Human RIGHTS FOR DEVELOPmEnT an international training programme on human rights in development with a focus on children’s rights 27 JuLY-22 auGuST 2014 GHEnT, BELGIum Report Edited by Sara Lembrechts, Kirsten Van Camp & Kathy Vlieghe Human RigHts foR Development The training programme is organised jointly by With the inancial support of  Human RigHts foR Development Human Rights for Development An international training programme on human rights in development with a focus on children’s rights 27 July to 22 August 2014 Ghent, Belgium www.hr4dev.be REPORT The training programme is organised jointly by With the cooperation of With the inancial support of ISBN: 9789074751490 D/2015/2818/01 EAN: 9789074751490 Aanvraagnummer: 00038205 Proceedings of the ITP 2014, Ghent Table of contents INTRODUCTION 1 COURSE REPORT 2 1. About the course 2 2. Course background 2 3. Course conveners 3 4. Course objectives 3 5. Thematic approach 4 6. Working methods 5 7. Information about participants 7 8. Proile of lecturers and panel members 10 9. Course evaluation 11 10. Outcomes and impact of the course 14 11. Financial support 15 12. Recurrent challenges 16 PAPER ASSIGNMENTS 19 Children on the move: A critical approach to the humanitarian crisis at the Southern border of the United States Paola CYMENT 21 The struggle of a policy maker to consider children’s rights within a child protection system ChrisTEl DE CraiM 31 A critical approach to Human Rights and Child Rights in the context of working with NGOs in North India abhiNav alExaNDEr DUTT 37 Rights, Duties and Responsibilities: Is there a missing link in the Rights-based approach to Human Rights? arUshi GoEl 49 i A Human Rights based approach to design and implementation of farm input subsidy programme (FISP) : the case of Malawi JErEMiah MPaso 56 Relections on Transitional Justice, Socio-economic Rights and Rights-Based Approach hUMa saEED 63 A Roadmap towards ending Female Genital Mutilation in Tanzania FraNsisCa silaYo 69 The child-caretaker dynamic and the Senegalese Daara: An inclusive universality approach? KirsTEN vaN CaMP 75 Applying a HRBA towards development advocacy in the ‘north’: enhancing legitimacy or adding discourse? ThiJs vaN laEr 89 Human Rights Violations by Transnational Corporations in Developing Countries: Methodological Framework and the Realist Critique liEsEloT vErDoNCK 95 ANNEX 101 1. HR4DEV Summary Programme 102 2. ENMCR Newsletter 106 3. Contact Details of Speakers and Participants 108 ii Introduction This report provides a retrospective view on the International Training Pro- gramme Human Rights for Development – HR4DEV, held in Ghent, Belgium, from 27 July to 22 August 2014. Part I provides some general information about the course, the participants and the speakers, followed by the main results of the course’s evaluation. It also highlights the course outcomes, impact, the inancial situation and some future challenges for the course organisers. Part II presents a selection of ten outstanding relection papers written by participants. All participants submitted a paper in which they offered interest- ing insights into the ways in which a training programme like this can help change practices and approaches in the ield of human rights, children’s rights and development. The selection of essays that we offer here can be read as a compilation of good practices. A warm word of thanks goes to our sponsors for their invaluable inancial support, to the advisory board for their expert advice and moral support, and to all guest lecturers and participants. In addition, our sincere thanks go to Jakub Dysarz, Heleen Callens, Toon Delodder and Matthias Boeraeve for their great help and assistance before, during and after the course. Also, we thank Kirsten Van Camp for her thoroughness and enthusiasm in taking responsibility for the evaluation procedures, and Francesca Ciarmatori for her assistance in editing the papers. We wish you a pleasant reading and will keep you updated about next course editions! The Organising Committee Prof. Eva Brems Dr. Giselle Corradi Dr. Ellen Desmet Ms. Martine Dewulf Ms. Sara Lembrechts Prof. Stephan Parmentier Dr. Didier Reynaert Prof. Stefaan Smis Prof. Wouter Vandenhole Ms. Lieselot Verdonck Ms. Kathy Vlieghe Pictures: Soie Lembrechts © Introduction – 1  COURSE REPORT 1. About the course The 2014 edition of the international training programme HR4DEV mapped the potential and limits of human rights in development and development co- operation, with a speciic focus on children’s rights. The training programme consisted of a general part (two weeks on human rights and development), and a thematic part (two weeks on children’s rights in a globalised world). The main themes covered included a contextualisation of human rights in the de- velopment debate from a top-down and bottom-up perspective, paradigms of rights-based approaches to development (HRBA), mainstreaming HRBA into policy-making, a multidisciplinary introduction to children’s rights, critical ap- proaches to children’s rights in theory and practice, and thematic global chal- lenges to children’s rights. HR4DEV targeted ‘leaders of the future’ in practice, policy and academia from the global South and North. 2. Course background Since 2012, the international training programme Human Rights for Develop- ment (HR4DEV) consists of a general part on human rights and development, and a thematic part that is variable (2012, 2014 & 2016: children’s rights; 2015: transitional justice). The general part builds on the experiences of the summer courses in human rights that were organised in Flanders – the Northern part of Belgium, co-gov- erned by the Flemish Community and the federal state of Belgium – over the past 15 years, with participation from the universities of Ghent and Leuven, and academic institutions in the Netherlands, the United States and South Africa. The thematic part on children’s rights builds on interdisciplinary courses that have been organised by Ghent University (and, in a later stage, jointly with the University College Ghent and Antwerp University) since 1996. In 2009, Flemish expertise on children’s rights was pooled in the Children’s Rights Knowledge 2 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Centre (KeKi), which became then the new home of the children’s rights course. The creation in 2010 of a Flemish Interuniversity Research Network in the ield of law and development (LAW&DEV), bringing together all experts at Flemish universities in this ield, offered new opportunities for cooperation. By joining forces with LAW&DEV, the knowledge and expertise available in Flanders and in international networks were pooled in a joint training programme. 3. Course conveners There is a lot of expertise in the academic community in Flanders on human rights, children’s rights and development. Each year, young researchers from the global North and South come to the Flemish research networks for re- search on these topics. As a result, HR4DEV is a joint initiative of two Flemish interuniversity partner- ships: the Flemish Interuniversity Research Network on Law and Development (LAW&DEV, a partnership between the University of Antwerp, KU Leuven, Ghent University and Free University Brussels) and the Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre (KeKi, a partnership between University College Ghent, Uni- versity of Antwerp, KU Leuven, Ghent University and Free University Brussels), in cooperation with the Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB, University of Antwerp). The members of the HR4DEV Executive Committee are: Prof. Eva Brems – Ghent University, Dr. Giselle Corradi – Ghent University, Dr. Ellen Desmet – University of Antwerp/ Ghent University, Ms. Sara Lembrechts – Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre, Prof. Stephan Parmentier – KU Leuven, Dr. Didier Reynaert – University College Ghent, Prof. Stefaan Smis – Free Uni- versity Brussels, Prof. Wouter Vandenhole – University of Antwerp, Mrs. Kathy Vlieghe – Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre. The members of the Advisory Board are: Dr. Lieve Bradt – Ghent University, Prof. Koen De Feyter – University of Antwerp, Prof. Els Dumortier – Free University Brussels, Mr. Eric Elong Ebolo – Free Uni- versity Brussels, Prof. Koen Lemmens – KU Leuven, Prof. Johan Put – KU Leu- ven, Prof. Stef Vandeginste – Insitute of Development Policy and Management. 4. Course objectives The international training programme HR4DEV 2014 had two main aims: Promoting knowledge, insight and skills in the ield of human rights (including children’s rights) and development; Developing young leaders in policy, practice and academia, to enable them to pass on this knowledge and skills to their own society and working environment (according to the train-the-trainers model), and to stimulate critical and strate- gic relection on the integration of human rights (including children’s rights) in their professional activities. Course report – 3 HR4DEV 2014 was not exclusively organised for participants from the global South. We explicitly chose to bring participants from North and South together into one setting to expose them to the views of participants from other conti- nents. Information, knowledge and means that are relevant in both North and South were shared. The organisers intended to achieve equitable geographical representation of participants from all continents. After the course, participants were invited to join the alumni networks on Linke- dIn and Facebook, so as to continue sharing their knowledge and expertise with other participants from all regions of the world. Participants were also encour- aged to subscribe for the newsletter of the European Network of Masters in Children’s Rights (ENMCR, see Annex II) and to register for the KeKi Messag- es, so as to be kept informed about recent developments and to be involved in knowledge-sharing on children’s rights. 5. Thematic approach In recent decades, a human rights-based approach to development has been increasingly attractive to multilateral organisations (including UNESCO, UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, OECDDAC, EU, etc.), as well as to bilateral donors and many non-governmental development organisations in the global North and South. Three main themes dominate the debate, often with contradictory points of view: 1. The universality of human rights, and more speciically the contentious is- sue whether the application of (children’s) human rights cover the same concerns, achievements and questions in the global North and South; 2. Structural inequality between global North and South, and the human rights potential to realise global justice in light of the challenges presented by globalisation; 3. Practical operationalisation and added value of human rights principles such as participation, accountability, non-discrimination and empower- ment as part of a human rights-based approach to development. Particularly as regards children’s rights, there is on-going debate as to the na- ture and strategic added value of children’s rights’ approaches to global prob- lems such as poverty, environmental challenges, armed conlict and migration. HR4DEV 2014 provided knowledge and skills training, and also offered a plat- form for critical and strategic relection on the potential and limitations of a human rights-based approach to development. The need for intercultural de- bate and exchange between practitioners and academics from different back- grounds was stressed and stimulated throughout the whole course. HR4DEV 2014 addressed the abovementioned key discussion themes vertical- ly – i.e. in particular day themes – as well as transversally – i.e. as umbrel- la-themes throughout the course – during both modules of the training pro- gramme. More information on the course programme can be found in Annex I. 4 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) 6. Working methods Methodologically, the emphasis was mainly on knowledge acquisition, capacity building and offering a platform for critical and strategic relection. Critical and strategic relection was achieved by devoting explicit day themes to particu- lar topics (e.g. human rights in context; universality of human rights; critical perspectives), by means of the programme structure (confrontation of several disciplinary perspectives, approaches and schools), and through the working methods (lectures, workshops, panel discussions, round tables, open forum, paper). The four weeks training programme offered considerable time to the participants to integrate this critical and strategic relection in their own think- ing, and in the individual paper. Lectures and discussions Introductory lectures on a wide range of topics and by a large group of experts from the global South and North were followed by question – and – answer ses- sions and time for discussion. Participants were encouraged to extensively engage in discus- sions with others and discuss their relections with lecturers and fellow participants. Course report – 5 Reading materials A reader with all background materials to the lectures and workshops was made available on the website of HR4DEV via a personal log-in. The reader con- sisted of priority and non-priority materials, submitted by the experts respon- sible for each session. Participants were expected to read at least the priority reading materials before the start of the session, which allowed the lecturers to build on a common starting point. Workshops Participants were expected to actively participate in the work- shops, which were conducted in small working groups. These interactive moments and ex- ercises allowed participants to relect on practical implications of the topic and critical issues discussed, and to confront their views with those of others. Each workshop was concluded with a round of feedback from the lec- turers and a group debate. Panel discussions and round tables Panel discussions and round tables with a range of experts from academia, policy and practice, as well as with a few HR4DEV alumni who participated in 2012, were included in the programme to stimulate discussion and interaction. This allowed for an interesting exchange not only amongst the invited experts, but also between the panels and participants. As such, stimulating dynamics and critical views came to life during these panel discussions and roundtables. Open forum In the ‘open forum’ sessions, participants were invited to or- ganise discussions on a topic of their choice, and/or to present good practices from their own professional environment to the group. During this edition, par- ticipants expressed an interest in further discussing theoretical issues such as the debate on universalism vs. relativism. 6 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Individual Assignment The paper assignment invited the participants to clarify the consequences of the integration of a critical relection for their own society, ield of action and professional activities. To share and build on the insights and relections of the participants, a selection of ten essays, representative of the different expecta- tions, perspectives, intentions and professional areas, is published in Part II of this report. 7. Information about participants The HR4DEV International Training Programme reached out to professionals from NGOs, national human rights organisations, the government, internation- al organisations, academics and doctoral students, as well as grass root work- ers and policy makers. More than 350 candidates applied for the course. Given its setup as a residential training course rather than a conference, it was a con- scious choice to limit the number of participants. As a result, 48 highly qualiied participants from diverse cultures, disciplines and professional backgrounds were eventually admitted. In addition to qualiications, professional experience and motivation, selection criteria also included gender, nationality and country of residence. A total of 28 participants followed the entire course, 14 participated only in Mod- ule 1 (Human Rights and Development), and 6 in Module 2 (Children’s Rights). In addition, 20 persons were offered the opportunity to attend speciic sessions.1 1 These 20 persons are not included in the statistics given below. Course report – 7 Gender and regional distribution Out of a total of 48, there were 16% more female (28) than male (20) participants (Figure 1). Five geographical regions were represented: 17 participants origi- nated from the African continent, 15 from Europe (of which 13 from Belgium), 9 from Asia, 2 from the Middle East, and 5 from the Americas (Figure 2). The number of nationalities represented was 28 (Figure 3). As far as the region of residence is concerned (Figure 4), the largest proportion Figure 1. Gender distribution (total: 48) Figure 2. Region of origin (total: 48) Africa Asia Belgium Europe Latin Middle East Paciic (excl Belgium America Figure 3. Nationalities represented (total: 28) 12 participants 3 participants 2 participants 1 participant 8 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) of trainees travelled from the African region (18), followed by 13 participants from Belgium, 9 participants from Asia, 4 from the Americas, 2 from Europe and 2 from the Middle East. In addition, a high number of participants resident in Belgium (20) were also attracted to speciic sessions of the course. This is mainly to be explained by the fact that the course was recognised by the doctoral schools of Leuven, Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp, so that PhD students at the Flemish universities were eligible for funding and credits. As such, out of a total of 68 participants (of which 20 for selected topics), there were 8 PhD students and 4 post-doctoral researchers participating in the HR4DEV 2014 course. Interestingly, many of the PhD students residing in Flanders come from different regions in the world. Finally, one master student, one government oficial and six NGO representa- tives, all with Belgian nationality and residence, attended speciic sessions that matched their professional interests. Professional background Participants came from a wide variety of sectors (Figure 5). On a total of 48 par- ticipants, the largest group of participants were active in research (19), another 15 participants worked in the non-proit sector, 9 in public administration, 3 for international organisations, and 2 in other areas. Educational background Figure 4. Professional background (total: 48) The educational background of the HR4DEV 2014 course is equally diverse and is represented in Figure 6. Only a limited number of participants had a legal background (18), although they still made up the majority group. As is shown by the graph on the professional background (Figure 5), none of the partici- pants with a legal background is currently professionally active in the judici- ary or bar. The second and third largest group were graduates in Development Studies (7) and in Social Work (4). These were closely followed by participants who graduated in Public Administration (3) and International Relations studies Course report – 9 (3). In addition, 2 people had a background in Political Science, 2 in Forestry, 1 in Educational Sciences and 1 in Psychology. Finally, there was a large group of participants (7) that graduated in very diverse ields (e.g. hydrogeology, man- agement, criminology). Figure 6. Educational background (total: 48) 8. Proile of lecturers and panel members In selecting 35 experts to lecture in the HR4DEV International Training Pro- gramme, the organisers focused on quality and diversity. The lecturers con- stituted a multidisciplinary group, including academics in human rights, law, development studies, anthropology, educational sciences, sociology and social work. In addition, highly experienced practitioners from national and interna- tional NGOs, advocacy groups, international organisations and institutions were invited to share their expert knowledge. More than half of the lec- turers were profession- ally active in Belgium (25 out of a total of 35). This high number bears testimony to the exper- tise that is currently available in Belgium. Other lecturers work in and/or came from Bur- kina Faso (Herman Zoungrana), Greece (Konstantinos Tararas), Guatemala (Norma Cruz), India (Rajat Khosla and Amita Punj), Peru (Martin Benavides and Patricia Urteaga), Senegal (Kristien Van Buyten), Uganda (Rosco Kajjusa), the United Kingdom (Marie-Bénédicte Dembour) and the United States of America (Mark Goodale). There were slightly more male (20) than female speakers (15). 