Our Methodological Paradigm

In general, UN member states and entities of the UN System operating in developing countries may find room to reason that the UN Charter in terms of Article 1(3) in the preamble does not impose legally binding obligations on member states, and, that even the recommendations by the UN General Assembly do not have a binding character on member countries, and, therefore, they may argue that they should not be held legally accountable, for example, to fight corruption, to fight poverty and combat inequalities by strengthening the generation of independent evidence on the relevance, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of United Nations operational activities for development in their respective countries!  Can a human rights-based approach to development evaluation anchored on both the values of the United Nations Charter and legally binding international instruments impose accountability responsibilities?

The preamble of the United Nations Charter reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person. Since human beings are the subjects of development, we plausibly reconceptualise development as a human rights issue, where the process of designing a country’s development interventions and, the enjoyment of the outcomes of the process of the implementation of development interventions, must be claimed by the people of a country, for the benefit of all individuals, especially, those with the greatest need.

On the basis of this reconceptualization premise, a human rights-based approach to development evaluation anchored on the values of the United Nations Charter, and, undergirded by legally binding international instruments over which the United Nations is a custodian and guarantor, and to which United Nations member States are party by way of ratification can impose accountability responsibilities on both United Nations entities, as well as, United Nations program countries.