Human Development Report Woman to Lead the Organisation

Chapter 2 Helen Clark became the The real wealth of nations: Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Lessons from the in April 2009, and is the first Human Development Report woman to lead the organisation. She is also the Chair of the Helen Clark United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all United Nations funds, programmes and departments working on development issues. th Prior to her appointment Helen Clark takes the opportunity of the 50 with UNDP, Ms Clark served as anniversary of the OECD Development Assistance Prime Minister of New Zealand, Committee (DAC) to explore the human development serving three successive terms progress over the past decade, as well as challenges (1999-2008). She engaged widely in of the 21st century. She bases her analysis on a rich policy development and advocacy source of insights, the annual Human Development across the international, economic, social and cultural spheres. Report, produced by the United Nations Development Under her leadership, New Zealand Programme (UNDP) on issues as diverse as gender, achieved significant economic growth, water, human rights, climate change and migration. low levels of unemployment and high She notes that people today are, on average, healthier, levels of investment in education and more educated and wealthier than ever before. health, and in the well-being While the income divide has generally worsened, gaps of families and older citizens. Ms Clark advocated strongly for in health and education outcomes between developed New Zealand’s comprehensive and developing countries have narrowed. programme on sustainability Looking ahead, it remains vital that all partners in and tackling the problems of climate change. development work together to nurture resilient, accountable institutions and systems that are capable As Prime Minister, Ms Clark was a member of the Council of of meeting sustainable development objectives, Women World Leaders, an responding to citizens’ needs, dealing with shocks, international network of current and promoting social cohesion and peacefully mediating former women presidents and prime tensions and disputes. ministers whose mission is to mobilise the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development. DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION REPORT 2011 © OECD 2011 47 Chapter 2 The real wealth of nations: Lessons from the Human Development Report Helen Clark he 50th anniversary of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) offers an excellent opportunity to reflect on lessons learned over the past decades and identify options to address Tthe development challenges of the 21st century more effectively. Since 1961, the DAC has contributed to global development by defining official development assistance (ODA) and tracking it against agreed targets. It has worked to ensure that aid is delivered well, and has produced guidance and shared good practice to promote better development policies. Through engagement with key players, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the DAC has influenced the international agenda in support of development, emphasising throughout the human side of development. Indeed, our institutions have often worked together to advance understanding in this realm. “... ultimately, development A rich source of insights into human development progress is the annual global is about expanding people’s Human Development Report (HDR), produced for twenty years now by the UNDP. choices and capabilities The first HDR, published in 1990, affirmed that “people are the real wealth of nations” – including their political (UNDP 1990). With eloquence, philosophical clarity and no small amount of intellec- freedoms and human rights – tual courage, that first report peeled away layers of orthodox development thinking to enabling them ... to stress the importance of putting people at the centre of development. It recognised influence decisions that ultimately, development is about expanding people’s choices and capabilities – that impact their lives.” including their political freedoms and human rights – enabling them to have the means to live long, healthy and creative lives, and to influence decisions that impact their lives. The human development approach The central premise of that first HDR was simple: a country’s development should not be measured by national income alone, but rather by a broader concept of human development. Associated with the report, the now well-established Human Development Index (HDI) combined measures of life expect- ancy, education and living standards. The team behind the first HDR acknowledged that the HDI itself had its shortcomings: it relied, for example, on national averages, which masked unequal distribution and did not include what the authors called a “quantitative measure of human freedom” (UNDP 1990). The authors were well aware that the human development approach could not be reduced to the narrow confines of the HDI. The breadth of the approach taken by the Human Development Report has allowed it to frame debates for the past twenty years on a wide range of the most pressing challenges facing our planet. The HDRs have explored issues as diverse as gender, water, human rights, climate change and migration. They have proffered policy recommendations that have become part of the development mainstream, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Over the past two decades, the human development approach has influenced policy makers, academics, researchers and development practitioners, and today it continues to provide a conceptual foundation for the UNDP’s and others’ work around the world. 48 DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION REPORT 2011 © OECD 2011 Chapter 2 The real wealth of nations: Lessons from the Human Development Report Helen Clark Two decades of redefining development A quick review of the Human Development Reports reveals many lessons that are still critical for effec- tive development. The first report called for “global targets for human development”, including goals for reducing poverty and malnutrition, and improving basic education, primary health care and access to safe water. As long ago as 1994, the Human Development Report argued that for too long the concept of security had been shaped by the potential for conflict among states − with security being equated to controlling threats to countries’ borders. That report defined human security more broadly as “freedom from fear and freedom from want” (UNDP 1994). This radical shift away from traditional thinking on peace and the prevention of conflict argued, in essence, that security lies in development, not in arms. The UNDP − together with the bilateral donors represented in the OECD DAC − has “ The recognition that worked hard over the ensuing years to redefine the traditional concept of security, to development and security take it well beyond state stability and national security, and to place a clear focus on are inextricably linked has the safety and well-being of people. The recognition that development and security shifted the spotlight of are inextricably linked has shifted the spotlight of donor support to security system donor support to security reforms that underpin poverty reduction and the achievement of the MDGs. More system reforms that recently, the UNDP has actively participated in DAC efforts to ensure that donors underpin ... the achievement support – and do not undermine – state-society relations. These joint efforts are also of the MDGs.” articulated in important DAC policy guidance (OECD 2011). In 1995, building on the momentum created through the United Nations Decade for Women and in advance of the Fourth World Conference on Women (4-15 September 1995, Beijing, China), the Human Development Report presented a wide range of innovative proposals for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. It recognised the significance of unpaid work, offering the first global estimate of the value of non-monetised production by women and men in economic and household activities. The report argued that “[i]nvesting in women’s capabilities and empowering them to exercise their choices are the surest ways to economic development” (UNDP 1995). It highlighted the issue of violence against women and called for recognition as war crimes instances of mass rape and torture of women during times of conflict. The Fourth World Conference on Women was one of several ground-breaking global conferences on development issues held in the 1990s; others addressed education (Jomtien, 1990), environment (Rio de Janiero, 1992), population (Cairo, 1994) and social development (Copenhagen, 1995). In 1996, the OECD DAC’s Shaping the 21st Century: The Contribution of Development Co-operation (OECD 1996) distilled the consensus from these conferences into a compact set of development targets that could be measured and monitored over time (Table 2.1). This stimulated an ongoing reflection that culminated in 2000 with the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Millennium Development Goals. In this context, the 2000 global HDR offered the human rights community an intellectual framework for engaging more effectively with “development” (UNDP 2000). It argued that, as has sometimes been argued, human rights cannot be seen as a reward of development, but rather as critical to achieving it. DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION REPORT 2011 © OECD 2011 49 Chapter 2 The real wealth of nations: Lessons

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