10 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Three out of the four NGO representatives that participated in the roundtable discussion were alumni of the last HR4DEV training in 2012. This helped the participants to beneit from their experiences on the practical implications of a critical approach. Three participants were from Belgium (Thomas Craenen, Liesbet Dewallef and Anthony Vanoverschelde), working for national or interna- tional NGOs, and one participant was from Vietnam (Lien Phan Thi Kim), work- ing for the NGO Plan International. 9. Course evaluation An extensive evaluation procedure has been set up in order to closely monitor participants’ assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the course. This was done in three ways: through online evaluation forms, a focus group discussion with a representative group of participants, and a collective feedback session on the last day of the course. Participants were invited to actively take part in all three processes. Given the high participation rate in the online evaluation surveys, the results offer strong guidance for future editions. Evaluation on a daily basis At the start of each module, participants received an individualised link to an on-line evaluation survey via LimeService. Each day, they were asked to eval- uate the speakers, lectures and activities. Participants were invited to assess the content, quality and clarity of the lecture, as well as the quality of the com- plementary lecture materials in the course reader. In addition, the participants were asked to indicate whether there had been suficient time for discussion and whether they had had the opportunity to make any additional comments, both practical and content-based. All questions were asked positively. Partic- ipants graded the different categories on a scale of six options - ranging from very negative (“I fully disagree” (A1)) to very positive (“I fully agree” (A6)). Indi- vidualised feedback on their respective contribution has been provided to the lecturers and workshops facilitators. The general results are summarised be- low. Results - Evaluation of Module 1 (Human Rights for Development) In total, 35 out of 42 participants (83%) took part in the survey for Module 1. The lectures and workshops covered a wide range of subjects, including the universality of human rights, development (cooperation), human rights based approaches, the right to development, legal pluralism, resource exploitation and transnational human rights obligations. On the whole, participants were positive to very positive in their evaluation of the lectures. The topics of “Localising human rights”, “Emerging frameworks on transnational human rights obligations” and “Gender and Development” were particularly appreciated. Some participants highlighted their familiarity with introductory topics before engaging in the course. Participants would have Course report – 11 liked to have more the time available for discussion and debate during sessions that were speciically designed for that purpose. The panel debates and round table discussions with NGO members were deemed interesting, but for some they could have been more in-depth or more practical. Many participants ben- eited greatly from the Project Work, although some had the feeling it could have drawn even more on the actual experiences and approaches of the NGOs present. Results - Evaluation of Module 2 (Children’s Rights and Globalisation) In total, 25 out of 32 participants (78%) took part in the survey for Module 2. In this part of the course too, a great diversity of topics was discussed. In par- ticular, lectures and workshops addressed a multidisciplinary introduction to children’s rights as human rights (including a legal, social science and anthro- pological perspective), strategies and methodologies for implementation, crit- ical approaches to children’s rights, gender & cultural diversity, global pover- ty, migration and armed conlict. Additionally, participants joined a Children’s Rights Walk through Ghent. An optional session was offered on how to organise a children’s rights course. Picture: VIZIT Gent Participants were, as in Module 1, positive to very positive about the lectures, and in general, they were even slightly more positive (“I fully agree”) than about Module 1. The two lectures that scored best were the ones on “Transitional Justice”, “Between Universalism and Relativism”, “Roma children in Ghent” and the “Psycho-social perspective on children & armed conlict”. In general, the workshops of Module 2 were evaluated more critically than the lectures, ex- cept for the workshop on pedagogical perspectives. Participants indicated that they enjoyed the possibility to interact with lecturers. Once more, participants would have liked to have more time for this interaction, especially during the workshop sessions. Participants very much enjoyed the exchange with other participants during group exercises. 12 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Results - Overall course and organisation At the end of the course, participants’ general appreciation of the course was assessed, with questions on the overall course organisation, the course content & format, the assignments and the evaluation process itself. Here, a total of 37 out of 49 participants (76%) completed the survey. Survey-questions such as “The pro- gramme has improved my knowledge on human rights & development”, “The programme has raised my awareness of fundamental tensions in the area of human rights & development”, The programme has raised my critical en- gagement with human rights & develop- ment” were all evaluated positively to very positively. Participants feel very conident about recommending the programme to colleagues (for both modules) and consider the course to be of direct relevance for their work or research. Although participants were convinced about the added value of the individu- al paper assignment, participants would appreciate more time to prepare and write the paper assignment. They would also like to get even more individual and speciic feedback. Participants were challenged by the critical and theo- retical angle of the course. Finally, participants were highly positive about the opportunity provided to exchange and transfer knowledge within the group. Focus group discussion and inal evaluation In order to get a deeper understanding of participants’ views on the course, a focus group discussion was organised with a representative and highly di- verse group of participants. In order to create an environment in which participants would feel free to speak about the course, the focus group was held discretely in a separate room, right after the closing of the day. The moderator was an intern, working on the evaluation of the course, and no other representatives of the organisa- tional committee were present. In ad- dition, a inal evaluation session was held, in the beautiful surroundings of Ghent University's Culture and Con- gress Centre 'Het Pand'. Course report – 13 Suggestions for future editions Overall, participants were very positive about the daily organization. They all appreciated the work of the committee and the great atmosphere amongst par- ticipants, organizers and lecturers. The organizers very much welcome partic- ipants’ suggestions for improvement. The following issues will be addressed in next editions: • As most participants are not familiar with the ‘critical approach’ the course adopts, it would be helpful to explain the meaning and purpose of this perspective of challenging conventional ways of looking at human rights, children’s rights and development more explicitly in the beginning of the programme. This will allow participants to better understand what to ex- pect and to think through what this critical approach can mean in their own working environment. • The alternation between lectures, workshops, assignments and working methods was appreciated as an important component to ensure a bal- anced and coherent course programme. However, participants felt that more opportunities for networking and exchanging knowledge and ex- pertise among experts and participants should be offered. Suggestions to accommodate that concern could be, for example, to provide more time for the workshops, to include a group work, and to stimulate participation in the open fora to talk about relevant issues that take place in a speciic country (the course organisers could be supportive by providing a moder- ator, for example). 10. Outcomes and impact of the course Concrete course outcomes and impacts are dificult to assess. However, the experience from several course editions, as well as the positive results from the evaluation process, allow the following conclusions to be made. Sustainability In addition to what participants have personally learned and acquired in terms of knowledge, expertise and critical approaches, the course makes a major contribution to the establishment and elaboration of a network of profession- als. As a follow-up to the course, there will be an on-going sharing of informa- tion and cooperation between the different participants and their respective in- stitutions. In addition, numerous participants showed an interest in expanding their research and teaching in the area of human rights, children’s rights and development. Regional thematic training initiatives may be taken in the near future, thereby triggering the “multiplier effect” HR4DEV envisages. Partici- pants can accommodate the need for training to grassroots workers at a more practical level, as well as the need to fully take account of cultural diversity and local speciicity when offering training programmes. 14 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) In order to ensure a sustainable follow-up, the course organizers are willing to facilitate such initiatives by: • Sharing their organisational and managerial expertise (i.e. course budget- ing, course format etc.);2 • Sharing their materials (reader, background documents etc.); • Making their substantive expertise available to the extent possible (i.e. teaching at these training programmes); • Sharing their network of experts/presenters; • Setting up an alumni network and newsletter; • Actively supporting local organizers in fundraising. Course output In their individual assignment, participants explained what they experienced as the impact of the course on their professional work. A selection of these papers is presented in Part II of this comprehensive report. A hard copy will be distributed to sponsors, participants who published their paper, and members of the organising committee. Other participants receive a report in PDF, further reports can be printed on demand. The report is made available on the website of the course, www.hr4dev.be. All participants who completed the paper assignment and fulilled the attend- ance requirements, obtained a certiicate during the oficial closing ceremony at Het Pand. If participants so requested, they could also obtain an ECTS certif- icate (3 ECTS for one module, or 5 ECTS for the entire course). A manual on HRBA, focusing in particularly on the UNESCO domains of inter- est, prepared as a joint venture of the course organizers and UNESCO, was road-tested during this edition of HR4DEV. The manual will be inalized and complemented by UNESCO-speciic examples. In addition, the Routledge Inter- national Handbook of Children’s Rights Studies, to be published in early 2015, builds in part on the children’s rights module of this and previous course edi- tions. Finally, the Alumni Network and newsletter provides opportunities for future communication, friendship and involvement with course participants of dif- ferent editions from all over the world. An example of the Alumni-newsletter, published by the European Network of Masters in Children’s Rights (ENMCR) in Berlin and portraying a number of testimonies of HR4DEV participants, can be found in Annex 2. 2 Part of this has already been achieved in the course session on “How to set up a train- ing programme”, offered by the organizers. Course report – 15 11. Financial support The international appreciation of Flemish expertise on human rights, children’s rights and development is relected in the structured inancial support of the HR4DEV-programme by two institutions, the Flemish Interuniversity Council – University Development Cooperation (VLIR-UOS) and UNESCO. Through this co-inancing, the participation of, in total, 25 trainees and 4 international ex- perts was facilitated. VLIR-UOS funding made it possible to invite 12 experts from Belgium (9), Guatemala, Peru and the United States of America; and 12 participants from Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Peru, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Moreover, thanks to UNESCO scholarships, 12 trainees from yet other countries and regions participated in the course, more specif- ically from Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Indonesia, Jor- dan, Nepal, Palestine, Portugal, Rwanda and Tanzania; in addition the UNESCO partnership allowed for the organisation of a lecture by human rights specialist Konstantinos Tararas, who works in the Public Policies and Capacity-building Section at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Furthermore, funding from the doctoral school of Ghent allowed for the lectures of eight international experts, from Burkina Faso, Guatemala, India, Peru, Switzerland, South Africa, Ugan- da and the United Kingdom; and of 17 Flemish experts (including three panel members). Additionally, the course ben- eited from scholarships from the Doctoral Schools of Ant- werp, Brussels, Ghent and Leuven, allowing 12 more participants to join the pro- gramme. Some of them also presented their research in a workshop session. The Antwerp-based University Foundation for Development Cooperation provided scholar- ships to two participants from the Xavier Institute of Social Service (India). The complementary funding allowed for a geographically diverse and balanced group of participants and speakers. As a consequence, a truly intercultural per- spective was guaranteed throughout the course. Finally, roughly one-third of inancial resources was generated through regis- tration fees. These fees were in most instances covered by other institutions or employers, such as UNICEF, government, NGOs and universities. Finally, the Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre, Ghent University, University College Gh- 16 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) ent, the University of Antwerp, the Free University Brussels and the University of Leuven contributed in kind. Ghent University equally contributed considera- bly in kind by making their staff, premises and logistic support available. 