Human rights and civic space ‘conspicuous by their absence’ in new UK international development strategy
Analysis by Bond shows why, with development now explicitly a tool of foreign policy, the drafting of a strong human rights policy must be a priority for whoever the UK’s new PM puts in the Foreign Office
A month on from publication of the UK’s new Strategy for International Development, the civil society network Bond has produced a clear and concise analysis of what the policy might mean in practise.
The study demonstrates that the government’s strategy represents a new approach, in which development is ‘now explicitly a tool of foreign policy’ and interventions will be prioritised according to the UK’s economic and security interests. Poverty reduction is no longer development’s driving force, and the Sustainable Development Goals are barely mentioned, though Bond acknowledges that the new strategy does open space for more locally-led and locally-owned initiatives.
Human rights and civic space missing
However, this potential clashes with the strategy’s most glaring and critical omissions: human rights and civic space aren’t discussed, and no detail is provided on how the government intends to promote the ‘open societies’ they have previously recognised as critical. The sense is that programmes will be top-down, and that the government has no plan for partnering with local organisations and human rights defenders to advance civic space and empower marginalised groups.
Bond notes that ‘The need to strengthen open societies by protecting human rights, press freedom and civic space was central to the Integrated Review and the UK’s G7 agenda’. It had previously been identified as a Foreign Office priority. Nevertheless, the strategy makes no mention of civic space or human rights defenders, and the term ‘human rights’ is used just once. Business and human rights is not discussed, despite the strategy’s emphasis on the potential for trickle-down benefits from bilateral trade and investment.
‘Effective international development strategies respond to local needs and listen to local voices’, said PBI UK Director Ben Leather, ‘At PBI we see first-hand how, all too often, these voices are silenced – sometimes violently. The UK should be proactively supporting and protecting human rights defenders as obvious allies in sustainable development’.
Forthcoming human rights policy an opportunity to fill the gaps
Research by the Institute for Development Studies regarding connections between development and civic space in four countries found that restrictions on civil society often ‘halt or reverse progress towards reducing inequality, ensuring inclusion and improving sustainability because it is precisely those at greatest risk whom civil society seeks to empower and protect’.
Ben Leather went on to say that ‘The holes in the International Development Strategy emphasise why the the UK government must work together with civil society to develop a strong human rights policy that puts human rights defenders at its centre’.
Following Boris Johnson’s resignation, the Conservative Party are preparing a leadership contest that will bring the UK a new Prime Minister. ‘We hope that the new PM recognises that putting rights at the heart of foreign policy is crucial not only to development, but also to international peace and security’, said Leather. He pointed out that whoever picks up the mantle at the Foreign Office should build upon the G7’s recent Resilient Democracies Statement, which made precisely the arguments for civic space and open societies that are missing in the development plan, and committed to ‘advancing programmes for the protection of human rights defenders’.
Additional analysis
Bond’s analysis of the new international development strategy goes beyond civic space issues, and looks at the strategy as a whole, identifying the following major shifts:
Development is now explicitly a tool of foreign policy.
The strategy’s focus is on prosperity rather than poverty reduction.
It moves to a trickle-down approach to development.
There is limited mention of the SDGs and ‘leave no one behind’.
Open societies feature in the framing but are no longer a priority.
There is greater focus on promoting British (economic) interests.
The UK will shift from multilateral to bilateral funding.
Bond delve into the detail of the strategy’s four main priorities, discussing the opportunities, identifying the gaps, and proposing how to fill them. The strategy’s stated priorities are:
Deliver honest and reliable investment.
Provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed.
Provide life-saving humanitarian assistance.
Take forward the UK’s work on climate change, nature and global health.
Moving forward
PBI will continue to work alongside civil society allies to engage with whoever is running the UK Government and it’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and encourage them to implement policies which safeguard civic space and support human rights defenders.
Download Bond’s full analysis of the UK Government’s Strategy for International Development here.
