Integrating Human Rights into Development Cooperation : The Case of the Lombe Convention

Human rights, democracy & governance concerns are prominent elements in the development cooperation policy of the European Community. The relations between the European Community (EC) & 71 developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) have proved to be a laboratory for developing ideas on these matters, for translating them into binding treaty norms, & for applying them in practice. The experiences gained in the ACP-EC relationship carry special value because they are the product of dialogue & joint decisionmaking between groups of developed & developing states. Therefore, 25 years of ACP-EC cooperation under the Lome Convention provide a rich learning ground for anybody involved or interested in (the debate on) linking development cooperation to human rights & to human rights related concerns. This book explores the international law aspects of the subject. It first investigates the general international legal basis for linking development cooperation to human rights, democracy & good governance. Both the negative & positive ways of making such a linking (by punitive & supportive measures) are addressed. The book then delves into the evolution of Lome treaty norms on the subject, & into the concrete human rights practices that took shape under them. It explores the contributions to & influence of both the EC & ACP states on those treaty provisions & practices. A comprehensive overview is provided of the support measures & sanctions resorted to in response to the human rights situation in ACP countries. The book assesses the overall experiences gained & presents a synthesis of factors that proved to be constraints or conducive to the efforts to integrate human rights fully into ACP-EC development cooperation. The insights gained could well inform similar efforts undertaken by others.Arts, Karin is the author of 'Integrating Human Rights into Development Cooperation : The Case of the Lombe Convention', published 2000 under ISBN 9789041113573 and ISBN 9041113576.