12. Recurrent challenges Notwithstanding its overall success, the HR4DEV International Training Pro- gramme is faced with some recurrent challenges. Basic orientation As regards the basic orientation of the course, at times a tension can be no- ticed between the critical perspective advanced by the course conveners, and the more practical questions of implementation (and beyond) put forward by some participants. Even though new initiatives such as the open forum aimed to reduce this tension, it seems to remain inherent to the advanced level of the course. This leaves future editions with the recurrent challenge to balance profound theoretical perspectives by experts with an inductive approach and sharing by participants. Diversity of experts and participants It remains a challenge to identify speakers who have expertise in the wider human and children’s rights ield, while at the same time have the added value that they associate themselves with the critical approach of the course. In ad- dition, participants from North and Latin America seem more dificult to reach, the reason for this being mainly the Spanish language barrier. However, in this edition we have responded to this challenge by also including an extra session in Spanish. Financial stability To guarantee that the course can be organized on a regular basis, more struc- tural funding has been secured for the 2012-2016 period. The organizers seek an appropriate balance between maintaining the registration fee at a reasona- ble level as to not unduly limit the accessibility of the course on the one hand, and inancial sustainability on the other. It has become increasingly clear meanwhile that a month-long Advanced Sum- mer Course is not tenable in the longer run. First of all, the increasingly tight inancial framework for universities makes it more and more of a inancial challenge to run the course: more and more overhead is levied, support staff has been cut, a full costing system is being introduced. That means that we would have to secure more and more funding to pay support staff, which is highly unlikely to happen, since funders typically exclude these types of costs. For the academic staff involved, this is de facto an activity in which they in- vest free time and holiday time. This too is not tenable in the longer run, since the time investment throughout the year and during the Summer runs the risk of compromising research output in particular, which would be damaging for the careers of those involved. Thirdly, inter-university cooperation seems to be Course report – 17 more and more under strain. Taken together, it is clear that we want to continue to offer an advanced course in the future, building on our strengths, but one that is better aligned with the regular teaching programme. On the other hand, we also want to explore the possibility to organize again a really short course (two weeks maximum). 18 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  SELECTED PAPERS Children on the move: A critical approach to the humanitarian crisis at the Southern border of the United States Paola CYMENT 21 The struggle of a policy maker to consider children’s rights within a child protection system ChrisTEl DE CraiM 31 A critical approach to Human Rights and Child Rights in the context of working with NGOs in North India abhiNav alExaNDEr DUTT 37 Rights, Duties and Responsibilities: Is there a missing link in the Rights-based approach to Human Rights? arUshi GoEl 49 A Human Rights based approach to design and implementation of farm input subsidy programme (FISP) : the case of Malawi JErEMiah MPaso 56 Relections on Transitional Justice, Socio-economic Rights and Rights-Based Approach hUMa saEED 63 A Roadmap towards ending Female Genital Mutilation in Tanzania FraNsisCa silaYo 69 Selected papers – 19 The child-caretaker dynamic and the Senegalese Daara: An inclusive universality approach? KirsTEN vaN CaMP 75 Applying a HRBA towards development advocacy in the ‘north’: enhancing legitimacy or adding discourse? ThiJs vaN laEr 89 Human Rights Violations by Transnational Corporations in Developing Countries: Methodological Framework and the Realist Critique liEsEloT vErDoNCK 95 20 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Children on the move: A critical approach to the humanitarian crisis at the Southern border of the United States Paola Cyment “Forget it, nothing is going to stop Central American migrant children to try entering the United States” (María Lourdes Rosas Aguilar, lawyer at the Human Rights Centre Fray Matías de Córdoba, Tapachula, México) 1. Introduction “Nothing, no program or oficial strategy will stop child migration from Central America to the United States. This is not a matter of legislation or border con- trol. The causes that move children northward are deeper than that and, for a long time, there has been a weave spun that will be dificult to untie”. This is the analysis made by human rights lawyer María Lourdes Rosas Aguilar1 about the current humanitarian crisis related to migrant children moving from Central America to Mexico, and through Mexico to the United States. She has irst- hand knowledge of this situation because she is one of the pro-bono lawyers working at Fray Matías de Córdova Human Rights Center2, an organization that provides legal counseling to Central American migrant children detained or de- ported at the Southern border of Mexico, in the city of Tapachula. Although unaccompanied migrant children existed as part of migration lows in the Central American-Mexico-US route during the past decades, their situation has come into the limelight at the beginning of 2014 due to a spec- tacular upsurge in the igures of Central American migrant children that were 1 RIVERA, G. (2014, July 14), “Olvídenlo, nada dentendrá a los niños migrantes”, Emeeq- uis, No. 332, p. 38-45. Retrieved from: http://www.m-x.com.mx/2014-07-13/olviden- lo-nada-detendra-a-los-ninos-migrantes (Last entered on August 11th 2014). 2 Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Cordoba is a partner organization of the Migration and Asylum Program at the Human Rights Centre of the Universidad Nacional de Lanús. Both organizations have elaborated together the report “Niñez Detenida” and are currently collaborating in a regional interest litigation project sup- ported by CAMMINA and a regional report on child migrants supported by McArhtur Foundation. CERIANI CERNADAS, P. coord. (2012), Niñez Detenida: Los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes migrantes en la frontera México Guatemala. Diag- nóstico y propuestas para pasar del control migratorio a la protección integral de la niñez. Retrieved from: http://ninezmigrante.blogspot.com.ar/ (Last entered on August 19th 2014). Selected papers – 21 reaching the American borders in the thousands. According to oficial sources in the United States, the number of migrant children that try to cross the border to the U.S. has surged in the past ive years. This is so that during iscal year 2009, 6.000 “unaccompanied minors” were detained near the American border. By the end of iscal year 2014, National Homeland Security will have detained 74.000 “unaccompanied minors” according to current outlooks. 2. The situation of Central American migrant children detained at the US border being framed as a humanitarian crisis The hegemonic approach on this phenomenon has been to frame it as a hu- manitarian crisis. For example, last July, members of the CDH-UNLa Migration and Asylum program participated at a hearing held at the United States’ Con- gress that was held under the title “the Southern border humanitarian crisis”. According to the Congressional Progressive Caucus that promoted this ad hoc hearing, this event took place “in order to receive irst-hand testimony from unaccompanied minors and expert witnesses stressing the importance of prioritizing the best interest of these children”3. The press release follows: “The United States and the international community have long recognized the unique needs of children seeking asylum. As an extremely vulnerable population, un- accompanied migrant children need special care and protection”4. As this statement summarizes, the issue is being approached by the US and other governments in the region as a humanitarian issue, exclusively in relation to the situation of unaccompanied children (those children who ar- rive with their families are not taken into consideration). This might be a good short-term strategy as it puts more pressure on national authorities to act and it protects those children in the most vulnerable situation. However, the case of migrant children migrating from Central America to Mexico and the U.S. can be analyzed from a more critical perspective. In this paper I will analyze two issues that could contribute to bring a more in-depth and critical analysis to the phenomena of children in the context of migration and the so called “Southern border humanitarian crisis” in the United States. Firstly, from a top-down perspective, I will examine which could be the causes that are forcing these children to leave their homes and move northward, with or without their families. I will make use of human rights based approaches (HRBA) and, drawing from a more operational approach, I will use a situational analysis in order to assess the root causes of migration. Secondly, in order to better understand the dynamics of power and duty bearers from a HRBA, I will do a brief relection on extraterritorial obligations and shared responsibility of States in this context. Finally, from a bottom-up perspective, I will draw from Localizing Rights and Anthropological perspectives on human 3 Press release issued by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on July 28th 2014. 4 Bold is mine 22 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) rights and the rights of children in particular, in order to relect on how the general principle of the best interest of the child is being used in the cases of migrant children detained or deported at the southern border of Mexico. I consider that the including issues such as root causes of migration, extraterritorial obligations and shared responsibility, and a comprehensive in- terpretation of the best interest of the child, can contribute to a more critical analysis on the current scenario in the region in relation to the rights of children and adolescents in the context of migration. 2.1 Root causes of migration In order to understand what is underlying the upsurge of migrant children and adolescents arriving in masses to the U.S. border, one has to consider that the causes of this migration are, in general, no different from those driving millions of people to migrate in other regions: the absence of fundamental rights and basic opportunities in countries or regions of origin. HRBAs promote assessment and analysis in order to identify the human rights claims of rights-holders and the corresponding human rights obligations of duty-bearers as well as the immediate, underlying, and structural causes of the non-realization of rights5. In a HRBA to migration, we need a compre- hensive and coherent approach to migration, which means enforcing the rights of migrants, but also ighting the underlying causes of migration. Therefore, contribution of migrants to development cannot obscure what cause people to migrate. In this sense, root causes constitute one of the cornerstone topics that must be fully addressed in order to achieve effective, durable, and legitimate responses to challenges linked to international migration. Children and ado- lescents are among the main groups affected by such root causes, and accord- ingly, a comprehensive approach to migration requires adopting a child and gender perspective6. In order to understand de root causes of migration, we should be aware of the complexity and multidimensionality of this phenomenon. From a top-down or more global perspective, it is important to assess the impact of globalization and macroeconomic policies on migration and the enjoyment of human rights. Globalization has increased information and opportunities for migrants (especially the most qualiied), however, economic globalization has been accompanied by neoliberal policies that have increased inequalities and left masses of excluded whose rights are at stake. This has been the case of countries in what is known as the Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), where 5 UNDG (2003), The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation To- wards a Common Understanding Among UN Agencies. Retrieved from: http://www. undg.org/index.cfm?P=221#s2 6 ABRAMOVICH, V.; CERIANI CERNADAS, P. & MORLACHETTI, A. (2011) The rights of children, youth and women in the context of migration. Conceptual Basis and Princi- ples for Effective Policies with a Human Rights and Gender Based Approach; UNICEF Policy and Practice, New York, April 2011. Selected papers – 23 free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; 1994) and the more recent Central American Free Trade Agreement (2005), have created the conditions for the United States to become a magnet for cheap, exploitable, and illegal migrant labor. For those people bereft of land and livelihood in their homeland, migration is one of the last options for procur- ing a future. In this sense, Green unveils the intertwined relationship that exists between neoliberal economic policies and practices, state-sponsored violence, and international migration7. In the particular case of unaccompanied children and adolescents, some other relevant factors must be added, such as: family reuniication; the demand for cheap labor in informal and precarious sectors of the labor market; and family, social and institutional violence in countries of origin. In addition to the situation in countries of origin, increasingly restrictive immigration laws and policies, result in obstacles for family reuniication and the proliferation of irregular migration channels, generally in highly vulnerable conditions. Therefore, if we consider root causes of migration, the solution to this crisis needs to go further than granting refugee status to the (lucky) children escaping from a violent context, who manage to have legal aid as asylum seek- ers once they get to the United States. As Ackerman has stated, “there is an urgent need to stop the unjust extraction of work force from Latin Americans living in the United States without the Government or the employers becoming responsi- ble for their personal wellbeing and that of their families…Instead of demanding a comprehensive migration reform, the crisis is being resolved with increased border controls and the inhibition of migration flows”8. As Green concludes, from a root causes analysis, migration can be thought of as (1) a consequence of a complex set of global economic doctrines and geopolitical practices that produce both nobodies in the global South and low wage, dangerous, and non-union jobs in the United States; (2) a strategy of survival for millions of Central Americans and Mexicans who have few alter- natives for procuring a livelihood in their own country; and (3) a set of punitive laws and practices that have reconigured the US-Mexico border and beyond into a militarized zone—a space of death that punishes those people who are dispossessed and dislocated by US state-sponsored neoliberal policies and on- going repressive practices9. 2.2 Right to Development, extraterritorial obligations and shared responsibility In order to better understand the complex scenario and the root causes of the so called “child migration crisis”, it is also useful to refer to the concepts of the 7 GREEN, L. (2011), The nobodies: Neoliberalism, Violence and Migration, MEDICAL AN- THROPOLOGY, 30(4), Taylor & Francis Group, LLC: 367–369. 8 ACKERMAN, J. M. (2014, July 13th), Menores migrantes, Revista Proceso Nº 1967, Mexico. Retrieved from: http://es.scribd.com/doc/234412641/Revista-Proce- so-No-1967 (last access August 13th 2014). 9 GREEN, op. cit., pag. 367. 24 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) right to development and shared responsibility. The 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development places an emphasis on the global dimension of rights, pointing inequalities between North and South. It stresses the collective obli- gation of all states to create a just and equitable international environment for the realization of the right to development and it emphasizes a collective duty of all states to eliminate barriers such as unfair trade rules and the debt burden. The concept of “shared responsibility” has direct impact on the under- standing of the right to development. As Salomon states: “The gross inequality that characterizes world poverty today, the power differential that accompanies it, and the reality of global economic interdependence, serve to erode the legitimacy of this model that attributes secondary as opposed to shared responsibility to a developed state to fulfill the basic rights, for example, to food, water, and health of people elsewhere”10. External states also have the negative duty of do not harm. This is to say that governments have the duty to refrain from participating in an unjust inter- national system when that participation helps to produce or perpetuate worse conditions for the poor11. In this sense, Skogly comments that if states are to take their responsibility for the right to development seriously, they will need to pay attention to the human rights effects of their development cooperation, the effect of international trade rules and the effects of their behavior in intergov- ernmental institutions12. This argument is also valid for the case of international migration. The Global Commission for International Migration considered that the world’s most prosperous states needed to acknowledge the impact of their own policies on the dynamics of international migration – for instance, through trade re- form – to give developing countries fairer access to global markets (GCIM 2005). The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Pro- gram of Action and the 1999 Bangkok Declaration on Irregular Migration drew conceptual connections between migration and development and urged States which receive irregular migration to aid developing countries and countries with economies in transition to reduce irregular migration through programs which address poverty reduction, social development, and the achievement of sustained economic growth. However, in current global forums on migration and development, there is a “misuse” (in terms of HRBA) of the notion of shared responsibility. For ex- ample, during the session on the rights of migrants at the 2008 GFMD in Ma- nila, the concept of “shared responsibility” was invoked in the discussions on migration, human rights and development. However, in this case, the notion 10 SALOMON, M. E. (2008), Legal Cosmopolitanism and the Normative Contribution of the Right to Development, in MARKS, S. E. editor, Implementing the Right to Develop- ment: the role of International Law, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Geneva Ofice. 