Why is the UN's human rights agenda so limited Essay - 1

Why is the UN's human rights agenda so limited - Essay Example gressive developmental cooperation, some people around the globe, especially those concerned with the human rights treaties and millennium declaration, feel that it is a betrayal of the embodied universal values. Based on items of the current human rights agenda of MDGs, the only item that tries to address sustainable development is on environmental sustainability. However, it gives a bias to two specific issues, which are water and sanitation to improve access to safe drinking water. Apparently, the item seems to focus much to the problems that many societies in the developing and emerging nations struggle with than the already developed nations. The focus of MDGs on access to clean water and sanitation is just but a narrow focus to the big question of water resources management, in a world that is struggling with environmental degradation, declining water resources affected by the climatic conditions and increased utilization of water. The truth is that even after the ‘water for life decade of action’ comes to an end, there will still remain persistent issues related to water, least to mention the challenging factors associated with the environment that affect sustainable deve lopment. It is evident that there was a narrow focus on sustainable development. According to Schaefer- Preuss, MDGs focused on â€Å"halving the proportion of people in the globe who lacked access to sustainable clean water and basic sanitation† (2014, p.1). While this is just an aspect of the complex need to sustainable development, policy makers failed to consider crucial changes a decade later. Climatic conditions, population growth, and factors of economic development like industrialization are all working to influence the global water cycle and utilization. Today, there are far worse challenges to environmental sustainability inclusive of deforestation, extractive industries that could lead to humanitarian crisis, and which serve as potential hindrances to broad sustainable