Human Rights vs. (Sustainable) Development?

Rights in conflict is a widely studied area of academia, however, the conflicts are traditionally between two or more rights. This discussion will look at a significant example of human rights in conflict with a development project. The political nature of sustainability, and the international nature of the pledges associated with the Sustainable Development Goals have put certain development projects directly in the path of legally binding human rights instruments. The Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in Kenya is a prime example of this conflict. The legal questions here are rather straight forward, but what are the consequences for human rights when (sustainable) development initiatives cause violations?

Adam Metzger is a PhD Candidate at the University of Birmingham in the UK and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University. Having completed his previous degrees in New York at Columbia and New York University, Adam has returned to his hometown to continue his research. Focusing on International Human Rights Law, Adam is interested in the relationships between universal rights and relative interpretations, the conflict between rights and development, and states' varying interpretations of their human rights obligations. In addition to his academic work, Adam runs Sustainable Partners Inc., a non-profit that works to forge partnerships between corporations, the entertainment industry, and charitable organizations, all in the name of the Sustainable Development Goals.