11 POGGE, T. (2002), World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms, Cambridge, Polity Press. 12 SKOGLY, S. (2002), The Human Rights Obligations of the World Bank and the Interna- tional Monetary Fund, London: Cavendish Publishing Limite . Selected papers – 25 of “shared responsibility” was used in order to make countries of origin more responsible of the rights of their nationals abroad, especially in the case of cir- cular migration of temporal migrant workers. Therefore, under the lenses of the right to development and shared re- sponsibility analysis, the current situation of migrant children should not be constrained to the humanitarian situation of those children that manage to ar- rive to the U.S. border, only to be detained and later deported. It should also put into question what is the responsibility of the U.S. in an unequal economic model that has left countries such as Honduras with a 42,7 percentage of un- employment (according to 2013 igures of the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas de Honduras) and with the broken down society suffering from the world’s high- est murder rate13. 2.3 Localizing rights: different interpretations of the Best Interest of the Child principle in the context of migration control The “humanitarian crisis” of Central American migrant children can also be analyzed from a bottom-up14 and more contextualized perspective. In this case, I chose to focus on a speciic issue that has been an obstacle for the fulillment of the human rights of children detained after going through the border be- tween Guatemala and Mexico, in the city of Tapachula, Chiapas. From August 2010 to December 2011, the Program of Migration and Asylum Studies of the Centre of Human Rights at Universidad Nacional de Lanús (CDH-UNLa) together with the Human Rights Centre Fray Matías de Córdova, conducted a research to examine the status of the human rights of migrant children and adolescents at the border between Mexico and Guatemala. More speciically, the study observed the impact of Mexico’s main migration control mechanisms on migrant children and adolescents’ rights: detention (asegu- ramiento, alojamiento or presentación) and repatriation (devolución or retor- no) to their country of origin. The purpose of this project was to analyze the progress, shortcomings, and remaining challenges for migrant children and adolescents’ rights in the context of detention and repatriation measures in the southern border of Mexico. Although the recent reform on the Mexican migration law explicitly rec- ognizes the principle of the Best Interest of the Child (art. 74), in the case of Tapachula, there was a difference in understanding among different actors in relation to the legal implications of this notion. The conception, in Donelly’s terms15, of the Best Interest of the Child changed completely from the human rights defenders point of view and from the migration authorities point of view. 13 UN Ofice of Crime and Drug, 2013 Global Study on Homicide. Retrieved from: http:// www.unodc.org/gsh/ ( last entered on August 13th 2014 ). 14 I use the bottom-up concept as it is described in Geraldine André’s chapter “Anthro- pologists, Ethnographers and Children’s Rights. Critiques, Resistance and Power”, in the sense that bottom-up approaches aim at understanding rights as they are experi- enced by children, in particular in non-Western societies. 15 DONNELLY, J. (2013). Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell Univer- sity Press. 26 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  Misunderstanding on the content and implications of children’s rights lead to the prohibition of the authorities to the human rights lawyers to visit mi- grant children detained at the migration center in order to conduct interviews for the research study. One of the indings of the study “Niñez Detenida” was that the Mexican migration authorities did not considered children and adolescents endowed with capacity for decision-making and discernment. Mexican migration author- ities insisted that, because the interviews were to be conducted with unaccom- panied children, express authorization from the consular representative was required in each case because they considered consuls as legal representatives or guardians of unaccompanied children. In response to this interpretation, CDH-UNLa and CDH-Fray Matías presented many arguments countering the interpretation of Mexican migration authorities regarding the human rights of detained migrant children. Human rights lawyers argued in favor of the recognition of the principle of progres- sive autonomy and considered that consuls should provide consular assistance. They also emphasized the right of these children and adolescents to have a guardian and to legal assistance, as well as the obligation of Mexican au- thorities to guarantee these rights. Nevertheless, migration authorities stressed the “natural and legal in- capacity” of children younger than 18 years of age to express their opinions— citing the Mexican Civil Code. Another argument used by migration authorities was the necessity of avoiding the re-victimization of migrant children and ado- lescents placed in a vulnerable situation as “unaccompanied child migrants”. In this particular case, we can see how different paradigms of the child and the rights of the child lie behind the interpretations of different “users”16 of children rights: migration authorities have a protectionist, even paternalist, paradigm, whilst human rights lawyers have an emancipation approach17. In this sense, from a critical approach on children’s rights, there are limitations regarding how general principles such as the Best Interest of the Child can be interpreted in completely opposite ways depending on the actors (in this case, Mexican migration authorities and human rights lawyers). In this case, as Sijniensky18 alerts, these could lead to misinterpretation of the guiding principles for the adoption of special protection measures, some of which can impact negatively on the full enjoyment and exercise of their rights rather than the effective protection of the group. 16 I use the term “HRs users” inspired by Ellen Desmet’s presentation at the Panel Dis- cussion: Cornerstones of a critical approach, on August 15th. 17 I take these deinitions from Hanson’s categories of schools of thought in children’s rights. HANSON, K.: “Schools of thought in children’s rights” in HANSON, K., & NIEU- WENHUYS, O. (2012). Living rights, social justice, translations. Reconceptualizing Children's Rights in International Development: Living Rights, Social Justice, Transla- tions, p. 73. 18 SIJNIENSKY, R. (2013), “From the non-discrimination clause to the concept of vul- nerability in the international human rights law” in The Realization of Human Rights: When Theory Meats Practice, Intersentia, p. 268. Selected papers – 27  Lastly, there is a inal point to be taken care of when discussing the rights of migrant children. How to access the point of view of the children under circumstances such as those presented in this study? Therefore, it should be taken into account that children can face very dificult situations where power relations at play do not let them exercise their autonomy and freely express their opinions. As an example of this situation, the study found that many chil- dren and adolescents “voluntarily” consent to their repatriation and sign an or- der. However, the study holds that this does not detract from its compulsory character as a measure adopted in the context detention without guarantees or alternatives to being sent back to the country of origin. 3. Conclusion After almost four weeks of intense debate and relection among lecturers and peers coming from different disciplines and world regions, this paper intended to beneit from these rich exchanges and relect on a “hot” issue for my work at the Program on Migration and Asylum studies at CDH-UNLa. Although writing about the situation of migrant children detained and/or deported from the Unit- ed States was in my mind before starting the course, I consider that my analysis capacity gained from new methodological and conceptual notions introduced by HR4DEV course. In relation to methodology, for this paper I decided to use both top-down and bottom up approaches to have a more comprehensive analysis of the issue. Starting from a top-down perspective, using an HRBA helped me to go further and question the labeling of the current situation of migrant children as a “hu- manitarian crisis” and to have a deeper understanding of structural causes of migration and prevailing violence coming from an unequal development model based on neoliberal global capitalism. Also, from a top-down analysis, I introduced the notion of extraterritorial obligations and shared responsibility that should be taken into account in order to design and implement effective policies for comprehensively protecting chil- dren in the context of migration. For this speciic situation of migrant children in the Central America-Mexico-U.S corridor, not only there is a need of political, legal, and practical measures that should be taken by every country involved— whether origin, transit, or destination. It also requires formulating regional comprehensive responses and the adoption of adequate international mecha- nisms directed to guaranteeing the rights of migrant children and adolescents. This top down approach (which is the one I am used to apply coming from a political science and international relations background, and working at a human rights centre mostly with lawyers) was complemented by a bottom-up approach in order to identify divergent interpretations of different human rights users that can lead to misinterpretations or conlicting interpretations of guid- ing principles emanated from the Convention of the Rights of Children. It also has helped to relect upon the (limited) capacity for agency of children in certain situations where migration control agendas prevail over the respect and imple- mentation of child rights. I am sure that this bottom-up context speciic approach will enrich the research methods we are currently using at CDH-UNLa. In this sense, once 28 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) I’m back in Buenos Aires I will suggest to include some of the following topics/ research questions: • What are the possible translations19 in “HRs users language” that can help to promote/fullil best interest of the child and due process? • How can conlictive interpretations or misinterpretations of the principle of the best interest of the child obstruct effective protection of children in the context of migration? • What are the priorities of these children: is it to go back to their home country via deportation/repatriation; to persist in their migration journey to the U.S. or to stay living and working informally in the city of Tapachula? Which rights will these children claim upon these options aforementioned? I am also sure that the work of CDH-UNLa and that of our local partners in Mex- ico and Central America will also proit from these sorts of questions that de- rive from a bottom-up and localizing human rights approach. Such relections can promote to construct an alternative discourse to the oficial one, which is based on conditioning inancial and military help to countries of origin by im- posing extraterritorial migration controls, focusing on child traficking in order to control population and migration lows, and targeting the duties of the par- ents in relation to unaccompanied child migrants. Acknowledgments I want to express my gratitude to the organizing committee of HR4DEV for pro- posing me to the UNESCO scholarship and especially to Kathy, Sara, Jakub and Heleen for taking care of every detail and making us having a wonderful stay in Gent. References ABRAMOVICH, V.; CERIANI CERNADAS, P. & MORLACHETTI, A. (2011) The rights of children, youth and women in the context of migration. Con- ceptual Basis and Principles for Effective Policies with a Human Rights and Gender Based Approach; UNICEF Policy and Practice, New York, April 2011. ACKERMAN, J. M. ( 2014, July 13th ), Menores migrantes, Revista Proceso Nº 1967, Mexico. Retrieved from: http://es.scribd.com/doc/234412641/Re- vista-Proceso-No-1967 (last access August 13th 2014). 19 I use the notion of translation as it is presented at HANSON, K., & NIEUWENHUYS, O., op.cit, pag. 16. Selected papers – 29 ANDRE, G. (2015), Anthropologists, Ethnographers and Children’s Rights. Cri- tiques, Resistances and Power, in: Vandenhole, W., Desmet, E., Rey- naert, D. & Lembrechts, S. Routledge International Handbook of Children’s Rights Studies, London: Routledge (in press) CERIANI CERNADAS, P. coord. ( 2012 ), Niñez Detenida: Los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes migrantes en la frontera México Guatemala. Diagnóstico y propuestas para pasar del control migratorio a la protec- ción integral de la niñez. Retrieved from: http://ninezmigrante.blogspot. com.ar/ ( Last entered on August 19th 2014 ). DONNELLY, J. (2013). Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press. GREEN, L. (2011), The nobodies: Neoliberalism, Violence and Migration, MEDI- CAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 30(4), Taylor & Francis Group. HANSON, K., & NIEUWENHUYS, O. ( 2012 ). Living rights, social justice, trans- lations. Reconceptualizing Children’s Rights in International Develop- ment: Living Rights, Social Justice, Translations, Cambridge University Press. POGGE, T. (2002), World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibil- ities and Reforms, Cambridge, Polity Press. RIVERA, G. ( 2014, July 14 ), “Olvídenlo, nada dentendrá a los niños migrantes”, Emeequis, No. 332, p. 38-45. Retrieved from: http://www.m-x.com. mx/2014-07-13/olvidenlo-nada-detendra-a-los-ninos-migrantes ( Last entered on August 11th 2014 ). SALOMON, M. E. (2008), Legal Cosmopolitanism and the Normative Contribu- tion of the Right to Development, in MARKS, S. E. editor, Implement- ing the Right to Development: the role of International Law, Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung, Geneva Ofice. UNDG (2003), The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Coopera- tion Towards a Common Understanding Among UN Agencies. Retrieved from: http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=221#s2 SIJNIENSKY, R. (2013), “From the non-discrimination clause to the concept of vulnerability in the international human rights law” in The Realization of Human Rights: When Theory Meats Practice, Intersentia SKOGLY, S. (2002), The Human Rights Obligations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, London: Cavendish Publishing Limited. UNDG (2003), The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Coopera- tion Towards a Common Understanding Among UN Agencies. Retrieved from: http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=221#s2 (Last entered on Au- gust 19th 2014). UN Ofice of Crime and Drug (2013), Global Study on Homicide. Retrieved from: http://www.unodc.org/gsh/ (last entered on August 13th 2014). 30 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) The struggle of a policy maker to consider children’s rights within a child protection system De Craim Christel Policymakers need to consider children’s rights in the fight against climate change. Children’s rights should be considered in the fight against climate change, a new report from UNICEF has argued. Despite being the most vulnerable and largest population affected by climate change, “children continue to be ignored in high-lev- el climate negotiations”, the organization says.1 Climate change is not the only issue in which policymakers should (legally, morally,…) consider children’s rights more. The sentence “policymakers need to consider children’s rights in” can be finished with a long list of topics from climate change to the right to play. 1. Introduction This paper attempts to have a critical view on the way a policymaker working in a child protection system within the Belgian justice department worked so far. Taking into account the critical views coming forward during the lecturers in the international training programme on human rights for development with a focus on children’s rights, much can be said. Take into consideration that the view of one policymaker however may not be generalized and that all policy- makers working in such a structure do not necessarily feel the same about the raised issues. Nevertheless it is the author’s hope that the critical view of today will help to change the work of tomorrow. 2. What’s a policymaker? A policymaker or a policy oficer is a person who is responsible for the devel- opment of policies and procedures, for reviewing and updating existing pol- icies and making sure that policies and procedures are put into practice. In my particular situation, this means giving advice during parliamentary work, examining and developing strategies to tackle all sorts of problems concerning children as victims of crimes especially children victim of maltreatment (ne- glect, abuse, exploitation, bullying, ..) and making sure that these approaches are put into practice. 