Right to Participation

The right to participation is implicit in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Articles 8 (on freedom of association), 13 (on education), and 15 (on cultural life) and explicit in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.  The right to participation is spelt out in the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development and in the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. Individuals, groups and communities hold a human right to be involved in decision-making, planning and implementation processes affecting their ESC rights and are entitled to information that enables the decision-making process to be meaningful. It follows that states and non-state actors, particularly development agencies have a duty to enable people affected by a development activity to participate in ways capable of transforming their social, political and economic conditions.

The following case summaries illustrate how human rights defenders have used the ESC rights approach to promote and protect the right to participation:

• Water Privateers Forced Out of Bolivia
• Project Stakeholders Oppose World Bank ESC Rights Violations
• Protecting the Rural Poor in Nepal

One important quantifying and qualifying tool for monitoring program service delivery on the right to participation is the Revised Guidelines Regarding the Form and Contents of Report to be submitted by States Parties under Articles 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.