Human Rights-Based Approach at the UN

Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Latin America and the Latin American and the Caribbean Region

This initiative is part of the Regional Project “Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Latin American and the Caribbean Region”, which is an integral component of the UNFPA Regional Programme for the Latin American and Caribbean region, 2004-2007. It aims to build and strengthen national and regional capacities to promote and protect human rights as set out by the ICPD and its commitment to sustainable development, through the application of a human rights-based approach into its core programme areas of work, Population and Development, Reproductive Health and Gender. It is understood that these core areas constitute the content and focus of this project.

The project’s objective is to build knowledge and strengthen capacities to integrate and embed human rights in policy, programming, monitoring and evaluation and to support country led efforts undertaking their CCA/UNDAF in the years 2005 and 2006.

The project will ensure the integration of human rights issues and concerns into population and development, reproductive health and gender in the work of UNFPA LAC Country offices, governments, through their national human rights institutions, research centres and civil society organizations, regional and international partners. The project will provide an opportunity for UNCTs to articulate a coherent vision and strategy for a unified approach towards common programming and development goals at the country level, based on human rights principles and standards, and with the ultimate aim of assisting countries in the realization of human rights.

The project will achieve its objectives through the implementation of a three-pronged strategy as follows:

1. Development of a knowledge base and experiences and lessons learned on the integration of human rights in population and development, reproductive health and gender, at the local, national and regional levels in order to protect and promote human rights in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;
2. Strengthening local, national and regional capacities in human rights-based programming through the development and implementation of a training package tailored to local conditions and cultural characteristics, and by setting up or strengthening a regional network to provide support;
3. Support policy dialogue and exchange on the integration of human rights into public policies to improve the protection and promotion of human rights at the local, national and regional levels.

Initially, a questionnaire was sent to the Country Offices throughout the region, addressing such issues as UNFPA’s work in human rights, national human rights institutions in each country and activities undertaken with them, all this with the purpose of getting a better picture of Field Offices’ work and capacities, as well as identifying needs so as to offer appropriate solutions.

After analyzing the feedback obtained form the questionnaire, and taking into account all responses, was followed by the design of what we have called here a ‘Regional Mapping of Human Rights. This document serves the purpose of contributing to the work undertaken by Field Offices, by offering an overview of the international human rights framework for the region, including the Inter-American system, as well as recommendations from treaty-based bodies regarding country reports and general reference papers drafted by these, information on the human rights situation relating to UNFPA’s mandate by country, while serving as well as a forum for the exchange of information and opinion between relevant actors in the field.

A Human Rights-Based Approach within the UN and UNFPA

Under the Charter of the United Nations, Member States committed themselves to promote and protect human rights at the national level and to cooperate to that end at the international level. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights delineates those rights, while the seven core international human rights treaties (of which all States have accepted at least one) and other international treaties impose legal obligations on States parties to implement human rights. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action reaffirms that “the promotion and protection of human rights is the first responsibility of Governments”.

The Secretary-General’s reform programme launched in 1997 called for the integration of human rights throughout the United Nations system and the development of practical tools to implement the Vienna blueprint. It called for emphasis on UN country teams and integrated assistance frameworks, MDG-driven CCA/UNDAF or the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP)/Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP), through which the entire UN system is streamlining its operations in support of Member States.

Previously, the United Nations had been called upon to offer, upon request from governments, assistance programmes aimed at amending domestic legislation, establish or strengthen national institutions charged with upholding human rights, democracy and state of law, provide electoral assistance and further awareness of said rights by mean of training and education, social participation and the commitment of civil society at large.

Subsequently, in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, Member States pledged “respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the equal rights of all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion and international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character.” Members also agreed to strengthen capacities at country-level to apply human rights principles and practices, including minority rights, women and adolescents rights, rights of the child and migrants’ rights. The Declaration included as well the commitment to create favorable environment –at both the national and international levels- to further development and eliminate poverty. In paragraphs 25 and 26, Member States resolved to strengthen their capacity at the country level to implement the principles and practices of human rights, including minority rights, the rights of women, the rights of children and the rights of migrants. Building strong human rights institutions at the country level is what in the long run will ensure that human rights are protected and advanced in a sustained manner. The emplacement or enhancement of a national protection system in each country, reflecting international human rights norms, should therefore be a principal objective of the Organization.

Recommitting themselves to the respect for human rights, Member States agreed at the World Summit to further strengthen the United Nations human rights machinery with the aim of ensuring effective enjoyment by all of all human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social, including the right to development. They agreed as well to improve the effectiveness of the human rights treaty bodies, including through more timely reporting, improved and streamlined reporting procedures and technical assistance to States to enhance their reporting capacities and further enhance the implementation of their recommendations. Additionally, States sought to integrate the promotion and protection of human rights into national policies and to support the further mainstreaming of human rights throughout the United Nations system, and to support the promotion of human rights education and learning at all levels, including through the implementation of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, as appropriate.

A number of UN agencies, funds and programmes participate in strengthening national institutions and human rights promotion and protection systems, and their work has achieved a number of important results. In doing so, due attention will be paid to the specific mandates of agencies and bodies so as to minimize duplication and enhance complementary programmes at the national level and rational use of resources.

The simplification and harmonization process taking place within the UN System has addressed the need for such changes in the Agencies and Programmes as the introduction of joint programming, reducing transaction costs and laying down the foundations that will allow the system to offer a coherent response to country needs. The UN Country teams –including UN Funds and Programmes, specialized agencies, and the World Bank- need access to information analysis and examples of how to include human rights issues into country programmes.

In January 2001 a group of UN agencies, under the auspices of UNDG, organized the first UN Interagency Workshop on ‘Implementing a Human Rights-Based Approach in the Context of UN Reform’. The workshop proved useful in providing a comprehensive overview of human rights-based approaches (HRBA) within ten participating UN agencies and the challenges posed in implementing such approaches. Eight UN Country Teams provided case studies, from which it was possible to identify key elements of a human rights-based approach, as well as needs for capacity building to implement such an approach.

A second Interagency Workshop on Implementing a Human Rights-based Approach in the Context of UN Reform was organized by an informal task force, under the auspices on UNDG, in May, 2003. It sought to move forward the agenda of interagency cooperation around human rights mainstreaming, focusing on CCA/UNDAF processes, and also examining examples of how UNCTs are dealing with human rights in the context of PRSP and MDG processes.

The following Statement of Common Understanding, agreed upon at the second Inter-agency Workshop, specifically refers to a human rights based approach to the development cooperation and development programming by UN agencies.

Regarding the United Nations Population Fund, the transition process towards making UNFPA a more effective and efficient organization will have a significant and positive long-term impact on the way the Fund functions. These changes will certainly begin to have an effect in the 2004–2007 MYFF period, as new human resources, learning and training, and knowledge-sharing strategies are rolled out, and improved accountability systems are set in place. All of these will contribute towards making the Fund a more efficient and effective organization in implementing the ICPD Programme of Action.

UNFPA performance is increasingly measured against the Fund’s overall contribution global efforts that address gender, reproductive health and rights, and population in the context of poverty reduction, to the achievement of development goals, notably those set out in the ICPD Programme of Action, the ICPD+5 key actions, and more recently, the MDGs.

The Fund should assume a more active leadership role in guiding the use of the larger resources of national governments and other development partners towards the promotion of the ICPD agenda within the context of a rights-based approach, while ensuring that this is linked closely to poverty reduction strategies and the MDGs. UNFPA should also provide support to strengthening civil society participation in these efforts.