1 http://blueandgreentomorrow.com/2013/09/23/unicef-climate-change-a-major- threat-for-children-across-the-world/. Selected papers – 31 3. Framework International, national and regional legislative documents concerning human and children rights in general and in particular are shaping the work ield. Youth protection law, criminal law, civil law etc. are also taken in account. It’s not only about children’s rights. NGOs or child movement groups, par- ticularly concerning children victims of child abuse tend to forget sometimes that perpetrators have rights as well. Putting children’s rights irst doesn’t equal violating the rights of other human beings merely because they commit- ted a crime against a child. It’s important to ind a balance between the rights of another human being and the rights of a child. As a policy oficer working in child protection people expect that I always have to follow in their views. The message that certain claims are not feasible isn’t obvious for some of them and can create conlict and even put an end to a discussion. The three step model concerning conlicting rights explained by Brems can be a useful method to overcome this problem. But in the end it is all about the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC used as a dogma, an indisputable framework. I must confess that I as well saw it as “my bible”. As a policymaker I should have been aware of the fact that even the CRC is like any other Convention or normative framework a compromise. As Hanson says: They are an imperfect compromise negotiated at a certain moment in time and in specific contexts by individuals representing differ- ent local and organizational interests and possessing different kinds of knowledge, skills and power. (Hanson and Nieuwenhuys, 2013) Having been a member of the drafting group of the Convention of Lan- zarote (2007),2 I was such an individual that by negotiating tried to push for- ward some ideas. Because I lived through it I’m conscious that the Convention of Lanzarote is a compromise, so why didn’t I question the CRC? One of the answers is that I read the CRC several times textually, but until now was not being taught in it, not to mention that I heard a critical sound on it. This says something regarding my master degree in criminology3, our global educational system, the insights on training in my ield of work and last but not least my professional network. I was too busy trying to be in line with the CRC, trying to understand to implement the CRC and defending it, that I did not question what I, as well as others, certainly see as one of the fundamental bases in my work. On the other hand, I thought that I was critical because I don’t have a blind believe in law and I do contest some claims made by NGOs or by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Take for example the legal ban on corporal punish- ment. Belgium has a constitutional provision on children’s rights that states “each child is entitled to have its moral, physical, mental and sexual integrity protected”4. If Belgian people would live up to this principle, they wouldn’t use 2 Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. 3 I hold my master degree since 1994, maybe that’s an explanation why during the courses to get it, the CRC hasn’t been put on the agenda. On the other hand, we had a lot of courses concerning youth crime and how to tackle it. Still, we didn’t receive much information regarding children’s rights. 4 Article 22 bis Belgian Constitutional law. 32 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) violence in the upbringing of their children. The Committee on the Rights of the Child notes that constitutionalising children’s rights, like broader measures of implementation does not automatically ensure respect for the rights of chil- dren5. But nevertheless a legal ban seems to be the solution against corporal punishment. So should we argue about another law or a change in mentality through ongoing campaigns and awareness raising? Or do we need both? I feel the constant pressure to have a legal ban, but I hear little about the need for campaigns to prevent the spanking of children. It’s a critical view, but only on the implementation of children’s rights. Blind belief in law seems a very strong belief when it’s about child pro- tection through criminal law. The Flemish Forum on Child Maltreatment6 re- viewed i.a. all the recommendations proposed by the special parliamentary commission on the treatment of sexual abuse and facts of paedophilia within the Church, and in particular within a relationship based on mutual trust. A lot of these recommendations that directly or indirectly have the aim to protect children are already converted into law. The review of the Flemish Forum on Child Maltreatment clariied that the government failed in the implementation of these laws. A good example is the law concerning the temporary removal of the suspected person of domestic violence out of his home7. Prosecutors are reluctant to do so, irst of all because there’s no safety net for these “men” and secondly because they estimate the risk of revenge towards the child too high when the suspected person returns home. But it seems now that the issue regarding the implementation is not the only problem. It’s from an adult per- spective that we were favouring this solution. Did we ask the children? Did we assess the impact on the life of the child? Did we examine the proposal from another perspective (psychological, pedagogical, cultural...) than the legal one? Was it the result of a bottom up approach? The answer to all of these questions is a negative one. Now I must admit that when it’s about the CRC, blind faith rules. That the CRC is not questioned within a policy body raises many questions. Is the explanation of this situated in the fact that the work ield is the justice depart- ment (the law is the law) or has it got to do with the way we look at children and the childhood image we have? It is not a big surprise that children from a (Western) child protection angle are seen as priceless in terms of their psy- chological worth (James and Prout 1997) and that they deserve a safe, happy and protected childhood. Vulnerable children whom they considered passive victims and mere objects of intervention, emphasizing the need to offer chil- dren protection against all sorts of dangers as well as to offer them welfare provisions arranged for by well-intentioned adults (Hanson 2012). To protect them we tackle issues as (the risk to) child maltreatment in an integrated and comprehensive top down manner and this in a welfarist thought in children’s 5 Report on the protection of children’s rights: international standards and domestic constitutions adopted by the Venice Commission at its 98 th plenary Session (Venice, 21-21 March 2014),p.6. 6 Cooperation agreement on the establishment of a Flemish Forum regarding child abuse, January the 19 2011. 7 Law of 15 may 2012 concerning the temporary restraining order in the matter of do- mestic violence, BS irst October 2012. Selected papers – 33 rights. If this is the vision of the child and the image on childhood, then it makes sense that the rights of those same children set out in a UN document are not or very little being questioned. 4. Guidance in a Child Rights Based Policy Making Process Policy making is a cyclical process. It begins in the agenda setting stage with recognition and deinition of a signiicant problem whereupon the government may formulate, adopt, and implement a strategy for addressing the problem. Afterwards, an evaluation by the government about the proposed solution and implementation is possible and can lead to revisions. The public, social move- ments, NGOs try to inluence the agenda setting and the government to take action. It’s good to keep in perspective that NGOs are enterprises, “social” ones, but nevertheless business. As Kristen Cheneys says (reference is missing): The problem of implementation of the CRC hence does not lie in children’s lack of morality and agency, but in how adults abuse their power to ignore issues of social justice and use children’s rights for their own self-interest. It’s often all about adults claiming rights for children. Davey, Burke and Shaw (2010) concluded in their report concerning children’s participation in de- cision making that in their sample, children were generally dissatisied with their level of input into decision making processes in school, in the home and in relation to the area where they lived. We can assume that this will not differ from the manner children look at their role in the decision making process on a federal level. Although the minister, the department or myself are contacted by indi- viduals and all kinds of organizations, I was never contacted by a child. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a manual that makes clear to the policymaker how a child rights based policy making process can be elaborated? The independent ad- vocacy in child protection - Guidance for policymakers from The Association of Independent LSCB Chairs, (i.e. the national membership organization for In- dependent Chairs of Local Safeguarding Children Boards), can be useful. They advise i.a. the following steps. 4.1 Involve Children and Young People from the start : Involving children and young people from the start and seeking the view of chil- dren is highly recommended. But we struggle with the participation rights of children. Protection is given preference to participation. How can I as a policy- maker working in child protection realize this goal? Even if I believe that children have views and perspectives of their own, as a policymaker I’m reluctant to talk with children victim of abuse and child maltreatment because irst of all I do not know how and secondly I feel embar- rassed to do so. On the other hand, it seems perfectly normal that Belgian law oblige victims of sexual abuse to be interviewed audio visually by the police in order to get their testimony. The audio visual interview itself is seen as a child friendly measure to protect children from further questioning, still children at that moment, even small children, are invited to talk about the abuse they ex- 34 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) perienced. This is seen as normal. When a policymaker want afterwards talk to the same child to get his or her opinion on how he or she was treated by the police or the justice department suddenly this is seen as dificult to realize. Of course children rights organizations can step in and give on, an intermedi- ate way, an idea about what children are thinking or saying. Then again other issues will come up, like is this a generalized vision or a marginalized vision? How big is the problem they bring up and so on? 4.2 Measure the impact: Measure the impact of decisions on children’s lives. What will change for the child? Child impact assessments are a tool for looking at decisions, practice, policy or legislation and identifying and measuring their effect on children and young people. They permit impacts to be predicted, monitored and, if neces- sary, avoided or mitigated. When undertaken by the decision or policymaker, child impact assessments serve to raise awareness of children’s interests and ensure they are factored into policy development at the earliest possible stage (Paton and Munro 2006). Child impact assessments, in one form or another, have been intro- duced in several jurisdictions in recent years. A Child and Youth Impact Report (JoKeR) is an ex ante impact assessment carried out by the Flemish adminis- tration with respect to draft decrees that have a direct impact on the interest of persons under the age of 25. The Flemish administration is obliged to do so. The Belgian federal administration hasn’t got any obligations in that way. 4.3 Accessibility of children and young people to information: Ensure that children and young people know about decisions that are made and that can have a great inluence on their live. Child friendly information making available is not a common way of communicating by the justice department. The guidance for policymakers is nice but in fact there is nothing in it that we didn’t already know. The problem is we are not acting in the way we should. There are all sorts of reasons to give: a lack of time (politicians want new poli- cies fast), a lack of budget, not common to do so, other objectives…. Conclusion All the dificulties mentioned can paralyze us. There are so many issues and so many contextual factors that must be taken into account that it looks al- most impossible to continue functioning. However, understanding in which play you’re playing and be critical about it, can work as a catalyst whereby new ideas and strategies can emerge. Time has come to leave the well-trodden paths. Eventually just by long-lasting critical attitude it should be possible to translate the critics and to reconstruct the rights of children. After writing and looking on yourself and the way you’re doing your job in a self-critical way, policy making will, for sure, not be the same anymore. Selected papers – 35 References Brems, E. (2013) Inclusive universality and the child-caretaker dynamic. In Hanson K and Nieuwenhuys O, (eds) Reconceptualizing children’s rights in international development : living rights, social justice, translations. p.199- 224 Davey, C.; Burke, T. and Shaw, C. (2010) Children’s participation in decision making. A children’s Views Report, London, NCB. Desmet, E.; Op de Beeck, H.; and Vandenhole, W. (2013) Het kind- en jongeren- effectrapport (JoKER) in de weegschaal, Tijdschrift voor Jeugd en Kinder- rechten, 14(1), p.6-22. Hanson, K. (2012) Schools of thought in children’s rights. In M. Liebel, Children’s Rights from Below. Cross-cultural Perspectives (pp. 63-79). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Hanson, K. and Nieuwenhuys, O. (eds) (2013) Reconceptualizing Children’s Rights in International Development: Living rights, Social Justice, Translations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Malone, C. (2014) Policymakers needs to consider children’s rights in climate change ight. Last accessed on 21 November 2014 from http://bluean- dgreentomorrow.com/2014/07/31/policymakers-needs-to-consider- childrens-rights-in-climate-change-ight/. James, A. and Prout, A. (Eds.) (1997) Constructing and Reconstructing Child- hood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood. London: Falmer Press. LSCB chairs (2013) Independent Advocacy in Child Protection - Guidance for Policy Makers, London. Paton, L. and Munro, G. (2006) Children’s Rights impact assessment: The SC- CYP model. Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People. Edinburgh. 36 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) A critical approach to Human Rights and Child Rights in the context of working with NGOs in North India Abhinav Alexander Dutt 1. Introduction 1.1 My Professional experience The world is experiencing rapid and unprecedented changes in social, political and economic spheres. Along with this, the equation between the people and their governments is witnessing transformation due to the increased demands for democratisation, transparency and wellbeing of one and all. This refocused the importance of human rights and development in almost all the countries. Throughout my professional work in the development sector, human rights, and particularly in the ield of holistic child rights, I frequently consulted the international charters and conventions on various sets of rights. During the course of my work I often pondered on the discourses taking place on Human Rights (HR) and Child Rights (CR); I also wondered over the level of useful- ness of the rights paradigm in empowering people and children. While working with the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) unit, questioning the utility of the noble ideas professed in the documents of UN’s HR and CR, has been a regular process. I had often faced dilemma and confusion with respect to linking the rights’ documents with the actual practice, and with the felt need of the people. In this respect, ‘Human Rights for Development - 2014’ served as an important means to enhance my understanding by exploring solutions, and engaging in reasoning on the international rights and the rights based approach to develop- ment of masses and countries. 1.2 Background of my Professional Work In order to further clarify my ‘professional work’ in brief - I have 11 years of pro- gressive professional work experience with development sector in India, where I had worked with implementing and donor NGOs, and consortium of voluntary organizations. During this period I focused, along with other issues, on the following thematic issues - holistic child rights, rural community development, women rights, girl child protection and rights of historically marginalised com- munities (‘dalits’ and tribal). The functional aspects of my professional work are – participatory programme planning, grant making, monitoring and evaluation, participatory research, and advocacy. At present, I am working on the above mentioned issues as a freelance consultant with various implementing NGOs and different local advocacy groups, in northern part of India. As evident from the aforesaid information, much of my work involves working on Rights Based Approach, and on the broader thematic of holistic child rights. However, while Selected papers – 37 working on M&E aspects, on some instances, I had also worked on programmes and projects that can be categorised as service delivery and relief activities. Owing to the complexities involved in working in a diverse and multicul- tural setting of India, and due to different levels of Rights Based Approaches existing, it is pertinent to elucidate the approach that I work with – it entails that the government has full responsibility towards its citizens especially for education, health, ensuring livelihood for poor, poverty reduction, welfare of the needy, safety and security of the people, and also of their property and posses- sion. Furthermore, the government has the primary role in ensuring grievance redressal and in establishing justice. The government also has a leading role in ensuring quality of life for all its subjects1. Now it is important to explain the concept of Holistic Child Rights which is an important part of my work – this in- cludes the four set of child rights that the CRC propagates i.e. right to survival, development, protection and participation. This concept also includes that the analysis of children’s need is to be done in the local psycho-social and geo-po- litical context, which takes into account the situation and needs of the family (or absence of family) of the child, and also the society where the family lives or comes from. This means that the child is not seen in isolation but is rather seen as part of the family and the larger society. Another signiicant factor is the recognition of the responsibility of the ‘adult world’2 towards children and CR. The three main objectives of my participation in this training were: • To acquaint myself with contemporary Human Rights and Child Rights de- bates, theories, and the related evolving paradigms across the world. • To sharpen my analytical abilities, develop a critical lens, and acquire new knowledge and skills on human rights and child rights issues that I am currently working upon or may work upon in future. • To be a part of a multi-culture and effectively functional - international learning and sharing platform on child rights, for continued knowledge building. 