Right based approach

Right-Based
Perspective
ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE
BORN FREE AND EQUAL
IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS

Social W
ork
“The social work profession promotes social change,
problem solving in human relationships and the
empowerment and liberation of people
to enhance well-being. Utilising
theories of human behaviour and
social systems, social work intervenes
at the points where people interact
with their environments. Principles
of human rights and social justice are fundamental to
social work. ” (IFSW and IASSW 2001)

Are rights denied /protected in action in the
following situations ?

Mandatory HIV testing of seafarers
Mandatory semestral pregnancy
test for female students
Banning smoking in public places
Shouting at children
Closure of a municipal health center
without consultation with the communities

Are rights denied /protected in action in the
following situations ?

Rescuing trafficked girls from slaverylike conditions
Putting a ceiling to the right to
profit of a company
Workers going on strike

Definition of HR

“those basic standards without which
people cannot life in dignity as
human beings.”
“ Human are the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace. Their
respect allows the individual and the
community to fully develop.”

Aim of HR education: Build a culture of HR
 “ strengthen respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms
 value human dignity and develop
individual self-respect and respect
for others
 develop attitudes and behaviours
that will lead to respect for the
rights of others
 capacitate people towards more
active citizenship

 ensure genuine gender equality
and equal opportunities for women
and men in all spheres
 promote respect, understanding
and appreciation of diversity,
particularly towards different
national, ethnic, religious, linguistic
and other minorities and
communities
 promote democracy, development,
social justice, communal harmony,
solidarity and friendship among
people and nations”
Source: Manual on HR Education for Children

Criteria for making a claim for human rights (HR)
(Jim Ife)

 “realisation of the claimed right is
necessary for a person or group
to …achieve their full humanity
in common with others;”

Criteria…
 “the claimed right is either seen as applying to all of
humanity and is something that the person or
group claiming the right wishes to apply to
all people anywhere OR as applying to
people from specific disadvantaged or
marginalised groups for whom realisation of
that right is essential to their achieving of their full
human potential.” (Jim Ife)

Criteria…
 Existence of a substantial universal
consensus about the
legitimacy of the claimed
right across cultures (Jim Ife)

Human right principles
universality
Inalienability
Indivisibility
Interdependence
Interrelatedness;

Non-discrimination
Equality
Participation
Inclusion
Accountability
Rule of law

Universality, inalienability
All people have human rights.
Human rights cannot be taken
away or voluntarily given up.

Indivisibility
 “ Whether of a civil, cultural, economic, political
or social nature, they are all inherent to
the dignity of every person.
Consequently, they all have equal
status as rights, and can not be ranked
in a hierarchical order.” (Unicef)

Interdependence and
interrelatedness
 “The realization of one right often
depends, wholly or in part, upon the
realization of others. For instance,
realization of the right to health may
depend, in certain circumstances, on
realization of the right to education or
information.” (Unicef)

Participation
“Active, free and meaningful participation
in,contribution to, and enjoyment
of civil, economic, social, cultural
and political development in which
human rights and fundamental
freedoms can be realized.” (Unicef)

Accountability and rule of law
 States and other duty-bearers are responsible for the
observance of human rights.
They should comply with the legal
norms and standards contained in
human rights instruments. Failure to do
so entitles aggrieved rights holders to
initiate proceedings for the necessary redress before
the appropriate court /adjudicators based on legal
rules and procedures.

Principle of State Obligation
 Requires any States party to:
> prevent discrimination
> prohibit discrimination
> identify and redress
> impose sanctions against
discriminating acts
Periodic reporting to the appropriate UN
Committee every 4 years

Examples of state obligations
Article 16 of CEDAW provides that the State should ensure:

The same rights and responsibilities as parents,
irrespective of their marital status, in
matters relating to their children; in all
cases the interests of the children shall be
paramount
The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the
number and spacing of their children and to have access to
the information, education and means to enable them to
exercise these rights;

State obligations
 The same rights and responsibilities with regard to
guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children,
or similar institutions where these concepts exist in
national legislation; in all cases the interests of
the children shall be paramount
 The same personal rights as husband and wife,
including the right to choose a family name, a
profession and an occupation
 The same rights for both spouses in respect of the
ownership, acquisition, management, administration,
enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge
or for a valuable consideration.

