The rights-based approach

For long in the development discourse, it was economic growth that was of central concern, with human rights remaining largely marginal. While the development discourse evolved through various phases, focussing on Gross National Product (GNP), basic needs, structural adjustment, and so forth, a special focus on "rights" was missing. The definition of development focussed on economic growth and material prosperity only. Unfortunately, there was no inclusion of freedom, dignity and overall "well-being" of the people, and development was merely linked to human rights standards.
Development is not a theoretical exercise to transform a certain amount of money into some other commodity, or some more money. Development is about people and deals with people's lives. Almost half of the people in the world (nearly 3 billion), most of them women, strive to survive on less than $2 a day! Notably, all these people live in most of the poor countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Since it deals with people's lives, development practice should listen to what people, especially disadvantaged people, have to say about the development process. But we often do not listen to them. In 2002, the World Bank conducted a study where around 80,000 poor people worldwide were asked how it felt to be poor and what it meant to them in their everyday lives. The responses of these poor people were extraordinarily revealing, and extremely significant for development practice. The perceptions of poor people pointed clearly to the fact that poverty is not merely absence of commodities and services to meet the basic needs, but rather a question of powerlessness.
Apart from the importance of material assets, health and education in improving people's lives, the poor mentioned the influence of factors such as emotional integrity, respect and dignity, social belonging, cultural identity, organisational capacity, and political representation and accountability. This means that poverty has multi-faceted dimensions which are least considered by the development practitioners.
The evolution of human rights as development
The development theory and research of more than one decade starkly reinforce the views of the World Bank study. Poverty cannot be simply measured in terms of per capita income, as it also includes other dimensions such as access to basic services, assets, and justice. Economic growth is necessary, but not sufficient for poverty eradication -- a glaring fact that explains the persistence of poverty in even the wealthiest countries in the world. Contrary to this, development as a human right is particularly significant in maintaining the link between social progress and economic growth, because they enable the persons concerned to achieve their potential fully.
Despite the recognition of the relationship between human rights and development in the UN Charter, development was, and is being in many cases, pursued from a narrow economic perspective. This perception is still deep-rooted in many individuals and organisations. However, in the light of persistent poverty, purely economic perspectives on development were progressively abandoned by most development agencies and substituted for "sustainable livelihoods" and "basic needs" approaches.
However, even these approaches could not fully account for the way in which power relations and embedded social inequalities (such as discrimination against women and ethnic minorities, etc) contribute to the production and reproduction of deprivation -- which means that poverty continues to persist. As an example, while the need for some of the factors mentioned in the World Bank study, such as material assets and education are obvious, the need for the others is frequently overlooked. However, all these factors relate to human rights, reflecting that the poor people have a more holistic understanding of the dimensions of poverty and its root causes than the development practitioners tend to assume. This perception is very important for all of us to grasp, which leads to a tangible development.
The World Bank study concluded that development should ultimately increase people's freedom to live the lives they value. This understanding also complements Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's views that development is essentially the expansion of human freedoms -- freedoms embodied in civil and political rights (participation in public life, voting, associations, etc) and economic, social and cultural rights (access to healthcare, education, shelter, work, nourishment, etc).
These expanded human freedoms enhance the capacity of every individual to fully lead the "kind of lives they value" by ensuring the environment necessary for them to realise their own choices and opportunities. And this conviction has led to the development of the much-talked-about and innovative approach to development called the Rights-Based Approach (RBA). In fact, Amartya Sen's views are the cornerstone of this present development paradigm, and we owe him for such a striking eye-opener -- which can solve the problem of poverty if pursued with conviction, dedication and devotion.
The approach
A 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. It seeks to analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of development problems, and redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede development progress.
Mere charity is not enough from a human rights perspective. Under a rights-based approach, the plans, policies and processes of development are anchored in a system of rights and corresponding obligations established by international law. This helps to promote the sustainability of development work, empowering people themselves -- especially the most marginalised -- to participate in policy formulation and hold accountable those who have duties to perform.
A rights-based approach views development as the process of realising fundamental human rights and freedoms, thus expanding people's choices and capabilities to live the lives that they value. It is dependent on the existence of a particular socio-economic environment, the creation of which may require economic growth. This means that the rights-based approach does not deny the need for economic growth -- only that economic growth is treated as the backup for promoting development, keeping human rights as the guiding principles. A rights-based approach integrates human rights concepts in the development process to effectively target human freedom. Specifically, it integrates human rights principles, the normative content of human rights, and human rights obligations, particularly state obligations, in development policies and programs.
Guiding principles
A rights-based approach to development brings certain guiding principles to the development arena. The most important, and likewise implicit in the UN Charter, is that development has a responsibility in achieving the full realisation of human rights. Human rights cannot be realised without development. Development should seek empowerment, both in the process and in the outcome of poverty eradication strategies.
Essentially, a rights-based approach integrates the norms, standards and principles of the international human rights system into the plans, policies and processes of development. The norms and standards are those contained in the wealth of international treaties and declarations. The principles include equality and equity, accountability, empowerment and participation. A rights-based approach to development includes the following elements: a) express linkage to rights, b) accountability, c) empowerment, d) participation, e) attention to vulnerable groups, and f) equality and non-discrimination.
The current poverty discourse stresses the need to integrate governance issues into poverty reduction strategies because more attention needs to be paid to accountability, transparency, empowerment, responsiveness and participation of people and state in poverty programs. The human rights framework is, in this respect, of invaluable assistance. It provides the normative foundation for tackling fundamental issues related to sustainable human development, and can play a catalytic role in bringing together governmental, institution-building and community-support programs in order to tackle poverty in a comprehensive and holistic way. In this way the rights-based approach becomes a programming tool at the same time that it articulates a vision for human-centred sustainable development.
Shazzad Khan is a development worker attached with Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).