2. Assessment 2. 1 Design of the Paper This paper begins with my professional background and then presents my main objectives or purpose of participating in this international training programme. Subsequently, this paper presents the learning derived on selected pertinent topics that will directly enhance or has the potential to enhance the level of contribution that I can make while working with human rights issues in gen- 1 It is presumed that democratic values are enshrined in the Indian context which is world’s largest functional democracy, and is striving towards an effective and repre- sentative local-self governance system (with varied levels of success and gaps), that is, through the Panchayati Raj System. 2 The term ‘adult world’ entails – parents, other adults, social and governance institu- tions where the primary decision makers are adults. 38 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) eral, and child rights in particular. Due to time constraint I have selected only two broader and comprehensive aspects for discussion, in this paper, which are – i). Development, Gender and Girl Child Protection, and, ii). The Schools of thoughts in Child Rights and Self-actualization. Even though, the content of these two thematic aspects are derived in a heuristic form - from amongst multiple sessions and group interactions that the training encompassed, the content discussed here also has solid grounding with certain speciic sessions of the training. The irst topic will deal more with the prominent theories and the learning drawn from these theories for both, programmatic and advocacy work; the second topic will cover immediate application of the learning in the form of approach and framework that shall also serve as a tool on CR. Finally, this paper will present its conclusion in an evaluative form by assessing the achievements on my three objectives for this training. 2.2 Development, Gender3 and Girl Child Protection The session on ‘Critical Approaches: gender and development’ and its fol- low-up exercise were instrumental in refreshing the theoretical perspectives on gender and development. The session also encouraged me to relect upon how development workers (including me), and the other stakeholders, take decisions and act in their personal and professional capacity, under the given social realities. ‘Gender’ is a very crucial subject in my country India, which is passing through a very critical juncture – on one hand there are continued con- certed efforts on empowering women, and on the other hand there are severe concerns on safety and security of females. In my work on holistic child rights and rural community development the gender I considered as a cutting across issue in all the development interventions and advocacy efforts. This session of the training reinforced the necessity of applying the gender lens in deining the - problems, prioritising the needs, stages of intervention and in assessing the impact of the work. During the course of the session and the priority readings I got the chance to relect upon my work under the competing feminist devel- opment frameworks – women in development (WID), woman and development (WAD), and gender and development (GAD), and the journey of establishment of GAD over its predecessors (TCOL, 1996). The WID notions include the assumption that the process of modernisa- tion in the society would automatically lead to gender equality, and the model of development that had worked in the developed countries will naturally it into the needs of the entire developing world (TCOL, 1996, P: 49-51). When I contemplate the impact of such a development approach on women in the remote parts of India, from a starting point of early 1990s, I have to agree with the critiques of the WID approach that complete reliance on the use of tech- nology for development of women had, on the contrary, led to further isolation of women, as the men got advantage over women due to their already existing lead in terms of - mobility, education, social status and physical strength, which are the essential perquisite to learn and utilise technology. Thus, it was the 3 This paper covers – feminist approaches, feminism, women rights, women empower- ment in relation with the society, under the term ‘gender’. Selected papers – 39 men who reaped the beneits of such a development process as they got more opportunities to take the jobs/tasks, and also the comparatively better reward- ing jobs, while the women lagged behind. However, I would still argue that the chronic invisibility of the women workforce in the remunerative ‘skilled work’ got reduced to some extent, but even then, the systemic neglect of the domestic work done by the women got further institutionalised. In a similar vein I am left with a question that despite the adoption of newer frameworks like WAD and GAD, what difference has it brought in the quality of life of the women? The WAD framework not only lead to creation of ‘women only’ move- ment by attempting to create alternative social institutions, it also highlighted the possibility of a dominant role for women by citing examples in agriculture sector from Africa (TCOL, 1996, P: 52,53). This resonates with the situation of my work area where the tribal (indigenous) women are the economic engines of the families, Mitra, (2006, P:2) also conirms this. The WAD was criticised, amongst other grounds, on the point of lack of integration as it focused on – women led organizations only. However, to exemplify the signiicance of WAD I am compelled to refer to a major success story of a women’s organization - Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) which started in 1972 in India, with the motive of uniting the women force and to support women who are involved or are willing to engage in self-employment, and entrepreneurship. This or- ganization also works on the social development aspects like health, literacy, empowerment and improved housing for women (SEWA, 2006). Examining the development work that I had observed in the ield, the WAD framework has worked in some more cases4 because it had not only strengthened the agency of woman, it had also successfully united women. The GAD framework is also called the empowerment approach, which calls for a synthesis of materialist political economy with the radical feminist concern on ills of patriarchy (TCOL, 1996, P:54, 56). In my understanding GAD attempts to take into account the empowerment of women in the realms of so- cial and economic front. The GAD approach also takes into account the internal differences amongst women, and it also recognises that degree of oppression is different according to the race, class, colonial history, culture, [caste], and the international economic order of the society, in which the women live (TCOL, 1996). Relating this approach with my work experience, I am of the opinion that the consideration of the differences among women makes much needed room for contextualization of the development approach and actions, which is necessary for political empowerment in the diverse setting of South Asia. This approach is currently being practiced in the anti-domestic-violence movement in India which calls for preferential treatment for females in education, jobs and access to credit; and in the local-self-governance system which has positive discrimination for women in the form of reservation up to 51%. (There are fur- ther categorization in this 51% segment for women from different caste, tribe, 4 Many of the Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and the Thrift & Credit Groups have not only brought economic beneits for the women, they have also led to social and po- litical empowerment of women, this observation is consistent with the indings of the study conducted by SIDBI (2008, P:12,27-31). 40 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) religious minority which are based on the local demography). It is important to mention that women candidates can contest from unreserved seats as well. Based on the recent ield realities I consider this as a positive and forward mov- ing achievement which will not only aid the political empowerment of women but also their social and economic empowerment. Having examined WID, WAD and GAD, and relating them with the ield experiences with respect to women empowerment, I will now assess their appli- cation in relation with holistic child rights; I will also draw from the other school of thoughts in feminism discussed in TCOL (1996, P:99-111). Based on the class- room sharing and the priority readings I question the absence of attention on girl child in the development discourse in WID, WAD and GAD. Except in the Liberal Feminists school of thoughts, there is almost no attention given to the problems faced by the girl child, GAD too, looks at girls in the form of future women (TCOL, 1996, P: 101, 123). Thus, as a development worker and child rights activist I feel that the rights of the girl child are conined to the realms of HR fraternity only. This clearly suggests that the girl child is not in the top priorities of the develop- ment approaches which are meant to advocate the causes of women. The resultant effect of the aforementioned arguments and critiques can be observed in the form of the absence of a stronger voice from the women’s platforms on the pertinent problem of depleting ‘child sex-ratio’ in India. The Indian Census 2001, reveals that the sex-ratio that is in the 0 to 6 years age group of the population has been continuously declining form - 962 in 1981; 945 in 1991; 927 in 2001; and abysmal 914 in 2011 (RG&CC, 2011; and TOI, 2011). Such sharp and continuous decline is alarming. Though this does not have im- mediate direct affect on the society but it will deinitely create a huge appalling menace in the coming years. Such a skewed imbalance in the sex-ratio would create problems not only for the country as a whole, but it would also have drastic consequences on the status of women and on the strength of women’s movements. In my work on addressing the problem of female infanticide in the state of Rajasthan, and female feticide in the state of Uttarakhand, I found that often these horrendous acts are carried out with different degrees of consent of the mothers and the other female members of family. Sen (2005, P-239, 250) had placed similar arguments when he highlighted that such decisions are often taken by the mother herself. He further questions the extent of improve- ment that can be brought about by traditional measures like ‘mere schooling and outside employment’, and he argues in favour of more radical departure from the aforesaid traditional measures to check this menace. Based on my analysis and according to the crux of the group discussions of the development workers engaged with ield level intervention I am convinced with the tenet - ‘radical actions for bringing radical changes’ is urgently needed. This must be considerately reinforced in the development, rights based and feminist ap- proaches, so that there is a special focus on protection of the girl child. The classroom deliberations on gender and development, and on cri- tiques on development were followed by informal group interactions with fellow participants from Africa on the problem of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). After much contemplating I strongly feel that the NGOs’ networks and women groups associated with them must sharpen their movements against such ills of patriarchy and chronic inequality, and they must pressurise the governments to adopt necessary actions. To this effect the framework on Socialist Feminism Selected papers – 41 vouches for – women’s own organizations and power base to bring radical and lasting changes, though with a cautious approach, as men would not like to relinquish their power as they (men) tend to gain from both patriarchy and capi- talism. Socialist feminism sees both, patriarchy and capitalism as perpetuating the subordination of women, and calls for community based political activities as a necessity (TCOL, 1996, P-111,112). My work on rights of the girl child, and woman empowerment are directed to- wards ensuring quality of life of the females. The poor quality of life of females could be one of the reasons why the mothers themselves are involved in female infanticide and foeticide as they often believe that – ‘it is better to die once in- stead of dying several times every day throughout their life’. Such detrimental attitude in the ‘mothers’ originates from their own experience of frustration due to lack of quality of life, which is deinitely more unjust for females as compared to males. There is also a predisposing materialist factor behind the killing of girl child and foetus, which is the practice of the deep-rooted social evil of ‘dow- ry’5. The school of thought of socialist feminism its with the nature of work I am involved with and there exists an ideological symmetry between this frame- work and, the nature and context of many of the NGOs. Moreover, as highlight- ed earlier, the WAD approach is still relevant to the situation of my work area; I will draw more from both WAD and Socialist Feminism, as an immediate step, based on the context, focus on both ‘all women’ and ‘women led’ initiatives will be accelerated. From this training I have gained suficient insight about the frameworks and am conident on critiquing and assessing interventions on gender issues. I would extend the learning mentioned in this section, during the concept building and program planning phase of the NGOs, and also while designing advocacy campaigns with the issue based networks. 2. 3 The Schools of Thoughts in Child Rights and Self-Actualization The session on ‘CR from below Refracting CR’ was very insightful and thought provoking. The discussion on the four schools of thoughts in children’s rights namely Paternalism, Welfare, Emancipation and Liberation/(anti-paternalism) initiated a process of introspection on my own professional work on Holistic CR. In the session these four schools of thoughts were presented in the form of a comparative framework representing their respective approaches of interven- tion on CR with the lexibility of its heuristic application. This not only recon- irmed the ield reality with which I am engaged with, but it also reemphasised that every CR intervention needs to take into account the uniqueness of every child and its contextual realities. The major accrual for me from this discussion came in the form of the said framework which when altered a bit would provide me with technical leverage in planning my work on CR - interventions, monitor- ing their implementation, and training of colleagues working with NGOs. 5 Dowry is the social custom in some sections of the Indian society where the family of the bride has to give money or valuables to the family of the groom, often this takes the form of extortion and has lead to many deaths of newly married women. Legally dowry is prohibited in India since 1961 but it is still practiced! 42 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  This framework is discussed by Liebel et. al. (2012), a detailed reading of this text brought the insight6 that - the irst three schools of thoughts, that is, Paternalism, Welfare and Emancipation are foolproof approaches in their own absolute construct. These three schools appear to have a common denomi- nator of the attributes of the fourth school – liberation school of thought - as their broader goal is to ensure the ‘liberation’ of children from the undesirable circumstances, and enhance the quality of life for them, but the three may take different route to reach their destination. At this juncture the alteration, which I had mentioned in the previous paragraph, would be done where the school of thoughts on paternalism, welfare and emancipation would guide the interven- tion on CR as per the speciic needs of each child, and their end result would be liberation of the child. These thoughts revoked the question with which I was grappling – how CR can lead to the bigger goal of self-actualisation, and contin- ue when the child attain her/his adulthood. In all my future work on CR, I would study the role of CRC based programmes and projects in facilitating the process of self-actualisation, as per the context in which the child is living and as per child’s own informed wishes. To exemplify my intent of focusing on the concept of self-actualisation - this has resonance with the application of ‘Maslow’s hi- erarchy of needs’. I would study the link between the childhood images that the said framework presents, with the Maslow’s argument of – ‘the highest need for a person, the need ‘to be and to do’ that for which the person is born [or decides in an informed way for herself or himself7] to do’ (Simons et.al., 1987). Hart (1991, P-57) also sees the potential of CRC to lead to self-actualization8, however, he also argues that the child’s rights to be heard and of informed self-determination, will be crucial to this effect. I will deploy solid efforts to explore further into the domain of self-actualization of human life (with special focus on childhood), and in doing so, the role of CRC in general and right to participation in particular. The new insight from this session is complementary with the techniques of participation that I already use which are derived from Roger Hart’s ladder of participation, and various participatory methodologies from the fraternity of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). It is important to stress that self-actualization is considered as a posi- tive attribute for which it is imperative that one is respectful towards the rights of others. I irmly feel that most of the discussion of HR is often limited to ‘minimum standards’, but focusing on self-actualization would imply striving towards the ‘maximum possible’ quality of life for everyone. As mentioned earlier, the assistance extended to children would include - informed decision making that takes into account the life situation of the child; balance between the aspiration and available mechanisms to hone the matching skills; and the 6 This is my relection, based on my understanding of the text, with respect to my work. 7 I subscribes to the self-determination aspect as against the ‘born to do’ notion. 