Human rights

Rights and migration, livelihoods, housing, land and property

This section provides a selection of resources that explore the links between human rights, right-based approaches and a selection of sectors and themes. They include donor guidance and policy statements, academic research, and advocacy papers. Many of these documents aim to show how a rights-based approach helps to enhance existing sectoral work. The indivisibility or interdependence of rights also demonstrates that cross-sectoral working is essential for realising rights.

Rights help to move beyond predominantly technical approaches, to recognise the need to address the wider political and social environment within which programmes occur. Rights often necessitate the use of new language or ways of thinking about how to make decisions and prioritise, with implications for policy formation.

Page contents

Migration

Migrants are often particularly vulnerable to rights violations or omissions. This ILO paper concentrates on how to strengthen protection of labour standards for migrants.

 

ILO, 2004, 'Towards a Fair Deal for Migrant Workers in the Global Economy', International Labour Conference 92nd Session, ILO, Geneva.
Economic, political and demographic factors are causing increasing labour migration and associated pressures. How can this be better managed to protect human rights, maximise growth and development, and prevent clandestine flows and trafficking? This International Labour Organisation report draws lessons from the experience of both origin and host countries in managing migration to improve the treatment and conditions of migrant workers and their families. It aims to provide a basis for formulating sound recommendations for future action.
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Livelihoods

The following paper proposes a framework for using a human rights perspective to analyse power relations, institutions and politics, in order to promote livelihoods and sustainable development.

Moser, C. and Norton, A., 2001, 'To Claim Our Rights: Livelihood Security, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development', Overseas Development Institute, London.
How can human rights contribute to the promotion of sustainable development and strengthen the livelihoods of poor people? This paper, published by the Overseas Development Institute, argues that a human rights perspective makes a difference by developing a more concrete understanding of social sustainability and by extension, sustainable development. It outlines a conceptual framework for the application of a human rights approach to strengthening sustainable development and livelihoods, which also serves as a useful guideline for practical implementation by donors.
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This paper looks at how new aid instruments can affect sustainable livelihoods and rights-based approaches, and argues that these two approaches can be complementary.

Farrington, J., 2001, 'Sustainable Livelihoods, Rights and the New Architecture of Aid', ODI, London.
A number of new aid vehicles have recently been introduced by Washington-based institutions. Are the principles and practices of other sustainable development approaches, namely sustainable livelihoods (SL) and rights based (RB) approaches consistent with this new architecture of aid? This paper from the Overseas Development Institute examines whether and how complementarities between the approaches might be exploited. While SL approaches, incorporating elements of RB approaches, are qualitatively different to current country-level development strategies, they offer useful complementary principles and analytical tools.
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Housing rights

This UN-HABITAT report outlines international human rights on housing, and examines how they are implemented and the scope for enforcement at regional, national and local levels.

UN-Habitat, 2002, 'Review of International and National Legal Instruments', UN Housing Rights Programme, Report No. 1, UN-HABITAT, Nairobi
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The following resources focus on housing rights for women and for indigenous people.

Scholtz, B., Gomez, M., 2004, 'Bringing Equality Home: Promoting and Protecting the Inheritance Rights of Women', Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions, Geneva
How and why are women’s rights to adequate housing systematically violated in sub-Saharan Africa? How can national and international actors change customary and statutory law and practice to improve this situation? This report from the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions provides an overview of the local legal tools that already exist and those that need reforming or putting into place in ten African countries. It argues that strategies based on human rights can effect change if pursued with strength and persistence.
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UN-HABITAT, 2005, 'Indigenous People's Right to Adequate Housing. A Global Overview', UN Housing Rights Programme, UN-HABITAT, Nairobi
To what extent do indigenous peoples in different parts of the world enjoy the right to adequate housing? This report illustrates the lack of adequate housing and consequent poor living conditions of indigenous peoples worldwide. The study was undertaken within the framework of the United Nations Housing Rights Programme – a joint initiative of UN-HABITAT and the OHCHR. It includes a review of relevant literature, identification of case studies and the collection of primary data. Seven case studies are drawn from ten countries: Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Finland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, the Russian Federation and Sweden. Adequate housing for indigenous people is a critical human rights concern and there is a profound connection between indigenous peoples' rights to land and rights to housing.
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Land and property rights

The following paper emphasises the importance of careful design of property rights in developing countries, favouring gradual evolutionary reform that is tailored to local contexts.

Boudreaux, K. and Dragos Aligica, P., 2007, ‘Paths to Property: Approaches to Institutional Change in International Development’, Institute of Economic Affairs, London
What are the best strategies for creating an institutional environment conducive to securing stable property rights? This publication from the Institute of Economic Affairs draws on examples from sub-Saharan Africa to illustrate a process-oriented view of institutional change. There is no 'correct' path to property rights protection. Only by understanding the historical and institutional context can sustainable reform and its consequent economic dividends be achieved. Property rights policy should be regarded as a strategic and dynamic process, rather than as a blueprint-based exercise in social engineering.
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This paper develops a the rights-based approach to women's land rights, reviewing World Bank approaches and providing several case studies from Africa.

Ikdahl, I., et al., 2005, 'Human Rights, Formalisation and Women's Land Rights in Southern and Eastern Africa', Institute of Women's Law, University of Oslo
Land is a vital resource for rural livelihoods. How far has land reform advanced and how effectively has gender equality been implemented in five countries in Southern and Eastern Africa? What problems need to be resolved and what are the forces resisting change? This report from the University of Oslo and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences was commissioned by the Norwegian Agency of Development Cooperation. It adopts the human rights based approach to spell out a human rights framework for gender-equal and non-discriminatory land reform/formalisation processes.
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