Human rights

Rights-based approaches

Donor approaches to promoting human rights and rights-based approaches (RBAs) to development are growing areas, and a diverse range of tools and guidance has been produced. Approaches vary between different donors and NGOs, including the extent to which rights-based approaches are integrated across development work. Some donors place emphasis on the obligations of 'duty bearers', or those with corresponding duties to promote and protect human rights. This page provides an introduction to the guidance and practical tools development agencies and NGOs have developed to assist with rights-based approaches and with analysing rights, poverty and power.

Page contents

Where is a good place to start?

This paper provides an accessible overview of rights-based approaches to development. It considers the range of approaches being developed by different donors, and argues that there is a common conceptual core.

Piron, L-H., 2004, 'Rights-based Approaches and Bilateral Aid Agencies: More than a Metaphor?', IDS Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 1.
Are human rights-based approaches to development merely a 'metaphor', or is a consensus emerging among bilateral donors around the relevance of human rights for aid? This article, based on research by the Overseas Development Institute, illustrates emerging commonalities among bilateral aid agencies. However, donors need to make greater efforts to internalise human rights and to ensure that human rights influence mainstream international development thinking. 
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This paper argues that the most essential element of rights-based approaches is that they should change power relations at all levels, including scrutinising the power relations between donors and those they work with or aim to help.

Nyamu-Musembi, C. and Cornwall, A., 2004, 'What is the Rights-based Approach all about? Perspectives from International Development Agencies', IDS Working Paper no. 234, Institute for Development Studies, Brighton
Are rights-based approaches transformative, or merely a new development fashion? What are the implications for donors of adopting them? This discussion paper by the Institute of Development Studies analyses rights-based approaches in international Non-governmental Organisations, multilateral and bilateral donors. Done well, these approaches can help agencies better achieve development outcomes by moving them away from unreflective patronage to better partnership with and empowerment of beneficiaries.
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Rights-based approaches tools and guidelines

Donors are experimenting with a variety of approaches to rights-based development. The following aspects are found in some, but not all, RBAs:
Development assistance should contribute to the realisation of human rights, based on the international human rights standards
Human rights standards and principles inform all levels of programming
Rights-based approaches support both rights-holders to claim their rights and duty bearers to meet their obligations to protect and promote them.

Rights-based approaches to development are a relatively new area, and for most organisations, tools for rights-based programming are at early stages. This section presents a selection of the most recent RBA tools available from donors and NGOs.

A recent DFID-commissioned study to collate and review existing practical guidance on rights provides an excellent overview of progress to date in this area.

Filmer-Wilson, E., 2005, 'Practical Guidance to Implementing Rights Based Approaches, Human Rights Analyses for Poverty Reduction and Human Rights Benchmarks' Report prepared for the Department for International Development (DFID), London
To what extent are human rights being incorporated into development programmes? How can a human rights-based approach best be developed? This report, by the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID), brings together material collated from development organisations in four key areas: practical guidance on rights-based approaches, including case studies and checklists; analytical tools which feature human rights for understanding the causes and characteristics of poverty; human rights impact assessment; and human rights indicators to measure development progress.
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RBA reviews are intended for reorienting existing activities and for designing new programmes with a rights-based approach. The following draft guidelines incorporate the Common Understanding on RBA for all UN agencies produced in May 2003, and the two-page UN checklist for analysing human rights situations and appropriate responses.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), 2003, 'Human Rights-Based Reviews of UNDP Programmes. Working Guidelines'.  UNDP, Geneva
The UN operates a Common Understanding of the human rights-based approach to development (HRBA). This United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)paper sets out working guidelines for a human rights-based review of UNDP country offices and projects based on the Common Understanding. The guidelines aim to support reviews at each phase of programming, strengthen existing activities and assist in the design of new programmes from a human rights perspective.
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Human Rights-Based Approach Checklist
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UNICEF has produced a comprehensive handbook designed as a reference document for government, NGOs and UN organisations with programmes for children across all sectors.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2002 'Implementation Handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child', UNICEF
Only available in print

The following are guidelines for rights analyses as a basis for country strategies or programmes from the bilateral donors SIDA and NORAD.

SIDA, 2003, 'Country Strategy Development: Guide for Country Analysis from a Democratic Governance and Human Rights Perspective', Swedish International Development Agency, Stockholm 
Democratic governance has become a priority in donor policies. This guide, published by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA), aims to assist the analysis of country strategies from the perspective of democratic governance and human rights and guide donor intervention. It is important to adapt to the reality of each country and to guarantee synergy between the priorities of partner countries and donors.
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NORAD, 2001, 'Handbook in Human Rights Assessment. State Obligations, Awareness and Empowerment', Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Oslo
How do you enhance the human rights profile of development programmes? How do you identify the need for human rights impact analysis? This handbook by Norad assists the user in addressing human rights concerns by recording the potential, planned or likely positive or negative effects of the programme under review. It is not a manual on how to conduct a full-scale human rights impact analysis but a guide to identifying the need for such analysis.
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The following manual links up donor policy and practice on rights approaches with the relevant parts of international human rights law.