8 Hart (1991, P-57) counts self-actualisation as a subordinate objective, along with in- dependence and social responsibility. My understanding of self-actualisation is - the fuller quality of, and fuller utilization of, one’s potential and informed choices in the context under which the child is living. Selected papers – 43 availability of required resources in the society. I understand that this is not an easy task, Brems (2012, P-201) has discussed and described that child speciic needs, cultural difference and universality of rights can be promoted simulta- neously. To clarify further, the CR based intervention would attempt and de- mand for the environment where the innate potential and/or informed aspira- tions of the child get the opportunity to be realised in the best possible manner, in the given lived-reality of the child. This will lead to a stronger focus on child speciic needs, as against the international system which on occasions tends to acquire a normative form, leaving gaps in terms of attending to the uniqueness of the child, its circumstances and aspiration. This framework will serve as a good tool for initiating a brainstorming exercise in the trainings and capacity building workshops of NGO functionar- ies. It will surely help bring conceptual clarity on CR as ‘living rights’ where the children have a space and opportunity to participate in determining their life decisions. In my professional role as a ‘trainer’ within NGOs I strongly feel that this framework would deinitely serve as a good tool for engaging with the frontline staff who often have school education or a graduation degree (which is not related with development studies or social work), and they often carry the perspective of paternalism. The previous methodology adopted by me was the use of anecdotal examples. The use of this tool will assist in a more relective exercise for gradual transition in their perspective - form paternalism to other schools of thoughts, based on the needs of the child. During the training of the oficials from resource generation division, who often come from management and marketing background with a master’s degree in business management, and a few years of work experience in the corporate and banking world, I had noted that they often carry a notion of paternalism combined with welfare. For their training purpose this framework would be discussed in detail, and could be shared in their ‘tool-kit’. Perspective building of the resource generation division, in alignment with the NGOs work is very crucial as they represent the work of the NGO to the outer world (individual donors and corporate donors); there is an increased feeling within the NGOs that while their ield interventions had taken the shape of strong rights based approach, their external communi- cation with some of their donors is still done with the welfare mindset, which creates the ‘principal-agent problem’ (Barder, 2009, P-9,10). This framework will also add value to the planning and monitoring phase of CR interventions. Both these processes would be informed with the unique situation of children due to the heuristic nature of application. I would argue that in the context of India (and probably of many parts of the global south), the communities are of- ten not living in homogeneous socio-economic conditions; there can be a differ- ence of centuries between two different communities in terms of their customs, gender relations, conidence and empowerment levels. Through this frame- work the project coordinators and program managers of the NGOs will have the opportunity to bridge the gap between the CR and the realities in which children live. This will also enable them to do more contextual recording and reporting, which will assist in better monitoring and program improvement. The session also deliberated in detail the concept of actual CR as ‘liv- ing rights’ which goes higher, beyond the realms of CRC. Where the children, amongst others, shape what CR should be, based on the realities of their imme- 44 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) diate world. This could imply children engaged in remunerative work demand right to work with dignity, and are respected as workers as against the inter- nationally proclaimed right to education which might be irrelevant for the im- mediate needs of the children concerned (Hanson, K. and Nieuwenhuys, xxxx, P- 6,7). The concept of living rights is also a solid means to further strength- en the ‘holistic child rights’ approach (explained earlier in this paper). To cite an example from the ield of juvenile justice, the Indian Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, provides for separate shelters for – children in need of care and protec- tion, and children in conlict with law. These shelters are designed as ‘it institu- tions’ for children’s well being and inculcating ‘good behaviour’ in them (JJAct, 2000, P- 2). However, the state of these ‘it institutions’ is often deplorable, and based on my hands-on experience of working with a child protection helpline in 2003 I stress that these so called it-institutions are often the most unit places for the physical and psycho-social growth and development of children. These shelters are often overcrowded, not very child-friendly. Children often complain about bullying, and these are under inanced. Due to these circumstances the NGOs try to adopt an approach of working with communities for arranging al- ternate care, for the children who are in need of care and protection, even the government policies prescribe for alternate care but there are hardly any exam- ples of success stories as yet. Moreover, these NGOs suffer from lack of funding opportunities for such ‘welfareistic’ initiatives like the alternate care, especially in the present predominant environment of human rights approach where the government is counted as the primary duty bearer. I will raise such issues, and also the right of working children to be allowed to work in favourable condi- tions9 under the light of ‘living rights’. Having gained deeper understanding with the concepts like ‘living rights’ I am better equipped in ‘repackaging’ the work of the NGOs and networks, in a more clearer and contextual manner. This would also enhance the program planning and versatility of deliberations with the donors. The study material of HR4DEV will serve as a guide to generate debate with the core teams of the NGOs’ on their policies, concept papers and approach towards CR, in tune with living rights. In sum, this would also assist in probing the questions on beyond international CR and to ensure that the intervention remains relevant for the children, and is not merely wedded with the letters of international CR. These, reasoning are also vouched by Vandenhole (2014, P-1, 14,15) where he highlights that CR are much more comprehensive than the standards set in the law and international conventions. Citing examples form juvenile justice, family and alternative care, and education he stresses on the need of realising the potential role of the laws in facilitating social change. In my experience of working in a developing country 9 Though I irmly believe that all children under the age of 18 years should be in school and should not have to work, but at the same time I am open for reconsidering this stance in consultation with children groups operating in the work area of the NGOs. The fact that often the quality of education in government run schools is highly ques- tionable, adds to reconsidering the irm belief that schools are the best place for chil- dren. Selected papers – 45 where perennial slow functioning of governments is often followed by rushed- up decisions to meet the requirements of international conventions, without suficient environment building, ends up being a mere formality. In developing countries the academic circle is not very strong in inluencing governmental decisions, and hence, the civil society10 (including the networks of NGOs) play a stronger role in awareness creation, opinion building, lobbying and advocacy, which could lead to informed law making and judicious implementation of ex- isting laws. Drawing from the learning of the sessions on Child Rights as Hu- man Rights and the open forums I would certainly deploy my efforts during the NGO networks’ deliberations and brainstorming for framing more theoretically sound and realistic demand notes for lobbying and advocacy work on HR and CR in general, and CR laws in particular. 3. Conclusion After almost four weeks of intense, rigorous and thought provoking training, I assess that this training has exposed me to an ocean full of pearls in the form of knowledge and information sources. It now depends much on me to make efforts and take a dip in the ocean full of pearls and, search and pick as much ‘knowledge pearls’ as I can. I had set three objectives while joining the train- ing. With respect to my irst objective for this training -‘ to acquaint me with the contemporary HR and CR debates, theories and the evolving paradigms’ I gauge that I have gained some very pertinent theoretical knowledge which can be deployed with some contextualisation in my professional work on – train- ing, capacity development, programme planning, monitoring and thematic ori- entation. The schools of thoughts on HR – Deliberative School in particular as discussed by Dembour (2014), has direct applicability with my work on HR based approach. Similarly, the gender development approaches of WID, WAD and GAD, along with the critical framework has added signiicant value to my understanding and conceptual clarity on such a pertinent issue as gender in the present day Indian society. This too would be deployed while working with programmes and projects on rural development, women rights and girl child protection. Moreover, in my work in the NGOs ‘gender’ is often included as a cutting across issue – the acquired understanding of such approaches and frameworks will assist me in the advocacy work, and in critiquing and evalu- ating the interventions, and their foundational principles with a much clearer gender lens and with a well focused child-centricity. Moving onto my second objective for this training – ‘to sharpen my an- alytical abilities and develop a critical lens on human rights and child rights issues I am currently working upon’. I foresee that there is an urgent need of sharpening the stance of women groups in the issue of depleting child sex ratio. However, this would not be only an all women initiative in every instance. Along with this I would deploy directed efforts on working on strengthening the agency of the child, by working on the process of self-actualisation in the 10 These could have academicians from the South as members. 46 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) child’s given environment. However, drawing from the living rights concept my work would also be informed by the ground realities and feasibility of any inter- vention. The framework on the school of thoughts on CR, when contextualised by counting the liberation school of thought as the ultimate objective of all the work on CR, would be used as a tool in my work on CR. My third objective for the training - ‘ to be a part of a multi-culture and effectively functional - in- ternational learning and sharing platform on child rights’ has already started taking shape with sharing with fellow participants and resource persons of this training. In the present day digital world this would deinitely get strengthened. Furthermore, rich resource in the form of online portals of various organizing institutions of this training and well researched books were made available; it is now my responsibility to continuously engage with this network. Growth is the nature of life, and diversity is a reality of development sector. The training program has given a thrust to accelerate the growth of my knowledge, and ac- quainted me with a diverse ‘brains trust’ of pundits in the ield of development and human rights, and this process would continue. References Barder, O. (2009) Beyond Planning: ‘Markets and Networks for Better Aid’ Center for Global Development, Working Paper 185, October 2009, Washington, DC Brems, E. (2012), Inclusive universality and the child-caretaker dynamic, 9781107031517c10, p: 199-224. Dembore, M (2014), What are human rights? Four school of thought, Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 32, Number 1, February 2010, p: 1-20 Dembour, M. (2013), Critiques, United Kingdom Hanson, K. and Nieuwenhuys, O. () Living rights, social justice, translations Hart, S. (1991) ‘From Property to Person Status – Historical Perspective on Children’s Rights’ American Psychology, January 1991, P 54-59 Liebel, M. Hanson, K. Saadi, I. and Vandenhole, W. (2012) ‘Children’s Rights from Below’ Palgrave MaCmillan Ltd. UK Mishra, P. (2000), Human Rights Global Issues, Kalpaz Publications, New Delhi Mitra, A. (2007) The status of women among the scheduled tribes in India, The Journal of Socio-Economics, doi:10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.077, P 1-16 Registrar General & Census Commissioner (2011), http://censusindia.gov.in/ Census_And_You/gender_composition.aspx (Last consulted on 19th Su- gust, 2014) Self Employed Women’s Association (2006), http://www.sewa.org/About_Us_ Goals.asp Last consulted on 16th August, 2014) Sen, A. (2005), The Argumentative Indian, Penguin Books, London, England Shadow Report, India (2012) Selected papers – 47 SIDBI (2008) Assessing Development Impact of Micro Finance Programmes, Agricultural Finance Corporation Limited, Lucknow, India Simons. A, Donald B. Irwin, and A. Beverly (1987) ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ from Psychology - The Search for Understanding, West Publishing Com- pany, New York, 1987 The Commonwealth of Learning (1996), Theoretical Perspectives on Gender and Development, The Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, Canada THE JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2000 (Act No. 56 of 2000) The Times of India (2011) http://timesoindia.indiatimes.com/india/Major-high- lights-of-the-Census-2011/articleshow/7833854.cms (Last consulted on 19th August 2014) 48 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Rights, Duties and Responsibilities: Is there a missing link in the Rights-based approach to Human Rights? Arushi Goel 1. Introduction I have recently graduated in law. As a lawyer, one tends to come across various issues that plague the society and constantly have to look for ways and solu- tions to remedy the problems. In the contemporary world, fortunately, a lawyer need not be conined to the traditional practice at the Bar. There is a lot to be done and every problem I encounter gives me more insight into things that I can do. During my ive years of law school, I was constantly made aware of the concept of a rights-based approach (RBA). Phrases such as “right is to be fol- lowed by a remedy” or “rights and duties are correlative” ingrained in me a deep sense of entitlement. My country (India)’s Constitution has a chapter on Fundamental Rights. It remains one of the most important components of any Constitutional Law class. In fact, the mention of these Rights combined with the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution is a subject of perennial discussion in classes, moot courts, seminars, conferences, and the like. Apart from classroom studies, my irst real experience with the RBA came during my involvement with a project on “Right to Water and Sanitation in Slums in Delhi” which offered me an opportunity to get acquainted with the situation as it existed on the ground. For me, the present course on “Human Rights for Development” serves as the perfect next step to critically examine what I have learnt during my years in law school and on the ield in the slums that I visit- ed in Delhi as a part of the aforementioned project. This course is helping me shape a nuanced perspective on how to approach the dilemma of human rights and development. Not only is it helping me broaden my horizon of the ield that I wish to pursue, it is equipping me with some useful insights into what it means to have a right and why it is important accompanied by anomalies into ineffec- tiveness of the RBA, on which I will be elaborating further. In tradition with the objective of critical thinking, I am writing this paper on the rights-based approach to human rights (HRBA), with speciic reference to the Indian context. After deining the concern that I am raising, I will go on to lay out the reasons for raising the given issue. This will be followed by a short section of what the possible way forward could be in dealing with it. At the out- set, I would like to draw the attention of the readers’ to the vast diversity that exists in the Indian society. It is this diversity that makes it dificult to make gen- eralisations. However, my relections are a result of whatever little experience I have had in dealing with the HRBA in my work and a change in perspective that I have developed through this training programme. Selected papers – 49 2. The value addition of HRBA As I mentioned before, my experience with the HRBA has been three-fold: as a part of my academic curriculum, as an experience I gained during the ield work, and inally an inter-disciplinary perspective that I had the chance to en- counter during this training programme. The HRBA, as I have come to under- stand, is a shift away from the top-down approaches of charity and need based that looked at citizens as beneiciaries thereby, in some sense, compromising on their dignity. There are two prongs of HRBA. One is the right holder and the other is the duty bearer. While the former is the one with entitlements under the RBA, the latter has the obligation of providing those entitlements to the right hold- er1. The main objective of a HRBA is to build capacity of the people it seeks to empower through entitlements. The aim is to achieve this through allegiance to certain values.2 While the HRBA does add value3 to the human rights discourse, it is my opinion that its lack of emphasis on duties of individuals has been prob- lematic in making it fully operational and thereby realising its complete ben- eits, speciically in a country like India where much of its early constitutional jurisprudence and current discourse has been shaped by outside inluences4. Therefore, the one question that constantly comes to my mind is this: Where does the duty of an individual it in the HRBA5? 