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What is a Human Rights Based Approach?

A Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) is a way of empowering people to know and claim their rights, and increases the ability and accountability of individuals and institutions who are responsible for respecting, protecting and fulfilling rights. This means giving people greater opportunities to participate in shaping the decisions that impact on their human rights. It also means increasing the ability of those with responsibility for fulfilling rights to recognise and respect human rights (for example in the NHS, local authorities, or care providers). Using a HRBA which is integrated into policy-making, as well as the day to day running of organisations, ensures that standards are met for everyone.

The principles of a Human Rights Based Approach

There are some underlying principles which are important in applying a HRBA in practice, known as the PANEL Principles:

Participation

Everyone has the right to participate in decisions which affect their human rights. Participation must be active, free, meaningful and give attention to issues of accessibility, including access to information in a form and a language which can be understood.

Accountability

Accountability requires effective monitoring of human rights standards as well as effective remedies for human rights breaches. For accountability to be effective there must be appropriate laws, policies, institutions, administrative procedures and mechanisms of redress in order to secure human rights.

Non-discrimination and equality

A HRBA means that all forms of discrimination (such as age, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity) in the realisation of rights must be prohibited, prevented and eliminated. It also requires the prioritisation of those in the most marginalised or vulnerable situations who face the biggest barriers to realising their rights.

Empowerment of rights holders

Individuals and communities should understand their rights, and be fully supported to participate in the development of policy and practices which affect their lives. Individuals and communities should be able to claim their rights where necessary.

Legality of rights

A HRBA requires the recognition of rights as legally enforceable entitlements, and is linked in to national and international human rights law.

Examples of HRBA in practice

Since the Scottish Human Rights Commission started work in 2008 we have worked with a number of organisations in different sectors to help raise the level of understanding of human rights and support organisations and sectors who are using a HRBA. Here are three examples of a HRBA being used in practice.  

Human Rights in a Healthcare Setting ​

In 2009 the Commission undertook an independent evaluation of the experience of a Special NHS Board which has sought to adopt a human rights culture. The results provide practical lessons for other public authorities and show the benefits of using a HRBA in practice.

Read the Summary document in large print Word format / Read the Summary document in PDF format / Read the full report (80 pages) in PDF format​

Care about Rights?

Care about Rights is an innovative training tool which brings human rights awareness
and understanding to life for the care sector. Care about Rights uses practical examples of a HRBA throughout the training materials, which includes a number of short films and case study scenarios. The materials are aimed at care providers and their staff, older people and their families, and people involved in the procurement and regulation of care. You can access the Care about Rights training here.

The Dementia Charter

A human rights based approach has already been adopted in the development of care services for people with dementia in Scotland. The Cross-Party Group on Alzheimer’s at the Scottish Parliament has
considered how to ensure that the rights of people with dementia and their carers are fully recognised at all levels of government, and by individuals and non-governmental organisations. In 2009 the Group produced a Charter of Rights which aims to empower people with dementia, those who support them and the community as a whole, to ensure their rights are recognised and respected.

Read The Dementia Charter in PDF format. Read the news release about the Dementia Charter here. There is more information about the rights of people with dementia at the Dementia Rights website. Scotland's National Dementia Strategy, published by the Scottish Government in June 2010, adopts the PANEL principles - read more about the Strategy here.

Human Rights Framework to address historic child abuse

In February 2010 the Commission published a human rights framework for the design and implementation of a Forum for survivors of historic child abuse in Scotland. The framework promotes a HRBA to addressing historic abuse. The framework from the Commission outlines a comprehensive approach to ensuring effective access to justice, remedies and reparation for childhood abuse.

Read the Human Rights Frameworkin large print Word format /  Human Rights Frameworkin PDF format. The framework is based on an analysis of international human rights law and a research paper based on interviews with survivors and focus groups. You can read the analysis of international human rights law relevant to acknowledgement and accountability of historic child abuse in Word format. You can read the research paper in PDF format.

Links

  • The United Nations has established a website called the 'Practitioners Portal on HRBA' – www.hrbaportal.org - which brings together a number of HRBA projects from different countries and sectors with the aim of mainstreaming information and understanding about HRBA. Although the information is aimed at United Nations practioners, the website has a number of HRBA project examples and research studies from areas including disability rights, health, the environment, poverty and education.

  • The British Institute on Human Rights, an independent human rights charity, has produced two short guides on HRBA and healthcare for authorities in England (‘Human Rights in Healthcare - A short introduction', and 'Human Rights in Healthcare - A Framework for Local Action' )  – you can access these at the BIHR website.

  • Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) supports groups to use a human rights based approach to realise their economic and social rights. This model is being used by communities in Belfast and elsewhere who are directly affected by inequality and deprivation on issues such as housing, mental health, urban regeneration and children’s play.  You can read more about their work here.