1. Introduction The convergence of human rights and human development that had evolved historically on parallel and non-intersecting tracks, in the final decades of the 20th century, has only recently been acknowledged and studied little in either field literature or in policy documents. At the conceptual level, one can define development and human rights with a sufficient degree of abstraction as to be virtually identical and essentially unimpeachable. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) explains human development as being'about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interest [and] thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value.” ¹ Human rights are also about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead creative lives by assuring'the dignity and worth of the human person'and promoting'social progress