Modern human rights development makes clear the movement in favour of collective rights for minorities. However, in most international and domestic human rights instruments these rights are declared alongside with rights of individual members of minority groups without any distinction. Examples are the Council of Europe’s 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities[24]; the 1993 Vienna Declaration;[25] the 1978 UNESCO Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice;[26] the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities.[27]
As a particular minority rights category can be considered the rights of indigenous peoples,[28] as historically the indigenous population was the target of discrimination.[29] Compared with minority rights, rights of indigenous people are more often to encounter in domestic legislation[30] and more readily recognized as group rights[31] than minority rights. For example, the 1994 United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People declares to be “collective rights” many of the rights included in the Declaration.[32] An exception in this tendency is the Vienna Declaration referring to “the rights of indigenous people”, not peoples.[33]
A group of so called collective cultural rights implies an individual’s right in community with others to take part in cultural life. This right is recognized in the 1966 UNESCO Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural Co-operation[34] and separately protected in ICESC[35] 15 (1)(a). The right to profess and practice a religion in community with others is declared in ICCPR[36] 18 (1). Surprisingly, the right to use a language is provided by neither of them.[37] The right to the common heritage of mankind is included in the UNESCO Draft Declaration on the Safeguarding of Future Generations of 1997.[38] This right is supposed to be more comprehensive than other cultural rights. It provides every individual, in community with others, with the right to share “Earth and space resources, scientific, technical, and other information and progress, and cultural traditions, sites, and monuments.”
The right to use of wealth and resources or the right to sovereignty over natural resources might be described as an economic counterpart of the right to self-determination. There is an opinion that the permanent sovereignty of peoples and nations over their natural resources is a component of the “principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” declared in the UN charter (article 1).[41]
This right is formulated in article 1 (2) of the ICCPR and the ICESCR as follows:
“All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence”.
Moreover, the article 47 of the ICCPR and the article 25 of the ICESCR state:
“Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their natural wealth and resources”.
In the most completed form this right is declared by the article 21 of ACHPR.[42] All the above mentioned documents limit the right to sovereignty over natural resources by “obligations arising out of international economic cooperation” and by international law.
One of the most significant collective rights - the right to development, according to some commentators, is “difficult to define as a human right”, because it rather “tends to suggest the presence of certain conditions conducive for human rights ”.[43] The origin of this right is tracked back by some authors to the 1944 Declaration of Philadelphia,[44] adopted by the General Conference of the International Labor Organization, which stated, that “all human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual freedom in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity”.
The right to development as a human right was launched by Keba M’Baye, that time Chief Justice of Senegal, in his inaugural lecture on that subject to the 1972 study session of the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In 1986 the General Assembly adopted the United Nations key document in this field - the Declaration on the Right to Development setting up the right to development as “an unalienable human right”.[45] The Vienna Declaration and the Programme of Action (articles I/10-11 and II/72-74) states this right as “a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights”.[46] However, the most commentators agree, that this right doesn’t really have any enforceable means of implementation except for in the regional ACHPR system.[47] The right has been discussed broadly in recent years.[48] Partly, because the economic circumstances in many countries are such, that their inhabitants’ rights are violated steadily, and partly also because some programs for the economic development of these countries may themselves result in deprivation of human rights.[49] There is no generally agreed definition of the nature or scope of the right to development in the context of human rights. Many authors agree with the collective nature of this right[50], however, the right to development might be considered as being both of collective and individual nature.[51] The UN Declaration on the Right to Development defines the right to development as right to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized;[52] So, the right to development is supposed to have not only economical and social dimensions, but cultural and political as well.[53]
As individual human right, the right to development, represents a kind of combination of all individual human rights or the basis of all other rights. The individual right to development is a right to human flourishing in all spheres of life[54] in other words the individual right of every person to benefit from a developmental policy.”[55] An important element of the right to development as an individual human right is politic and economic “active participation”.[56] Article 3 (3) of the Declaration on the Right to Development states, that national development policies must be based on “active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits resulting therefrom.” The article 8 (2) requires, that “States should encourage popular participation in all spheres as an important factor in development and in the full realization of all human rights.” Pursuing these aims states are obliged to ensure “equality of opportunity for all in their access to basic resources, education, health services, food, housing, employment and the fair distribution of income”.[57] It should be noted that the participatory element is essential in other collective rights as well.
As a collective right the right to development implies full realization of the right of peoples to self-determination, which includes, subject to the relevant provisions of both International Covenants on Human Rights, the exercise of their inalienable right to full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources. (Article 1 (2) of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development)). The double role of the state in relation to collective rights can be illustrated the best on the example of this right. Acting as responsible for the promotion and protection of the right to development on national level states have the duty to formulate appropriate national development policies that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals (article 2 (3) of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development)). Acting as representatives of nations on the international level states are obliged “to take steps, individually and collectively, to formulate international development policies with a view to facilitating the full realization of the right to development” (article 4 (1)).
A collective human right with regard to the environment is not generally accepted. It is included in the Rio Declaration concluding the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development[58] by reference to the right to development. The Vienna Declaration adopted the same position. § I/11 of the Declaration states “The right to development should be fulfilled so as to meet equitably the developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.”[59] In many documents this right was mentioned not as a collective right but among the rights of individuals.[60] The collective environmental right is provided by the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the following formulation: “All peoples shall have the right to a general satisfactory environment favorable to their development”(article 24).[61]
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