One way of understanding a human rights approach is to see our role as:

• Helping to build the ability of rights-holders to claim their rights; and
• Helping to build the capacity of duty bearers to fulfil the rights of their citizens.

A human rights approach will vary depending on the nature of the organisation concerned and the issues it deals with. Common principles, however, have been identified as the “PANEL” principles: Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination and equality, Empowerment and Legality. The summary of these principles below is gratefully adapted from materials from the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

Participation

Everyone has the right to participate in decisions that affect them and their human rights. Participation must be active, free and 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 compliance with human rights standards and achievement of human rights goals, 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.

Effective monitoring of compliance and achievement of human rights goals also requires development and use of appropriate human rights indicators.

Non-discrimination and equality

A human-rights approach means that all forms of discrimination in the realisation of rights must be prohibited, prevented and eliminated. It also means that priority should be given to people who are the most marginalised and vulnerable and face the biggest barriers to realising their rights.

Empowerment

Everyone is entitled to claim and exercise their rights and freedoms. Individuals and communities need to be able to understand their rights, and to participate fully in the development of policy and practices which affect their lives.

Legality

A human-rights approach requires that:

• The law recognises human rights and freedoms as legally enforceable entitlements
• The law itself is consistent with human rights principles.

• Analyse the way that your existing aims and objectives are underpinned by human rights principles, whether or not expressed in these terms
• Include human rights as a key part of your mission statement
• Integrate human rights into your development goals and objectives in governance, strategy and programming
• Become familiar with and raise awareness of internationally recognised human rights principles
• Consider human rights in strategic planning and management decisions
• Recognise women’s rights and the sexual rights of all individuals as fundamental human rights
• Recognise children as distinct holders of their own rights

• Regularly report to your governing body and broader constituency on human rights issues to embed a commitment to human rights within your organisation
• Develop performance indicators to monitor how your operations impact on human rights
• Regularly review performance indicators and assessment against the indicators

Demonstrate your commitment to internationally recognised human rights principles through developing policies that address key human rights. These policies should:

• Support the principles of participation, accountability, non-discrimination and empowerment
• Link your policy to international human rights standards
• State that rights are inalienable, indivisible and universal
• Commit to respect, protect and promote human rights and to avoid complicity in human rights abuses
• Be relevant and specific to the organisation’s operations
• Include how the policy applies to all of your stakeholders
• Link to other relevant internal and external laws, policies, codes and guidelines

• Integrate a rights-based approach into programming, including program design and program evaluation. This will require paying careful attention to whose rights are not being upheld, in the context within which you work.
• Conduct situational analyses of the human rights situation where your program is located to inform development objectives and priorities
• Undertake gender and power analysis in the design phase of any program
• Recognise that human rights are inalienable and ensure programs assist stakeholders realise a greater scope of rights and do not cause right regressions (e.g. fulfilling a child’s right to education by placing a child in residential care and therefore violating their right to be raised in a family).
• Negotiate the terms, objectives and direction of any program so that it genuinely reflects the community’s wants and needs
• Determine human rights objectives of the program
• Develop ways to empower local communities and monitor and evaluate progress
• Mainstream human rights as a cross-cutting issue in project cycle management
• Ensure meaningful local stakeholder participatory processes and consultations throughout the life of the program

• Contribute analysis to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) undertaken by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council. This review of the human rights record of every member of the UN is done once every four years.
• Advocate for non-state actors, such as the private sector and multinational companies, to be bound by human rights standards
• Fund human rights education programs
• Undertake specific human rights projects or programs such as training programs or activities for the rights of women; lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans people and other sexual minorities; indigenous peoples; migrant workers; minorities; people with a disability; refugees; asylum seekers; children; or the aged.
• Provide human rights training to staff and partners
• Invest in research on particular human rights issues
• Advocate to governments to make changes to law, policy or practice to better support human rights
• Facilitate the discussion of human rights in local communities
• Support human rights advocacy at the local or international level
• Support emergency responses and protection work
• Develop and implement a strategy for consulting with communities to identify human rights issues in emergency response and ‘protection’ work
• Develop opportunities to empower partners and communities
• Ensure that the design and delivery of services meets the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised and considers risks arising from people’s participation and engagement.

• Take advantage of your role in shaping the views of stakeholders by promoting human rights principles in your organisation’s work.
• Use clear, accessible and consistent messages, information and resources targeting a wide range of stakeholders in our sphere of influence – including rights-holders, broader communities, other organisations, government departments and the media.
• Promote communications mechanisms through which your partners and stakeholders are able to make comments, suggestions and complaints
• Provide human rights information in external newsletters and on your website
• Develop stakeholder advisory panels to establish better dialogue with program beneficiaries and the broader community
• Include human rights language in advocacy work with other agencies, and in submissions to government consultation processes.