Summit-Led Humanitarianism: Towards Fourth World Women's Conference

Author(s): Dipankar Sinha

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 30, No. 34 (Aug. 26, 1995), pp. 2102-2104
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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COMMENTARY
Summit-Led

Humanitarianism

TowardsFourth World Women's Conference

Dipankar Sinha

world humanitarianismin the form of the pursuit

In the contenmporary
of humanV/social
developnetnthas emerged as a inajorfocus of
internationalcontferences.This globalisation of humanzitarianiism
needs
to be critically evaluatedfor several reasons. For, while such
itnternationial
conferences make possible the thtematicdocumentationof
the crises they also lead to an avoidance of any critical evaluationof
the developmentprocesses which have led to the crises.
ONE neednotbe well-versedin post-modern
methodology to realise the fact that the
presence of development also implies its
absence.Thehistoryof developmentis replete
with evidence which shows how the
prosperity and well-being of some are
promotedat the cost of others. If we take
development to be synonymous with
emancipationwe arecompelledto noticethat
the majorityof inhabitantsof the world have
heensystematicallymarginalisedto facilitatc
accessto betterlite forthe fortunatefew. And
one does niothave to be a hardcorefenminist
to know that of the marginalisedmajoritv.
women have been niost vulnerable to
exploitation, exclusion, instability, deprivation and violence of the worst kind. Thus
thereare a numberof reasons to appreciate
the fact that a high level UN-sponsored
ilnternational
conference will be hlcidfrom
September4-10; to discuss women's plight
and right. However our purpose here is not
to discuss the possible agenidaof the ensuing
conterence in 13eijing.The main concern
here is to presenta precautionarynote on a
growingtrendin contemporarydevelopment
thinkingandpractice- ovcr-optimismabout
summit-ledhumanitarianismn.
Sincethelastandespeciallyinthiscentury,
there have been several international
conterences on peace, containmentof war,
nuclear non-proliteration.arms limitation
and trade-relate(d
issues, to mention soime.
Howeverwhatmeritsspecial atteritionis that
in the contemporaryworldhumanitarianism
in theformof human/socialdevelopmcnthas
emergedas a majorfocusof widely publicised
internationalconferences,heldin some cases
as summits- theWorldSummitforChildren
(1990), the World Conterence of Htiman
Rights (1993), the InternationalConferenice
on PopulationanidDevelopmcnt(I1994),the
Social Development Summit (1995) as
instances. Even the Rio Conference on
EnvironmentandDevelopment(1992), more
specifically its Agenida21, has a numberof
provisions which, by linikingenvironment
andtdevelopmentto the survival-of hiuman
issues directly.
beings.addresshumanitairian

2102

The process of globalisation of

humanitarianisinin the contemporaryworld
order is graduallygaining such overriding
importance that any attempt to initiate a
critical review of it - which might reveal
some interesting correlations between the
contemporaryworld order and its contextspecitic developmentpractices- might be
construedas reactionary.But a critical outlook is unavoidableif onc realiscsthatwhilc
humane development is an impending
necessity in the world today a number of
indicationspropelone to argue that several
forces specilic to the contemporaryworld
ordermight interveneagainstemancipation
of those suffcring from exclusion and
mnarginalisation.
Before we cxplain why, it
might be useful to refer briefly to the
conccptualbackgroundandgrowthof human/
social development-the motiveforcebehind
the summit-led humanitarianism.

