Human Rights
From Governancevillage WIKI
The current regime of international human rights started with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. International conventions such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights came into force in 1976. Development co-operation by Western countries has traditionally focused on economic and social issues; civil and political rights were not seen as the legitimate business of development organizations. In 1993, the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action changed that by creating a framework that made it possible to re-assert the indivisibility of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. There was now a new opportunity for development co-operation policy and programming to address questions of democratization, good governance and civil and political rights as well as economic and social issues.
Traditional approaches to human rights programming also tended to focus on human rights as a sector separate from other development sectors (e.g., education and health). Over the last 10 years, however, human rights programming has progressively become aligned with broader development goals including poverty alleviation, civil society capacity development, and economic empowerment. The approach of moving along a continuum, from viewing human rights as a specific sector to integrating them into other sector programming, is the Human Rights Approach to Development (HRAD). The most advanced point on this continuum is an understanding of social, economic, cultural, political and civil rights as interdependent and fundamental to achieving sustainable development. The HRAD also involves incorporating human rights principles of participation/ inclusion, non-discrimination/ equality, accountability/ transparency and indivisibility/ interdependence into development programming.
By 1997, Kofi Annan directed the entire United Nations (UN) System to mainstream human rights in their programming. UNICEF was viewed as a leader in this process, using the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as their guide. Selected bilateral donors started to follow, including the UK that issued a policy statement committing themselves to rights-based approaches to poverty reduction. The paper, A Human Rights Perspective on the Millennium Development Goals, prepared as a contribution to the Millennium Project Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development, presents a useful discussion on applying a human rights-based approach to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The broader development community is beginning to move toward a human rights approach to development. There is recognition that a human rights approach can assist in improving aid effectiveness by, for example, overcoming barriers to reaching the most vulnerable and marginalized populations, including women and children. Indeed, women’s and children's rights are inalienable, integral, and indivisible to the concept of human rights. The practical enjoyment of all human rights by women, girls, and boys is the basis of their empowerment and full citizenship, and constitutes a key element of achieving democratic governance at all levels. As such, applying the human rights approach means that development interventions are conducted in a way that is consistent with international human rights instruments such as those that make up the International Bill of Rights, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
[edit] Canadian Resources on Human Rights
1. Equitas (International Centre for Human Rights Education) was established in 1967 by a group of Canadian scholars, jurists and human rights advocates with a mandate to advance democracy, human development, peace and social justice through educational programs. Equitas’ programs are designed to strengthen the capacity of participants and their organizations to engage in effective human rights education (HRE), monitoring and advocacy activities. Training sessions and workshops provide participants with the opportunity to acquire knowledge, develop skills, and establish or strengthen their networks. Equitas has a comprehensive links page which includes links to key human rights education resources, global and regional international human rights institutions and general human rights resources in the areas of for example children’s rights, and women’s rights.
2. Human Rights Internet (HRI) is dedicated to the empowerment of human rights activists and organizations, and to the education of government and intergovernmental agencies and officials and other actors in the public and private sectors on human rights issues and the role of civil society. HRI facilitates the sharing of knowledge in the following ways:
- For the Record is an electronic annual report summarizing and making accessible all the relevant human rights information that comes out of the United Nations system. In addition, HRI:
- Facilitating the application of new technologies toward furthering human rights through transferring knowledge and expertise to Northern and Southern partners working in the field of human rights development.
- Providing access to a data bank on human rights and a comprehensive documentation centre on various aspects of human rights;
- Producing the Human Rights Tribune an electronic journal focusing on specific issues related to human rights (e.g., gender, conflict);
- Producing publications and makes them available to NGOs and international institutions;
- Supporting the role of NGOs in the promotion of civil society and assisting governmental and intergovernmental organizations in the application of good governance practices and the protection of human rights through technical assistance and training and educational programs.
HRI’s Children’s Rights micro-site provides a comprehensive compilation of web-based information on issues such as child rights, child exploitation, war-affected children, child labour, health and welfare for children, refugee children, HIV/AIDS affected children, education, and street children. The site also links to the HRI Youth Centre, a place for young people to find human rights-related resources and publish their own projects, essays and poetry.
