Promoting a Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) within the Development Effectiveness Agenda

This document is a briefing paper on the current debate and ways forward with regard to the integration of a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) into the practice of development cooperation. This paper has been commissioned by the Working Group on ‘Human Rights Based Approach', set up within the CSO Platform for Development Effectiveness, and assigned to the Research Institute for Work and Society (HIVA – University of Leuven). To carry out this assignment, HIVA has called on the services of the Leuven Center for Global Governance Studies in order to jointly research and co-author this brief. The idea of this briefing paper is to provide a concise mapping of existing governments’ guidelines and best practices as well as stands and opinions of different stakeholders, including the main multilateral institutions, bilateral donors and civil society organizations. The current relevant literature and position papers as well as a series of interviews have served as the main sources for input, analysis and recommendations. This briefing paper consists of five chapters. The first chapter briefly situates the historical origins of the HRBA concept. Chapter 2 gives a conceptual overview of the different aspects of HRBA. Chapter 3 draws a mapping of stakeholders voices and positions. Chapter 4 analyses the challenges and the perspectives for a HRBA accountability framework. Finally, Chapter 5 formulates a number of recommendations as a way forward.nrpages: 32status: publishe