About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


15 Cal. W. Int'l L.J. 473 (1985)
In Search of the Unicorn: The Jurisprudence and Politics of the Right to Development

handle is hein.journals/calwi15 and id is 481 raw text is: ARTICLES IN SEARCH OF THE UNICORN: THE JURISPRUDENCE AND POLITICS OF THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT* JACK DONNELLY** A philosopher is a person who goes into a dark room on a moonless night to look for a nonexistent black cat. A theologian comes out claiming to have found the cat. A human rights lawyer, after such an on-site visit, sends a communication to the Commission on Human Rights; and a member of the Commission leaves the room drafting a resolution on the treatment of black cats. This, in a nut- shell, is uncomfortably close to the history of the so-called human right to development. In the early seventies, the first intrepid investigators began to claim success in their searches. The initial sighter, the eminent jurist Keba M'Baye, was a distinguished member of the Commission on Human Rights which, not surprisingly, was soon discussing the right to development. Both the Commission and the General Assembly quickly passed resolutions proclaiming its existence. Today, there is near unanimity in both diplomatic and scholarly discussions that the human right to development not only exists but is of great importance. Possessed of something of a philosophical temperament, I read- ily joined the quest but came up empty handed. I did, however, come upon the idea of turning on the light. The room, alas, proved empty. This article is a chronicle of my search for the right to development. * I am grateful to Rhoda Howard, Bob Rupen, Joe Grieco and Claude Welch for their comments on various earlier drafts. ** Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina; B.S.F.S., M.A., Ge- orgetown University; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley.