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21 S. Afr. J. on Hum. Rts. [i] (2005)

handle is hein.journals/soafjhr21 and id is 1 raw text is: 






SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS

                        VOLUME 21 PART 1 2005


                                   CONTENTS

                                                                                Page

   THE VALUE OF HUMAN DIGNITY IN INTERPRETING
      SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS
                                                         Sandra Liebenberg
      There has been considerable criticism of the use of human dignity as a guiding value in
      the context of South Africa's equality jurisprudence. What are the implications of the
      use of the value in socio-economic rights jurisprudence? Drawing on the work of
      Martha Nussbaum, the article links the value of human dignity to the material
      conditions necessary to enable people to develop and exercise their capabilities. Access
      to basic social services is crucial not only to people's physical survival, but also to
      enable the development of their potential to shape their own lives and to be active
      agents in the shaping of our new society. Human dignity as a relational concept
      requires society to respect the equal worth of the poor by marshalling its resources to
      redress the conditions that perpetuate their marginalisation. This, in turn, requires a
      focus on the actual impact of the state's actions or omissions on the life chances of
      disadvantaged groups, and a response that is proportionate to the seriousness of that
      impact. In constitutional adjudication, it requires that a high burden of justification is
      placed on the state in cases involving a deprivation of basic human needs. The article
      concludes by examining how the Constitutional Court's reasonableness review
      standard and remedial jurisprudence could be strengthened to accord greater value
      to this conception of human dignity.


   KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: EXPLORING THE CONNECTONS
      BETWEEN HUMAN RIGHTS AND POVERTY REDUC-
      TON WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO SOUTH AFRICA
                                                              JC Mubangizi          32
      The purpose of this article is to explore and analyse the link between human rights and
      poverty on the one hand and the role human rights can and do play in poverty
      reduction on the other. Drawing on research conducted by the author, the article shows
      how levels of public awareness of human rights are directly linked to levels of poverty in
      South Africa. Lack of knowledge and public awareness of human rights is mainly
      prevalent among the poor. Any programme aimed at reducing poverty in South Africa
      should adopt a holistic strategy that not only incorporates a human rights approach but
      also addresses the question of the low levels of human rights education.


   DIFFERING CONCEPTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT AND
      THE CONTENT OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
      LAW
                                                         Daniel D    Bradlow        47
      International development law (IDL) is the branch of international law that deals with
      the rights and duties of states and other actors in the development process. Its original
      content was premised on a particular generally accepted understanding of development.
      Under the pressure of the problems of development that arose during the 1970s and
      1980s this general agreement on the key issues disintegrated. As a consequence, the
      consensus on the content of international development law also began to break down.
      Today, competing idealised views of development shape the current debate about the
      content of international development law. What can be termed 'the traditional view'
      maintains that development is about economic growth. It argues that the challenges of
      economic development can be distinguished from other social, cultural, environmental
      and political issues in society, including human rights. What I call 'the modern view'
      has a holistic understanding of development. It argues that development should be

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