1
It will not be practicablehere to repeatin
detail what is widely known in development literaturc: that the major thrust of
development,as conceived since the end of
the second world war and the period of
reachingout to the post-colonial societies,
was on econoinic growth An obsession with
ceonomic growth in both the conceptual
formationand practicalimplementationof
developmcnt contributed to development
becoming synonymouswith growth.This in
turngave rise to a dangerousoptimismthat
per capita income, national income, gross
doomesticproduct. gross national product,
rate of industrial production, of capital
formation,ol consumptionandof investment
wercthemostreliablcindicatorsof a country's
success or f;ailurein eliminating underdevelopment. Those who opposed such
growth-maniadid notregardthcse indicators
as useless because they do not play a vital
role in measuring the achievements of a
country'seconomy. However,the measurement of the 'hcalth' of the society, which
constitutes the. core of dcvelopment as

emancipation does not provide exclusive

importance to these indicators. This is
primarilybecausethese indicatorsof growth,
in segregatingeconomy from society and in
givingexclusive attentionto thelormer,prove
to be misleading because an econiomically
advancedcountrymay well havca backward
society.The factthata stateenjoysthehighest
percapitaincome does not necessarilymean
that it has a maturecivil society or a high
lcvel of nuitritionor gender equality or
freedom, or even the right to life. It should
not,however,be assumedthatthemainstream
development thought with its central focus
on economic growthdid notbringeducation,
health or other dimensions of the quality of
life underits purview.Buta gradual,decisive
and steady increase in the significance of
the means relegatedthcse ends to the background, and ultimately into oblivion.
Theconceptof human/socialdevelopment
did not,dcvelop overnight. Its root can be
traced back to various ideas -- whilc none
of them can claim sole parentage, the
following is a tentative list of major
pcrspectives which cxpanded the sphere
and relevanceof human/socialdevelopment
by generating both positive and ncgative
responses. utilitarianism (including welfa.lrism),nco-classical economics, Keynesianism, welfare economics, development
cconomics, and in a certainway, Marxism.
While its roots can also be traced back to
the basic needs approachand the alternative
development- the idcas niling the 1970s the concept of human developmnentbegan
to gain wide circtilation in the late 1980s.
During this period 'discordant' development ideologues and practitioners,having
witnessed the fiasco in the name of
developmentin post-colonialsocicties, were
looking for an alternative to countcr the
hegemony of growth-centricdevelopment
The conecpt in a sense was institutionalised in 1990 when the United Nations
DevelopmentProgramme(UNDP)published
the first issue of the HumnanDeveloptient
Report. It is worth noting that a numberof
development scholars who are not exactly
fond of growthism - Mahbub ul i-aq
providingtheoveral!guidance.andAmartya
Sen, Paul Streeten. Keith Griffin and
Mcghnad Desai among others working as
advisors-are associatedwith thepreparation
of the Rcport(s).
T'he HumitantDevelopment Report(s)
familiarisedus with whal is known as the
HumanDevelopmcntIndex(HDI).The -IDI
combines lifc expectancy at birth,access to
sanitation, safe drinking water, health
services, daily caloric intake, female-malc
gaps, rural-urbangaps, profileof homicides.
suicides, child mortalityrate,illitcracyrate,
to mention only few. with 'traditional'
indicatorslike rcalGDP percapitaandGNP
per capita to provide a "compositemeasuire
of humandevelopment" Inassertingthatthe
conicept of human developmcnt not only

