HUMAN DIGNITY AND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT: CURRENT CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Seminar organised by
Crown Prince and Crown Princess's Humanitarian Fund
and
Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo

Over the past few years, the international development discourse has increasingly focused on questions of human rights and global justice. Indeed, the abolition of poverty is increasingly being spoken of as a matter of international redistributive justice and the promotion of human rights and ‘human dignity’.

An important reflection of this is the UN Millennium Declaration (2000), where world leaders reaffirmed that ‘in addition to our separate responsibilities to our individual societies, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level’. Similarly, ‘dignity’ appears frequently in tandem – and is often used interchangeably – with the concepts of ‘freedom’, ‘equality’ and ‘respect’. But, what does ‘human dignity’ really imply, and how is it distinct from related terms? Further, how can we apply ‘dignity’ conceptually and operationally in development and poverty reduction efforts worldwide?

Programme:

'Respecting the Dignity of all Human Beings'

DR. THOMAS POGGE, Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University, Australian National University and University of Oslo

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'Dignity, Human Rights and Global Development: Where Does the "Development Business" Fit In?'

MR. PATRICK van WEERELT, Human Rights Advisor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York

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Ms. Tove Strand, Head of the Board of the Humanitarian Fund, will conclude the proceedings

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The seminar is a part of a series of events organised to mark the fifth wedding anniversary of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway. It will be co-chaired by Dr. Henrik Syse and Dr. Dan Banik, both board members of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess’s Humanitarian Fund. Dr. Syse is Senior Researcher associated with the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo and the Ethics Programme at the University of Oslo. He currently serves as Head of Corporate Governance at Norges Bank. Dr. Banik is Associate Professor at the Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo.

All are welcome! For optional registration, please click here.