Human Rights Council of Australia, 1998, 'The Rights Way to Development: A Human Rights Approach to Development Assistance', The Human Rights Council of Australia
How can governments improve the relationship between human rights (HRs) and development assistance? How can donors and NGOs affect the realisation of rights through aid delivery? Research by the Human Rights Council of Australia proposes a new HR approach to development, arguing that governments have HR obligations and recipients have entitlements: development must start with government action to deliver these entitlements.
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Human rights analyses of poverty assess the power relations between rights-holders and duty-bearers, in order to identify capacity gaps. There is currently a lack of standard tools for this purpose. The following tool was produced out of experiences with a specific UN project.

Theis, J., 2004, 'Promoting Rights-Based Approaches: Experiences and Ideas from Asia and the Pacific', Save the Children, Stockholm
What is a rights-based approach (RBA)? How can rights-based programming be translated into practical project and programme tools? This manual from Save the Children Sweden (SCS) is a collection of articles introducing RBAs and presenting practical advice on application, case studies and innovative tools for implementing RBAs. It concludes with a list of web resources on rights-based approaches.
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The following handbook was developed by Save the Children to demonstrate how the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be used in the programming cycle and as a tool for advocacy and change.

Save the Children, 2002, 'Child Rights Programming: How to Apply Rights-Based Approaches in Programming', Save the Children, Stockholm
What is the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and how can it be used in development programming? This handbook from Save the Children demonstrates how the CRC can be used as the basis for the project cycle and efforts for advocacy and change. It promotes the Child Rights Programming (CRP) approach and provides guidance about how to use this approach in practice.
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This CARE guidebook is designed as a material for rights training workshops. It has also been used as a programming tool:

CARE, undated, Care Human Rights Initiative: Basic Introduction to Human Rights and Rights-based Programming', Facilitators' Guidebook, CARE
This manual provides a guide for planning a rights-based programming workshop. It is designed for relief and development workers with basic facilitation skills although no prior experience of rights based programming is required.
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NORAD, 2001, ‘Handbook in Human Rights Assessment: State Obligations, Awareness and Empowerment’, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Oslo
How do you enhance the human rights profile of development programmes? How do you identify the need for human rights impact analysis? This handbook by Norad assists the user in addressing human rights concerns by recording the potential, planned or likely positive or negative effects of the programme under review. It is not a manual on how to conduct a full-scale human rights impact analysis but a guide to identifying the need for such analysis.
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The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has produced the following working paper, scoping what a rights-based approach would mean for SDC.

SDC, 2004, 'Integrating Human Rights and Poverty Reduction: Towards a Human Rights-Based Approach for SDC', Swiss International Development Cooperation Agency Working Paper
How can the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) incorporate human rights more systematically into its development programmes? This research, by SDC, sets out current thinking on integrating human rights into development with a view to taking its human rights work forward. It affirms that democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.
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Implications of RBA for development agencies

This section provides commentary on the implications of rights-based approaches for the ways in which development agencies work. The rapid expansion of rights-based approaches among donors and NGOs has led to considerable debate about whether the approaches can make rights a reality for poor and excluded people. The resources in this section demonstrate that in order to have an impact, a rights-based approach must focus on improving relationships and process as well as outcomes. This involves respecting and responding to partners' priorities, and being transparent and consistent about donor's own decision-making processes.

Uvin, P., 2004, 'A Rights-Based Approach to Development', Chapter 6, in Human Rights and Development, Kumarian Press, Bloomfield, pp. 122-166
How can the rights-based approach (RBA) change how development is 'done', and help practitioners do things better on the ground? RBAs have often been seen as primarily rhetorical and as offering little in hard content. This chapter from 'Human Rights and Development' outlines what the RBA means in practice, and how this differs from current practice. It argues that human rights, when deeply integrated with the practice of development, can be a powerful addition and correction to the development enterprise.
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Eyben, R., 2004, 'Relationships Matter for Supporting Change in Favour of Poor People', Lessons for Change in Policy and Organisations No. 8, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
What role does influencing play in making pro poor change take place? Are current international donors spending too much time managing their budgets and not enough time managing relationships? This paper by the Institute of Development Studies examines the role of organisational learning in improving the performance of international development organisations. A number of approaches are identified for agencies to influence processes that lead to positive changes in the lives of poor people.
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Groves, L. and Hinton, R., 2004, Inclusive Aid: Changing Power and Relationships in International Development, London, Earthscan
There has been fundamental change in aid paradigms in recent years. What new approaches are required to develop the partnerships and transparency these new paradigms require? How can embedded traditions, vested interests and bureaucratic inertia be overcome? This book from the Institute of Development Studies collects accounts from 16 countries that focus on the socio-political dynamics of aid, and advance an understanding of aid as a complex system. It argues that the dynamics of power and relationships need to be better understood.
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Participation and accountability

Many rights-based approaches involve an understanding that denials of human rights are caused by inequality, discrimination and exclusion, created by unequal power relations. For these RBAs, efforts to realise rights therefore need to rest on an understanding of how unequal power causes rights denials and how this is institutionalised through values, rules and practices. This approach involves a need to change institutions and power relations through enhancing participation, inclusion and accountability, and through compelling organisations to fulfil their rights obligations. This section provides frameworks designed to analyse power relations and develop approaches for achieving rights through institutional change.

