Enhancing the realisation of the right to development through devolution in Kenya

Abstract

The Right to Development (RTD) is not a new issue in human rights practice, having received recognition as an inalienable human right by the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development (UNDRTD) in 1986, more than 30 years ago. The RTD has also featured in past and recent agreed international policy documents such as; the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) among others. Despite its international recognition as a human right, the schism between the global North and the global South has made it difficult for the UN to adopt a binding international human rights treaty on the RTD. The UN only released the first draft of the international human rights treaty on the RTD in January 2020. This thesis makes a case for the realisation of the RTD through devolution, as an appropriate national development policy in Kenya while international consensus on the RTD is still being sought. This thesis argues that devolution in Kenya is designed to support the realisation of the RTD. This hypothesis is anchored on the argument that devolution in Kenya and the RTD share certain common elements such as; participation of the people, equity and the realisation of all human rights including the right to self-determination. This commonality therefore makes it possible for devolution in Kenya to augment the realisation of the RTD. This thesis also argues that devolution in Kenya led to the birth of a development paradigm that is compliant with the RTD. This is discernible by delineating the features of devolution that support the realisation of the RTD. This thesis practically demonstrates how devolution has influenced equitable development, participatory development and the realisation of all human rights in Kenya as evidence of a RTD compliant development paradigm. The decentralisation experiences of Ethiopia, South Africa and Germany indicate that while a decentralized system of government invariably activates the elements of the RTD such as equity and participation, deliberate policy and legislative steps have to be undertaken to align development programmes with the RTD. Additionally, ii the normative and institutional design of the decentralised system of government is key in securing the elements of the RTD. For Kenya, this means that more has to be done beyond the normative and institutional structures of devolution in Kenya to make the RTD a reality in Kenya. Deliberate efforts have to be taken to align development praxis at county level in Kenya. Some of the recommendations to this end include making devolution functional, devolving human rights practice and raising awareness about the RTD.