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5 months ago in Sustainable Development By Hitesh

Is sustainable development best understood as a rights-based approach?

Sustainable development discourse often overlaps with discussions of rights and justice.I am trying to assess whether this overlap is conceptual or merely rhetorical.This distinction matters for both theory and policy framing.

 

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By Meera Answered 3 months ago

From my experience engaging with development policy and ethics, sustainable development can incorporate a rights-based approach, but it is not limited to one. I have seen rights language strengthen accountability, especially around health, water, and participation. However, I would recommend caution in treating sustainable development as purely rights-based. Environmental limits and intergenerational concerns extend beyond conventional rights frameworks, requiring complementary ethical and ecological reasoning.

 

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