3. Rights and Democracy (International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development) was created by Canada's Parliament in 1988 to encourage and support the universal values of human rights and the promotion of democratic institutions and practices around the world. It works with individuals, organizations and governments in Canada and abroad to promote the human and democratic rights defined in the UN’s International Bill of Human Rights. Rights & Democracy currently focuses on democratic development, globalization, governance and human rights, the rights of indigenous peoples, and women's human rights. Rights & Democracy manages a number of women’s human rights projects that address these issues, makes available a range of publications and useful links related to these themes, and maintains a network of “Delegations” from approximately 40 Canadian universities and colleges that provides resources and support for student groups interested in human rights, democratic development and globalization.
[edit] International Resources on Human Rights
1. Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) connects, informs and mobilizes people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights. AWID works towards the full application of the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). AWID achieves its mission through four programming themes: 1) feminist movements and organizations; 2) young women and leadership; 3) gender equality and new technologies; 4) women’s rights and economic change. AWID hosts Women’s Human Rights Net, a network that provides comprehensive information and analyses on women's human rights and policy developments globally, including gender and governance.
2. Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems, International (HURIDOCS) is a network of individuals and organizations concerned with effective documentation and information handling to defend, assert and promote human rights. The goals of HURIDOCS is to increase access to human rights information by developing and promoting monitoring, information handling and communication tools for use by the human rights community; 2) increase the competence of human rights information and documentation workers through training on tools and techniques of monitoring and information handling and through provision of advice and support; and 3) strengthen and support networks and other collaborative efforts among human rights organizations in the area of human rights information. Perhaps the most valuable service provided by HURIDOCS is HURISEARCH a single point access to all human rights information published by human rights organizations worldwide, and particularly human rights NGOs. It currently provides access to publications from over 1500 organizations in 58 languages.
3. Human Rights Education Association (HREA) is dedicated to quality education and training to promote understanding, attitudes and actions to protect human rights, and to foster the development of peaceable, free and just communities. HREA supports human rights learning, provides training, and develops educational materials and community-building through on-line technologies. HREA’s education programs include: assistance in curriculum and materials development; training of professional groups through distance learning, web-based education and learning; research and evaluation; clearinghouse of education and training materials; and networking human rights advocates and educators.
4. Human Rights Watch (HRW) consists of lawyers, journalists, academics, and country experts of many nationalities and diverse backgrounds. HRW conducts fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses around the world, publishes findings every year, generating extensive coverage in local and international media, and provides up-to-the-minute information about conflicts while they are underway. HRW also has a country database that provides access to information on current human rights in respective countries around the world. The publications are categorized by country, region and issue.
The children’s rights micro-site of HRW contains a comprehensive set of links to children’s rights related international instruments, news releases, country-by-country reports on children’s rights, and publications, links and facts on themes including child soldiers, refugees, child labour, orphans, juvenile justice, violence and discrimination in schools.
5. International Council on Human Rights Policy has Special Consultative Status with the UN's Economic and Social Council. It conducts applied policy research on issues that impede the ability of individuals and societies to exercise their economic, social, political and cultural rights. The Council uses a multidisciplinary and consultative approach with the aim of producing applied relevant knowledge. The Council stimulates co-operation and exchange across the non-governmental, governmental and intergovernmental sectors, and strives to mediate between competing perspectives. It brings together human rights practitioners, scholars and policy-makers, along with those from related disciplines and fields whose knowledge and analysis can inform practical discussions of human rights policy. The council is involved in a range of projects, which produce corresponding publications and working papers with policy recommendations that are brought to the attention of policy-makers, within international and regional organizations as well as governments and intergovernmental agencies.
6. United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) is a department of the UN Secretariat that is mandated to promote and protect the rights of all people as established in the UN Charter and in international human rights laws and treaties and human rights instruments. The UNOHCHR’s mandate includes preventing human rights violations, securing respect for all human rights, promoting international cooperation to protect human rights, coordinating related activities throughout the UN, and strengthening and streamlining the UN system in human rights. The Office leads efforts to integrate a human rights approach within all work carried out by UN agencies by making accessible useful background documentation and frameworks on rights-based approaches to poverty reduction.
The UNOHCHR also houses the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The site contains information on the CRC, state party reports to the Committee, and alternative reports by civil society organizations. The Committee responds to these reports in Country reports, which provide excellent resources for developing rights-based policy and programming.