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August 26. 1995

encompassesthe developmcntof people hut ranging from human rights, environmental

allsodcvelopmcntIor peopleanddeIvelopmennt coiisciousness.genclerrelations,healthcarc,
hy people, an attemptis made to strcss the food, shelter and education to organised
signiiicanceofdeveloping humancapabilitics crime, corruption,illicit arms tradc, illicit
and their productiveutilisationt.Keeping in drug tradc, xenophobia, tcrrorism,drouight
view the "'meansover the ends" approach desertificationandpovertyhavebeenglohally
ot carlierdevelopmentpractices,tlheconcept problematisedin the fora of these meets.
it is stated,"broadens This not only f:acilitatesawareness both at
of humandeveloppment,
thedevelopmcntdialoguc froma discussiotn the lcvel of state and at the level of civil
butalso strengthens
ol mere ineans...toa discussioniof ultimate society aroundtheworlJd
ends". The essence of social development, the struggle against the mainistream
is muchthesame.Perhaps developmcnitthoughtandpracticc.It is clear
it sholiIdbc addJcd.
the most distinguishitng'eatureof the two from the range of issues mentioned above
conceptualformations ot' humianitarianism- that none of them, with the exception of
based thinkingis'their prefix. Apparentlyit povcrty.wereconsideredsignificantenouigh
of mainstreamdevelopment.
mightseem thatpretixeslike humanor social by theexponenits
are superfluous because development is The very fac-tthat the l;ateof cihildren,for
the lirst time, was linkc( to the state of
ultimatcly a process of human/social
transformation. However. the disastrous developmentat thc Child Summit,or that a
consequencesof dehumaniseddevelopment linkage of environment and development
locus
with its heavy toll of both naturalresources was establishcedwith a humianitarian
anddeccit humanexistencearoundtheglobe at the Rio EarthSummit or thatpoverty,lack
provide enough groundlto tise the prel'ixes of employmentandsocialdisintegrationwerc
as conistantreminderol' what developiment combinedto visualisea developmentpattern
atthe WorldSummitforSocial Developmcnt
is ali about.
of retisons. atCopenhagen,providesa sulfficientlystrong
Thus therecould be a niumblher
especially for those having first handt imprcssioni that these mneetshiave great
experience of the continuing dcvelopment transformatory potential. It is perhaps
fiaiscoin the thirdworld, to supportthe zeal (over)optirmism.about the transformatory
with which soine ol mnostdistinguished promisc which soinmtimesresults in such
a veryshortperiod
developmiientschohlrs andl proifessionals meets takingplace withirn
tromdiflerent partsof the wo kl(arc trying withno evaluationbeing nadeof theprogress
to promote the cause of he manised durinigthe initerveningperiod.To elaborate.
This is particulairly
decvelopimneit.
laudabicin the $ 28 billion-expenlsive Copenhagen
sed message of Summitwhich hadalleviationaticdreduction
an -ra when the humnlitim
atleasttorthe timTbeing,las bcen in poverty. genieration of productive
MarxismT.
reduced, pairtly because of some of its employment, and enhancement of social
insentilive adlicrents',tocurriculjarexisltcce initegrationas 'core themes' had brought
13utthe attemipipt
(o provide legitimacy to womenunier its purview.Itlhasbeeciasserted
international meets as the most reliable in the Dcclarationof the Social Summitthat
implenmentingagency of humanisocial attemlp)shal! have to be iiad<eto estahlish
developmentinight not be th. best way of
'structures, poiicies, objectives and
promotinghuinanitarianism;in fact, as we measuralblegoallstcoensuiregreaterbalance
sshallarg(ue.it m)ightbe self-dcfealting
aridcquity in uccision-makingprocessat all
levels and hroadicriwomnen's nolitic:al,
econonmic,social and culturalopportunities
and indepcndcnce and support the
Thc centralplank ofo ur argumentis not empowermentol'wonien".Severalmeasurcs
to be equated with the mnoresimplistic rangingfrormliteracy,education,equalityof
statement that the cuirrernt
spate ol' inter- statusandopportunity,o employiient, rights
national conicrences and sunimits only andfree.domandgrassrootslevelniobilisation
serves thc purposeof superlicialdiscussions lor leaders;hip,have beenclaboratcd in lihe
on humanitarianiissues. Such sweeping Declaration ;andthe Programmeof Action
gencralisationslendto miss the key-paradox of' the Suminit. One: mighit 'legitimately
associatedwith thesemeets:whileglobalising wonnder
whetherthe BcijingConlfcrcncewill
humanlitarianism
evaluate
these,meetssimultaneously be efiie tively able to monitorandLI
cater to the intercsts of the uichumanised the progrcss made wihlircgardto women s
world order. Interestinglythe key-paradox rights att the global level. The argumilent
is overlooked also by the overentlhslastic remainsvalidcven if olie takes into accouinz
advoc-atesof summit-led humanitarianism. thc ftactthaltthcre has been a IU-ycargap
Let us provide soine clues to the elusive betweenthe NairobiConfler-ene( 1985) and
- themcet; to dliscutss
theBeijitigC(ontjcrencc
paradox.
The major source of both optimisin ainid women's issues exclusively. The bofderlinc
over- ptimism about the summit-led
betwecn necessary overlapping and(1
is muchthesame:thatthese uiineccssaryrelpeitioniis extrenielyblurred.
humanitarianism
nmeetsplay a contributoryrole in placing andthe f'ailureto distinguishbctweenthetwo
various crucially imortanlt issues of' would have adverse repercuissionis
on the
But what
humaniseddevelolincntontheglobalagendat. struggle for htjinanidevelopmlernt.
aind in promoting what is known as it otne traces some other imotive which
givesrise:to.lhe'repetitivezeasl"
internaitionalc:ipaity building. Any keen deloiberatltcy
observerwoulda|greethatla numblerof issue.s A.shintledearlier, a}fun)damentalfeatureol

