov, Uzbekistan’s first deputy minister, said his country, one of whose neighbours is Afghanistan, is threatened by terrorists so “serious attention is accorded to internal security”. Norov said the number of prisoners in jail has fallen by 33 per cent since 1999 and those responsible for deaths (other than sanctioned executions) in detention are prosecuted. “We need to bring all constitutional norms into effect. Not everything is going smoothly.”

Norov addressed the recent report of a UN Special Rapporteur who said torture in Uzbekistan is “systematic”. Norov said his government “strongly condemns” torture. “I want to underscore that it is not systematic.”

EBRD Strategy for Uzbekistan: Serious concerns about human rights

About a dozen representatives of Uzbek and Central Asian non-governmental organizations later asked Norov detailed questions about deaths in detention, torture, child labour and persecution on religious and political grounds. Saturday EBRD President Jean Lemierre met with 80 Uzbek and Central Asian NGO representatives. He listened to their reports on civil and economic rights; many of these concerns are addressed in the EBRD’s Strategy for Uzbekistan.

The Strategy says that only through a fuller embrace of the principles of free markets and private entrepreneurship can Uzbekistan hope to unlock its rich economic potential, which will in turn allow the EBRD to mobilise additional financial support for the country. The Strategy expresses serious concerns about the state of genuine multi-party democracy, respect for the rule of law and human rights in Uzbekistan. The economy remains generally closed to competition, with a high degree of direct state involvement and control.

During Sunday's seminar, Yevgeny Zhovtis, director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, said Central Asia was populated by authoritarian regimes and the application of human rights “is inconsistent with international standards”.

Democratisation helps reform economies

Marcin Swiecicki of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe spoke of Poland’s transition to a market economy and democracy. “Thirteen years ago my country was in desperate straits. There was 30% inflation – per month! It was a bankrupt country.”

The first post-communist government was led by the Solidarity trade union. While “trade unions are not necessarily the strongest supporters of market reforms”, the advent of democracy and the government’s responsiveness to the general public rather than vested interests made it easier for Poles to accept subsequent “shock therapy for the economy…Radical reforms can only benefit from democratisation.”

Holding annual meeting in Uzbekistan “controversial"

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, thanked the EBRD for holding the seminar on rights and economic development, and for inviting NGOs to attend. Approximately 160 NGOs attended special events during the annual meeting.

However, Mr Roth said the EBRD’s decision to hold its annual meeting in Uzbekistan “has been controversial because Uzbekistan does not come close to meeting the EBRD’s political or economic goals.” He cited deaths in detention due to aggravated illness or torture and said seven human rights defenders were detained by authorities last year. “Four are still in custody today.”

Mr Roth set out three possible scenarios for the EBRD’s assessment of benchmarks established by the Bank’s board in order to determine whether Uzbekistan is progressing in its promised economic and political transition. Future EBRD investment in Uzbekistan hinges on that assessment, to be made in one year. Mr Roth suggested the Bank might “declare progress” even if progress were thin on the ground; or the Bank might “wash its hands” of the country; or the EBRD could “work hand in hand to ensure Uzbekistan meets the benchmarks. This is my preferred option.”

The fight against corruption requires a coalition

Peter Eigen, founder and chairman of the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International, said the EBRD is unique among international financial institutions in combining a political mandate with economic goals. Transparency International’s corruption perception index shows Central Asian countries have among the worst reputations regarding corruption.

“The least developed countries are those that can least afford the destructive impact of corruption,” said Mr Eigen. He said companies from developed countries too often want to bribe their way into contracts and some First World governments permitted these firms to write-off the bribes against their taxes, although that practice is coming to an end. “The private sector is at once the victim and perpetrator” of corruption, he said. The fight against corruption requires a coalition of government, institutions such as the EBRD, the private sector and NGOs.

Also in Russian.

4 May 2003