Three generations of HR
 First Generation (Civil and Political Rights)
started in the 18th Century; deal mainly with liberty;
meant to protect the individual against state interference
 Right to vote
 Right to assemble
 Right to free speech
 Right to a fair trial
 Right to freedom from torture, abuse
 Right to protection of the law

1st generation of HR
 First contained in the 1948 Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
 Negative rights bec they are “rights
fro m certain things, e.g. freedoms
from abuse or coercion” vs. positive
rights which are “the rights or guarantees
to certain things”

Second generation…
 Second Generation (Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights) 19th century answer to mass poverty in wake of
industrial revolution;
related to EQUALITY
 Right to education
 Right to housing
 Right to health
 Right to employment
 Right to an adequate income
 Right to social security

2nd generation of HR
 Mainly positive rights that set standards
 Prohibit government from denying access
to the rights;
 Entitle individuals to get protection
from state if third parties interfere with
rights;
 Require states to take measures to improve
overall social situation

Third generations…

 Third Generation (Collective Rights)
First articulated in second half of the 20th Century
Except for the African Charter on Human and People's
Rights, have not been incorporated into human
rights treaties yet
 Right to economic development
 Right to prosperity
 Right to benefit from economic growth
 Right to social harmony
 Right to a healthy environment, clean air and water, etc.

Declaration on the Right to Development
 Adopted by the UN Gen. Assembly Resolution 41/128,
Dec. 4, 1986.
 Article 1
 1. The right to development is an inalienable
human right by virtue of which every human
person and all peoples are entitled to
participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic,
social, cultural and political development, in which all
human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully
realized.

Art.1
2. The human right to development also implies
the full realization of the right of peoples
to self-determination, which includes,
subject to the relevant provisions of
both International Covenants on
Human Rights, the exercise of their
inalienable right to full sovereignty over all their
natural wealth and resources.

Art. 2
1. The human person is the central subject
of development and should be the
active participant and beneficiary
of the right to development….
2. All human beings have a responsibility
for development, individually and
collectively…

Art. 3

3. States have the duty to co-operate with each
other in ensuring development and eliminating
obstacles to development. States should realize
their rights and fulfil their duties in such a
manner as to promote a new
international economic order
based on sovereign equality,
interdependence, mutual interest and
cooperation among all States, as well as to
encourage the observance and realization of
human rights.

3rd generation of HR
 Focus: Fraternity
 Rights of solidarity
 Coverage: group and collective rights:
the right to self-determination, to
economic and social development,
and to participate in the common heritage
of mankind.

Rights-based perspective and Approach
 Founded on the conviction that all human beings are
holders of rights.
 A right requires a government to
respect, promote, protect and fulfill it.
“The legal and normative character of
rights and the associated governmental obligations
are based on international human rights treaties and
other standards, as well as on national constitutional
human rights provisions.”

UN agencies:
“A human rights-based approach entails
consciously and systematically paying attention
to human rights and rights principles in all
aspects of programming work.
OR
A human rights-based approach is a conceptual
framework for the process of human
development that is normatively based on
international human rights standards and
operationally directed to promoting and
protecting human rights.

W does a "rights approach” mean?
hat
 ….clearly understanding the difference between a right
and a need.
 A right is something to which I am
entitled solely by virtue of being a
person. … that which enables me to
live with dignity.
 ….a right can be enforced before the government and
entails an obligation on the part of the government to
honor it.

