Human Development Report 2013 - UNDP

(HDI) countries. Gender inequality is especiallytragic not only because it excludes womenfrom basic social opportunities, but alsobecause it gravely imperils the life prospects offuture generations.Enabling voice and participationIn the 1995 Human Development Report,Mahbub ul Haq highlighted that unless peoplecan participate meaningfully in the events andprocesses that shape their lives, national humandevelopment paths will be neither desirable norsustainable.Equitable and sustainable human developmentrequires systems of public discoursethat encourage citizens to participate in thepolitical process by expressing their viewsand voicing their concerns. People should beable to influence policymaking and results,and young people should be able to look forwardto greater economic opportunities andpolitical accountability. Exclusion from thisprocess limits people’s ability to communicatetheir concerns and needs and can perpetuateinjustices.Autocratic regimes impose restrictionsthat directly counter human development byrestraining essential freedoms. But even indemocracies, poor people and poor groups oftenhave limited access to information, voice orpublic participation. Poor people need to worktogether to effectively exercise their politicalvoice. Yet in many countries, organizationsrepresenting the poor are not supported butdiscouraged. Democracies can also extendaccountability from what is often a narrowconstituency of elites to all citizens, particularlythose who have been underrepresented inpublic discourse, such as women, youth and thepoor.Governments that do not respond to citizens’needs or widen opportunities for politicalparticipation risk losing their legitimacy.Dissatisfaction is on the rise in the Northand the South as people call for more opportunitiesto voice their concerns and influencepolicy, especially on basic social protection.According to a recent International LabourOrganization report, government dissatisfaction,measured by the Social Unrest Index, rosein 57 of 106 countries from 2010 to 2011. Thelargest increases were in countries of the North,followed by those in the Arab States and Sub-Saharan Africa. 9People in the North have been protestingagainst austerity measures and reductions inpublic spending and jobs, as in France, Greece,Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. Citizenshave challenged governments to address thesocial consequences of their policies, pointingout that the burden of austerity is being bornedisproportionately by the poor and sociallydisadvantaged. 10 Other focuses of unrest haveincluded food prices, unemployment andpollution:• Rising food prices. Riots in response to highfood prices in 2008 challenged stability inmore than 30 countries in Africa and theArab States. 11• Unemployment and low wages. Workers aredemanding that governments respond totheir needs. The unemployed are voicingtheir dissatisfaction in many countries. 12 InViet Nam strikes doubled in 2011 as workersstruggled to gain higher wages in the face ofinflation. 13• Environmental pollution. Mass protestsagainst environmental pollution are alsowidespread. Protesters in Shanghai, China,for example, fought a proposed wastewaterpipeline, 14 and in Malaysia local residentshave been opposing the constructionof a rare earth metal refinery in theirneighbourhood. 15Among the most active protesters are youth,in part a response to job shortages and limitedemployment opportunities for educatedyoung people. In a sample of 48 countries,youth unemployment was more than 20% in2011, well above the 9.6% overall rate. 16 Youthdiscontent in response to rising unemploymentis even more likely in areas with an educatedpopulation. 17 Education alters people’sexpectations of government and instils thepolitical skills and resources needed to challengegovernment decisions. This is not tosay that the educated have greater rights. Butunless governments give greater priority tojob creation, they are likely to face increasingyouth dissatisfaction as education coverageexpands (figure 4.1). 18At the same time, mobile broadband Internetand other modern technologies are openingDissatisfaction is on therise as people call formore opportunities tovoice their concerns andinfluence policy, especiallyon basic social protectionChapter 4 Sustaining momentum | 91