thesc nimetsis thie 'regularity'with which

avoid a criticalview of the
they scrupuloLusly
contemporaryworld order. If the statenient
seeems too precise, it nieeds further
clarification.Salvaginighumanitarianismin
the contemporaryworld needlsto go beyond
humanitarian
issues
mereproblematisationoof
by linking them to the state of the world.
Itneeds to explorethe natureandlunctioning
of the Contemporaryworld order and its
institutional strujctures to reveal the
hindrances--political economicandcultural
- to the promotion of human face of
of thesuimmitdevelopinent.A regularfeatlure
m as evident froin the
led huImanitarianisin
Declaration(s) and the Programmie of
Action(s) of variouIsmeets - is that an
elaborate, true-to4{act and systematic
presentationof the crises-riddcenworld is
followed by highly reformist recomnendations many ol which are in reality
responsiblcfor perpetuationof these crises.
III
Evidently the recoinmen(dedmeasuresof
summit-led humalnitarianism have a narrowv

institLitionalbase which is specific to the

contemporary world order. One or two
instancescanibe givenito illustratethe point.
metitioied
Ali the conferencesand sunmmits
herc were held under the hbannerol thc UJN;
the Beijing Conference is no exception.
Apparcntly there could be nothing .against
involvin;g -an organisation of the stature of
the UN in promoting humainitarianisnm at the

global level. But those who resortto "if not

the UN, whatelse?" logic with regardto the
dissemiiinationlof humanitarian inessages
acrossstheworld lend tooverlook,deliberately
or otherwise. that the UN might not he as
or aseffective as tih ccncerried citizen.s
neutiraii
of thc world would like it t( be. While the
UJNcelehrates its 50th!anniversary this Year
tihere hals been ai signiticarit erosion in its
legitimacy and efThetiveness. At present in
Bosnia the blue helmets are losing face, as
onicobserverptus it. The patihtic failure of

the UN Peace Keeping Force in Bosnia is,

hlowever,not tlheonly instanice.The UJN's
pJartisanrole and (ontfusintgactivities in
Somalia anid Rwanda. :lnd the shocking
instance (f manipulationof its might and
legitimacy (luring the Gullt War have
generatledreaction.sin the lormof friustratiorn
recentallegationsagamnst
:nd ainger.Thleonost
the UN concrn its 'strictsilence regar(ling
huimanrighitsabuses in the veto-wielding
staesi n(l proi ulgation ol supercensorslhip
to delete uncharitable refererices to the
organisator. In short. the credibility of' the
UN is ait stake as never betore.
In our view, therc can be two ategorie.s
ofl'advocaltes of' summit-led humanitaria-

nism. of those who exenct the U1Nto play

a key-rolc in the inission. The fir.stcategory
consists ofthose who siniceiely hut naively
believc that lhe UN is tiw agency to maK(e
ol'huLnman
their(dre;amT
deveiopme--nt!alrea,lity.

In overe.stimatingthe immunity of the

n ranifromall kindlsoltpl}hIs i(
organisaltionl

99
Economic anid Political W'eekly August 2o, 1I

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2103

pulationsthcy tenidto miss the crucial point

that for the developed states the stakes in
retaining the de-humanised development
patternsand practices are quite high. The
othercategoryconsists of those who, being
fully awareof the vulnerabiltyol the UN to
the dictatesof the 'supervisor-states'of the
'New World Order', recommenda leading
roleof theorganisationto prevent(hestruggle
for human/socialdevelopment going out of
controlof the powers thathc. Thus, both the
categories- the firstunintenitionallyand the
second deliberately- minimise the possibility of posing any ra(lical challenge to the

environmental havoc (as in the case of

Bhlopal).the managementof theTNCs might
f'indit very difficult to ref'urbishthe familiar
imageol' theirorganisationeven if they wish
to. Moreover, developing a humanistic
outlook in the prevailing economic order
which is basedon cut-throatcompetitionf'or
controlot'the marketwould not ensureany
substantialreturnin terms of profit.
That the summit-led humanitarianism
would hope to make the Fund-Banksystem
andtheTNCsmore'humane'is notsurprising
consideringthe fact that its ultimateaim is
tocreate,as statedintheCopenhagenSummit,
contemporary unjust world or(der.
a "sociallyequitableliberaleconomicorder".
That the summit-led humanitarianism It is worth noting that in trying to reverse
rules out any possibilityof structuralchange the historyof global developmentby making
in the contemporaryworld order also be- theliberaleconomicorder'sociallyequitable'
comes evident when one sees how it accords the recommendationsdo not suggest any
a leading role to two of the most important changein the compositionot the Fund-Bank
institutions- the IMF and the World Bank. structure.Thus it rules out the possibilityot'
It is interestingthat while the Fund-Banik- tilting the balance in favour of the least
sponsored economic stabilisation and the developed or developing states. It is also as
structuraladjustmentprogrammes (SAPs) part of the cffort to keep the structure ol the
necessarily lead to drastic reductions in neo-liberal world order undistiurbed that the
governnmenit
spending on social services summit-led humanitarianism adopts a vcry
thus aggravatingthe sufferings of the poor tfavourable view of the GATT - the third
who bearthebruntof suchreductionsbeyond part ot the 'trinity' of the inequitable world
redemption - the advocates of summit- order. While we do not want to repeat here
based developimient,as evident from the the details ol the controversy relating to the
recommended measures provided in lhe Uruguay Round of the GATT what must be
Programmeof Action(s) of various UN- reasserted is that in spitc ol the endorsement
sponsored confcrences on humanitarian of the Round of almost all the devcloping
issues, would think it properto strengthen states at Marrakesh on January I this year
the Fund-Banksystem. One might pointout the recolonisation process in the sphere of
thatin the Social DevelopmentSummitit has world trade, as initiated by the archiitects of
been mentionedthatefforts would be made the Round, would ensure subjugation,not
"toreducethenegativeeffects andto improve just subordination.ot' these states to their
the positive impact" of the SAPs in order developed CLounterparts.
"to make them more sensitive to the needs
To referbackto thctoo t'requent
recurrcnce
of social development".But this argument of meets dealing with humanitarianissues
cannot be overemphasisedto be optimistic one can cry to trace the motive in terms ot'
ahoutthe SAPs primarilybecause,as pointed an organised endeavoLir t) repeat the
out by KitazawaYoko to the delegates of conservativerecommendations
to drivehome
the Copenhagen Summit. the programtimes the point that the prevailingworld order is
are a productof a specific kind of economic' 'liberal' enough to accommodate human/
mnodel/framework
which,beingobsessedwith social development.We can referto another
growthismand 'free' market,cannot be on instanceto substantiatethesame point:while
f1riendly terms with the idea of social
the Agenda 21 ol' the Earth Summit -development.Even if the advocates of the recognised as the most comprehensive
SAPs continueto arguethatthe programmes document on humalni/social developmen)t in recetityears have becomnemore humane, was prepared in 1992. was there any
thustacitlyacknowledginig
theirdc-humilanis- necessity to repeattmost ot'thiesepoints and
ing role in earlieryears. the aggravationol issues in preparing a charter ot' social
the plight ot the debt-riddencountries - a development during the Social Summit in
rcsultol theimpositionof theconditionalities 1995? And that too without providing anly
associatcdwith the SAPs - prove otherwise. account ot the progress made during the
In visualisinig an impossible and last three yeairs?
implausible compromise between the
The suppressionof' women, as rcilected
demiandsol' the prevailing economic order in the historyot' humancivilisation. knows
and the imperatives of human/social
no boundary;it is beingcarriedon fromtime
development, the summit-led humani- imimemorialin all parts of' the world with
ta.rianisnm
advocates the opening up of all equal intensity, transceindingall cultures.
areasof economyof thedevelopingcountries This has led us to be acciistomedto viewing
to the transnationalcorporations (TNCs), things and conceptualising issues by
with the expectation that the TNCs would completely excluding the experiences and
m.lakethemselves 'humanised'. Having an perspectives of women, as if they did not
matter.The world has always been a man's
'impressive' record of political interfercnce
ol'showingutterdisregardtorthl laws,society world because the 'reality' in both the
aindculture of' 'backward' states and the ontological and existential senses has been
l)eopleof 'primitive'societiesi,andof creating constructed by man. To recall Sandra

