Frequently Asked Questions on Human Rights-Based Approach

IIIA HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH– DEFINITION AND GENERAL ISSUES16 What is a human rights-basedapproach?A human rights-based approach is a conceptual frameworkfor the process of human development that is normativelybased on international human rights standards and operationallydirected to promoting and protecting human rights.It seeks to analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of developmentproblems and redress discriminatory practicesand unjust distributions of power that impede developmentprogress.Mere charity is not enough from a human rights perspective.Under a human rights-based approach, the plans,policies and processes of development are anchored in asystem of rights and corresponding obligations establishedby international law. This helps to promote the sustainabilityof development work, empowering people themselves—especially the most marginalized—to participate in policyformulation and hold accountable those who have a dutyto act.While there’s no universal recipe for a human rights-basedapproach, United Nations agencies have nonethelessagreed a number of essential attributes (see annex II):As development policies and programmes are formulated,the main objective should be to fulfi l humanrights.A human rights-based approach identifi es rightsholdersand their entitlements and correspondingduty-bearers and their obligations, and works towardsstrengthening the capacities of rights-holdersto make their claims and of duty-bearers to meettheir obligations.Practical illustration of a human rights-basedapproach: rights-holder and duty-bearercapacity-buildingA recent example from Malawi provides an excellent illustration ofthe rights-based approach, particularly because it linked villagelevelrights education and activism with Government-level legaladvocacy. In this way, the campaign worked with (a) duty-bearers,to ensure that the necessary rights were enshrined legally atnational and local levels; and (b) rights-holders, to inform them ofwhat rights they had, how those rights related to their food securityand how they could go about claiming those rights.According to the 1998 Constitution of Malawi (art. 13), “TheState shall actively promote the welfare and development of thepeople of Malawi by progressively adopting and implementingpolicies and legislation aimed at achieving the following goals:…(b) Nutrition: To achieve adequate nutrition for all in order topromote good health and self-suffi ciency.” Malawi has also ratifi edinternational legal mechanisms necessary for ensuring the rightto food, including the International Covenant on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women, the International Conventionon the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and theConvention on the Rights of the Child.The right-to-food campaign in Malawi began at the village level,educating villagers about their rights and learning more aboutthe root causes of their food insecurity. The campaign linked theparticular experiences of the villagers, the human rights that theycould draw upon to address hunger and how such a campaigncould be undertaken. Working groups at the village level built uptheir organizing efforts to reach regional and then national actors,maintaining representation from the village-level groups. Thesegroups linked their daily hunger problems to policy proposals fornational legislation and action, ensuring the people would be ableto claim the necessary rights to respond to their needs.Source: http://www.escr-net.org/GeneralDocs/MDG_Comment_Hunger.doc.15