Human Rights- Based Approach
(HRBA)

Principles of HRBA

Conceptual shifts in
adopting the HRBA

Reference to human
rights

from “answering
needs” to
“enabling the realization
of rights”(civic,
political, social,
cultural, economical
rights)

(HRBA)
HRBA PRINCIPLE

Empowerment

CONCEPTUAL
SHIFTS
from “beneficiary”
(charity) to
“citizen”/”rightholder” (power)

(HRBA)
HRBA PRINCIPLE

CONCEPTUAL SHIFT

 Participation

from “consultation” to
“active, free and
meaningful
participation”
and ownership

Rights-based Perspective and Approach
HRBA Principle

CONCEPTUAL SHIFT

 Accountability

from “provider”
to “duty-bearer”

Rights-based Perspective and Approach
“A process of enabling and empowering those not enjoying their ESC rights
To claim their rights.”

“When individuals … cannot exercise what
they understand and believe to be their right,
…..encourage and help them to claim the
right through judicial and administrative
channels or, where an established
mechanism does not exist, by other means
such as public demonstrations. The process
of staking a claim not only asserts an
individual’s ownership of his or her
entitlement. It also helps define the right and
raises awareness that what has been claimed
is not a privilege or an aspiration, but a right.”

Differentiating between “rights” and
“needs”
….clearly understanding the difference
between a right and a need.
A right is something to which I am entitled
solely by virtue of being a person. … that
which enables me to live with dignity.
….a right can be enforced before the
government and entails an obligation on the
part of the government to honor it.

Differentiating between “rights” and
“needs”
“A need….is an aspiration which can
be quite legitimate, but is not
necessarily associated with an
obligation on the part of the
government to cater to it; satisfaction of
a need cannot be enforced. Rights are
associated with "being,” whereas
needs are associated with "having.” ”
(Ligia Bolivar, human rights activist)

Elements of a rights-based approach
A.Assessment and analysis:
> “identify the HR claims of rights
holders and the corresponding human rights
obligations of duty-bearers, as well as the
immediate, underlying, and structural causes
when rights are not realized.” (Unicef)
B. The capacity of rightsholders to claim their
rights and of duty bearers to fulfil their
obligations is assessed by programme. Based
on the results, the appropriate strategies to
develop capacites are identified.

Elements …
C) Monitoring and evaluation are done for
both processes and outcomes, and are
based on HR standards and principles.
d) “Programming is informed by the
recommendations of international human
rights bodies and mechanisms.” (Unicef)

Elements …
 Stress on capacity building of both duty
bearers and rights holders.

Magna Carta of W
omen (R.A. 9710):
Chapter 3 Rights and Empowerment
Sec. 8 Human rights of women
Sec. 9 Protection from violence
“Agencies of government shall
give priority to the defense and
protection of women against
gender-based offenses and help
women attain justice and
healing.”

Example of a measure to protect the
rights of women
© All government personnel
involved in the protection and
defense of women against
gender-based violence shall
undergo a mandatory training on
human rights and gender
sensitivity pursuant to this Act.
(Magna Carta of Women)

Measures
(d) All local government units
shall establish a Violence
Against Women’s Desk in every
barangay to ensure that
violence against women cases
are fully addressed in a genderresponsive manner.

“ In cases of violence against
women and children, women and
children victims and survivors
shall be provided with
comprehensive health services
that include psychosocial,
therapeutic, medical, and legal
interventions and assistance
towards healing, recovery, and
empowerment…”(Magna Carta of
Women)

Discrimination against Women
“ any distinction, exclusion or
restriction made on the basis of sex
which has the effect or purpose of
impairing or nullifying the recognition,
enjoyment or exercise by women,
irrespective of their marital status, on a
basis of equality of men and women, of
human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic,
social, cultural, civil or any other field.”
(Art. 1, CEDAW )

Discrimination against women
“It includes any act or omission,
including by law, policy, administrative
measure, or practice, that directly or
indirectly excludes or restricts women
in the recognition and promotion of
their rights and their access to and
enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or
privileges.” (Magna Carta of Women,
Sec.3b)

Right based approach

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