210)4

Harding'scelebratedcomment, we have so
farasked only the questionsaboutsocial life
that appear problematicalfrom within the
social experiences that are characteristicof
man. It is highly encouraging tor those
concernedwith the statusandrole ot women
that gender issues are increasingly gaining
prominence,havingpasscdthosedlayswhen,
in Sheila Rowbotham's words. they were
"hiddenltrom history".Howeverin the daiys
of aggressive glohalisation, with everything measured arid vailuiedin terms of
consunicrism, the task of countering whait
Frederique A Marglin descrihes the
"repressiveentailmentsof society"- namely,
the ideology andrealityof domesticity- and
of developing women's mindsto assuretheir
achievements in the public sphere will be
met with stiff resistancefromthose who gain
fromthe prevailingincquitablesystem.After
all we live in a worldwherewe haveinstanccs
of governments indirectly initiating preteenage girls into prostitutionin south-east
Asia to promote internationaltourism and
improve foreign exchanigereser-ves.
If the Beijing Conferencne, lollowing
precedenits set by sumtnit-led humanitarianism. recommenlds only cossmetic
chalniges to the existing

genider-related

norms and practices, by conveniently

avoiiding deeper and hiarderexplorationis,
n1opurpose would be servcd. We need to
take cognisance ot the fact that the issues
ot everyday life, incluidingthose pertaining
to women, do not Cxilstsolely aitthe level
of 'practice'. They have a real, even if
apparenltlyinvisible. methodological link
to the constitutivc logic of the existinig
order and its orderly mode of' operations.

Thtis, fcmale intanticides or cases of bride

burningin India.or the organisedprornotion
of girl-prostitutes in south-east Asian
coutntriesor wage discrimination against
women all over the world or lack of access
of' women to education and health care
cannot he viewed sectorally. These are
only the symptoms ol a discrimiiinalting
order which, lacking in gender balance,
discourages women from meaningfully
participating in the decision-making
process. Btutthe problem is when social
relations and institutions tend to become
'reified' we create and perceive the world

through the 'mask of reificatioii'. without

raising or letting others raise questions and
doubts about relationships or ideas thait
give rise to inequality, oppression antd
tyranny. The process of reitication, in
course of time, contributes to paralysis of
perception, causing us to lose the
transformatoryzeal. If the participantsin
the Fourth World Conference on Womeni
decide to do somcthing drastic in the sense
of being constructive, they should go
beyond the rhctoricsof transformation.The
dominant developiment discourse has
always been long on rhetoric and short on
sincerity. To reinstate the same, in
accordance with the 'tenets' of summnit-led

humanitarianism,will be essentially selfdefeatling.

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Augiust 26. 199.5