Here, RBAs differ from international human rights law, which sees rights denials as caused by the unwillingness or inability of governments to meet their human rights obligations. Rights-based approaches also emphasise the primary obligations of governments. However, they also examine the role of other actors in society, and use analysis of power relations and social and political change. The human rights law perspective is examined in the section on the Human Rights Legal Framework in this topic guide.

DFID has developed 'Participatory Rights Assessment Methodologies' or PRAMs, a tool for putting the rights agenda into practice. PRAMs aim to support government, civil society and other individuals in understanding their rights and obligations, and in creating the institutional change necessary to achieve rights.

Brocklesby, M.A. and Crawford, S., 2004, 'Operationalising the Rights Agenda: DFID's Participatory Rights Assessment Methodologies (PRAMs) Project', Centre for Development Studies, Swansea
How successful have rights-based approaches (RBA) been in reducing poverty? How can RBAs best be operationalised? This study, by the Department for International Development (DFID), assesses the success of its Participatory Rights Assessment Methodologies (PRAMs). PRAMs are intended to create institutional change to ensure participation, inclusion and obligation to all human rights for all people. The study argues that PRAMs re-enforce institutional learning: rights based development brings positive changes in the relationships between people at all levels and stages in development.
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This workshop report seeks to identify practical strategies for fulfilling rights and the Millennium Development Goals based on lessons learned from PRAMs.

Brocklesby, M.A., Crawford, S., Harding, M., 2005, 'Making Rights Real: The Politics of Engagement', Workshop Report, 23-24 March 2005, London
Rights based development is a people-centred approach to development based on the norms and standards of international human rights law. This workshop, organised by CR2 Social Development and Centre for Development, University of Wales, advocates a move beyond initial rights-based frameworks by focusing instead on the ‘politics of engagement’. Donors and civil society actors should recognise the political nature of development and redefine their strategy of engagement through participation in new networks and alliances to fulfil basic rights and poverty reduction goals.
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The following chapter summarises a series of papers presented at a workshop investigating how to improve donor analysis and approaches to power, rights and poverty, organised jointly by DFID and the World Bank.

Alsop, R. (ed.), 2005, Power, Rights, and Poverty: Concepts and Connections, World Bank, Washington DC
Discussions about power and rights are increasingly taking place in international development agencies, but the activity of those organisations does not reflect this. This report brings together background materials and discussions from a working meeting between the World Bank and DFID that focussed on understanding the conceptual underpinnings and relationships among power, rights and poverty reduction.
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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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The Drivers of Change (DOC) approach to analysing politics may provide useful tools for rights analysis, as it is concerned with the opportunities and obstacles for pro-poor change. The following document explores the potential for using DOC at sub-national levels. As yet, this approach has not been explicitly integrated with rights principles.

Rights and citizenship

Understandings of rights and citizenship in development have evolved from what was initially a more instrumental approach to participation. 'Citizenship' has entered the development vocabulary during the last decade as part of the return to a focus on state institutions and good governance. Unlike the earlier term 'beneficiary', citizen connotes someone with rights rather than someone receiving welfare or buying services. This shift highlights the multiple lines of accountability between state and citizen, donor and recipient.

A common debate about both 'rights' and 'citizenship' is whether these are genuinely universal concepts that make sense for people in all parts of the world or are examples of Western imposition.

Kabeer N. 2005 'The search for 'Inclusive' Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions in an Inter-connected World' in (ed) N. Kabeer Inclusive Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions, Zed Books, London
What does ‘citizenship’ mean for excluded groups around the world? What do these meanings tell us about the goal of building inclusive societies? This introductory chapter from ‘Inclusive Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions’ outlines some of the values and meanings associated with citizenship. It considers how debates around citizenship, rights and duties can be interpreted in the light of these values, and discusses the emergence of an explicit rights-based approach in the development agenda.
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The following study describes DFID 's experiences of a rights and citizenship approach to poverty reduction in Peru.

Lewis, M., et. al. (eds), 2005, Alliances Against Poverty: DFID's Experience in Peru 2000-2005, Department for International Development (DFID), London
Addressing the underlying causes of inequality and exclusion requires donors to engage with political processes. Alliances involving state and society must be strengthened and donors need to play an active role in them. This report from the Department of International Development (DFID) reviews the application of rights-based approaches through the concept of active citizenship in a middle-income country context. For the first time it tackles questions of legitimacy, potential and accountability of donor engagement from a donor’s perspective.
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What other resources are available on the GSDRC?

• Rights monitoring and indicators page in this topic guide
• Drivers of change topic guide
• Conflict assessments section in the Violent Conflict topic guide.

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