3. The Indian society: HRBA in practice In this part, I will explore the background of the Indian society and how there has been a gradual shift from a duty-based society to a rights-based society. While rights awareness comes faster, it is the awareness of duties that takes more time. It is this very lag between rights and duties that forms the root cause of non-realisation of the full value of HRBA. 1 Traditionally, the state was the sole repository of the obligations. However, with in- creasing role of corporations and other non-state actors in inluencing people’s be- havior and state decisions, various authors are looking to expand this understanding of duty bearers. The discourse, however, remains open to debate. 2 Universality, Inter-dependence, transparency, accountability, participation. 3 I am quite convinced about the value addition that HRBA offers to a society. In India, after a long struggle of more than 10 years, the Parliament in 2005 adopted the Right to Information Act. This Act has changed the way India looks at accountability and gov- ernance. It has actually led to transparency. However, it has also resulted exploitation. 4 The reason that I say this is because the Indian Constitution was a result of culmina- tion of best practices from across the world, mostly the western world because in 1947 it was the western countries laying down the principles of democracy which India was trying to follow as well. 5 I had the chance to have a brief discussion with some of the speakers during the length of the course on this topic. 50 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) 3. 1 Indian society and changing emphasis on duty The Indian society, since the very beginning, was one based on duty. The high- est form of compliance was based on Dharma and not on the conception of an entitlement. Did it work then? Probably yes. Would it work now? I do not think so. The society, as it exists today, has undergone a rapid change and expecting similar values to work today would only make things more complex. Neverthe- less, one can still ind some relevance in values of the past. Moving from the Vedic society to the modern society, the ight for inde- pendence was entrenched in the right of a country to be free from colonial rule but like most wars/revolutions, it thrived on the duty of each individual towards their society, their nation. It was a result of this nationalism that when the Indi- an Constitution makers sat down to debate the best way forward, they put forth a Preamble that clearly deined the behaviour/obligations of each Indian citizen without any sort of discrimination. This was followed by a well-debated Part III which contains the justiciable Fundamental Rights of all the people. Much like the rights contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), they are more civil, political in nature, non-derogable and meant for immediate realisation. This chapter on Fundamental Rights is the cornerstone of the HRBA in the Indian legal system. Over the years, the progress of social movements accompanied by judicial activism has led to whole plethora of laws that emphasise upon the rights of the citizens and non-citizens, marking a shift from the traditional duty-based society. It is to be noted that this Constitution that was adopted in 1950 did not contain anything speciic on duties of citizens. A later report by the Swaran Singh Committee suggested that the Constitution makers probably did not think it was necessary to include them. Duties and responsibilities, as a part of our society, were a given. However, this myth was shattered soon enough. With the changing society, the law makers realised that the country needed more than rights to survive and therefore the Constitution was amended in the year 1976 by the 42nd amendment to incorporate Part IVA, i.e., the Fundamental Duties. Nevertheless, to this day, they remain declaratory in character and one cannot be punished for their violations. At most, the judici- ary in India has resorted to violation of fundamental duties in their judgements in combination with a clear violation of fundamental rights. This lack of focus on an individual’s duty as opposed to state’s responsibility is one of the outcomes of overemphasis on rights. 3.2 The tumultuous shift from a duty-based society to a rights-based society Historically, the transition that has happened from being a duty-based society, which forms one end of the spectrum, to the current one based on rights, which is the other end of the spectrum, has not been smooth. While some sections of the population have moved forward with the speed of lighting, others have been left far behind still immersed in their ideal of traditional values and ready to contest whosoever does not align with them, still others seem to have re- signed to the fact that the world will change and they need to be lexible about it without really being convinced about the change. The problem, however, arises when the irst and the second category of people clash. Not only does it lead to unjustiiable violence at times as in the case of religious fundamentalism, for Selected papers – 51 example, it results in perversion of facts.6 Since the scope of this paper is limit- ed to my relections on the eficacy on the HRBA in the Indian society, I will not go into the historical details or value judgments. When the Indian government decided to open up its economy in the 1990s following the principles of liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation, it did not just herald economic changes but inluenced the society in several irreversible ways – socially, politically, and culturally. Whether it happened for the good or bad is outside the purview of this paper. Additionally, the change in the society cannot be solely related to the latter but in my opinion, it did serve as a crucial point for measuring the speed and quantum of change that the so- ciety went through. This outside inluence and the speed at which the world was developing had an impact on every aspect on the Indian way of life – education, market, food habits, family systems, laws, policies etc. Owing to this change and signiicant development in the technology sec- tor, the awareness level of the people has been on an increase ever since. Con- sequently, a large chunk of the Indian society, literate and the illiterates alike do know the language of rights in terms of entitlements that they hold against the State. However, most of them fail to recognise that for realisation of such rights, they have certain duties which they need to fulil. I would like to illustrate this by a few examples: • Environmental Rights The Indian Supreme Court has, in its various landmark decisions, inter- preted the Right to Life (Article 21) as containing the right to a clean en- vironment, right to water and sanitation, right to clean air, and the like. However, it is not uncommon for people to litter. The violation of the right by corporations is of course an issue but what about basic civic values that ask an individual to respect one’s environment – using a dustbin, using as less electricity as possible, using groundwater sustainably. In hindsight, it seems like a very minor issue but it is this kind of attitude that ultimate- ly results in negating one’s duties and therefore, hampers realisation of everyone’s rights. • Use of rights language as an exploitative tool In the wake of rising social consciousness, many NGOs/institutions have cropped up to deal with various issues of human rights. While some of them are doing commendable work through their commitment to the hu- man right values, many simply exist to create more problems rather than offering solutions, still others exist to serve political and economic goals rather than welfare of the society. Why do they thrive? One reason is be- cause of the increasing importance of the rights language in our daily dis- 6 A common example is the caste system in India. There are some who hold the view, against popular perception, that the caste system was never meant to be deined by birth. The society was divided into different castes depending on their specialization of work. With time, however, it got perverted with power and politics entering the picture. 52 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  course. It is considered sacrilege if someone criticises these “NGOs”, con- sidered by many the emancipators against the evil clutches of statehood. In fact, there is quite a bit of debate going on in India regarding regulation of NGOs. Once again, the public opinion is quite divided. Through these two examples, I wish to illustrate that fact that in the past few years, while the awareness levels regarding entitlements have increased but the levels of responsibility have gone down drastically. One reason is because of the linear manner in which development has taken place with its prime focus on economic aspects. Merely introducing rights without testing it against the social fabric of a society is not just counter-productive for the culture of the given society but also gives rise to lawed processes which once established, are usually harder to change. 4. Conclusion – The Way Forward: The Impact of HR4Dev As a lawyer, my conception of what entailed a HRBA was quite limited. As I saw it, the emphasis was mostly on realisation of the right through legal means7. While this was successful in some ways, it also led to unwarranted outcomes at times, such as the ones I have mentioned. In this paper, I have tried to highlight one aspect that I ind missing in the human rights discourse, the duty of an individual. I do realise the risk of overemphasising on such duties as it would serve as an escape route for the state to not fulil its obligations. More so, it might even increase the cost for the more vulnerable, marginalised sections of the society to have their rights realised. Despite the disadvantages, I still believe we need a system that not only focuses on the rights of individuals but also their duties. One way of doing this would be a realisation that the HRBA is “one” of the many approaches to be followed and not the only approach. In the complex and inter-related world that we have created for ourselves, it is my opinion that it is not possible to have one set of rules applicable to all situations. After all, can one really have ixed rules in this relative world? Adaptability, lexibility, and most importantly, the locali- sation of human rights are imperative factors to be taken into account. I do not argue that the HRBA is wrong or does not add any value. On the contrary, I believe it has a lot of potential. However, like most other poli- cies/laws the problem is one of implementation in a half-baked form. Raising awareness without a simultaneous strengthening of the framework for provid- ing the rights can be detrimental. As an illustration, recently, in India, the Right to Food Act was adopted. Let’s say, a person is aware that they have a right to food under this legislation. In this case, there is a legislation clearly deining 7 In the Indian Constitution, Articles 32 and 226 provides a right to a remedy. Any person who’s fundamental rights are violated by the state can directly approach the Supreme Court and the High Court respectively for a legal remedy. Selected papers – 53 the person’s right to food and there is awareness that one may take recourse to this right in case of violation. But what happens if there are no policy guidelines or infrastructure/institution to implement the right? In my limited experience, at times, it leads to a sense of narcissistic individualism without any regard to one’s duties or other people’s rights8. One might ask is this uncommon? Not really. Is it harmful? Very much so, especially in developing countries wherein societal bonds are necessary to go further in the development index – econom- ically, socially, and politically. Therefore, I suggest a recourse to ancient values of duties and obligations accompanied by a sense of rights for successful cul- mination of the exercise of capacity building and therefore, satisfactory realisa- tion of one’s rights. The next obvious question is how to make people realise their duties. It can be achieved through social change. Enforcing duties through legal means might be more problematic considering the existing laws in the executive and the judicial system. Therefore, to that extent, I do agree that the state and non- state actors should be the primary duty-bearers. At the same time, capacity building also needs to be taken up a notch by providing training to all stakehold- ers - the people, the government, the NGOs, research organisations, educa- tional institutions. Change has to begin from the new generation. It is essential that the HRBA be adopted in a manner suitable to the needs of the country. Merely conirming a plethora of rights on a society might be counter-productive and lead to further deterioration thereby taking away from the value addition of HRBA. Instead, the focus should be on developing a HRBA complementary to the existing society so as not to invite reactionary movements, though it can hardly be completely avoided. In all fairness, I do not have a clear structure that I can propose as a recommendation but more of a critical analysis as to why the HRBA might not be working as well as it ought to. In the past four weeks, through a reading of various United Nations (UN) documents, experts’ presentations, and interactive sessions with people from across the globe, I have come to the conclusion that in theory, there is no missing link in the HRBA. Yes, the approach pivots around the concept of right-holders and duty-bearers. However, it does not completely ignore the role of responsibilities that the right-holders must have. Its focus on capacity building is actually a way of helping people to realise the role of both – their rights and duties. It is a different aspect that in implementation, the absence of focus on duties lends itself to a situation where only rights become important. The next step, therefore, is to monitor the way the HRBA is being implemented in different societies and evaluating ways and methods in which such anomalies can be taken care of. 8 In one of my experiences, I visited a few slums in Delhi (the capital of India) to look at the right of water and sanitation. One issue that recurrently cropped up was that of access to water. Where there was one source of water (a tap, let’s say) for around 20 people, they would gather around the tap during the ixed time that water would come, it was not uncommon to see them ighting for access to the source of water. The things, at time, would go to an extent where there were injuries and in one of the cases, injuries leading to death. 54 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  Having recently graduated in law, I am currently preparing to be a civil servant which will allow me to be a part of the government and work with poli- cies and their implementation at the grass root level. Like I mentioned, a major hindrance to full realisation of the HRBA is due to its lawed and incomplete execution. By being a part of the implementing process, I will ensure that I carry the learning’s from HR4Dev and translate them into effective, context based processes. Selected papers – 55 A Human Rights based approach to design and implementation of farm input subsidy programme (FISP): the case of Malawi Jeremiah Mpaso 1. Introduction: Professional experience in Human Rights Education Having worked for the Malawi Human Rights Commission (hereinafter the Commission), which is the National Human Rights Commission, for 6 years es- pecially in the area of human rights education, I have seen that it is a challenge for duty bearers to accept human rights standards and principles as the basis for guiding programming because of the duties and obligations it creates. An- other challenge is that human rights are often viewed as giving a license for one to engage in any activity that a person feels is right to him/her without a sense of responsibility (Malawi Human Rights Commission, 2006, p. 8). As such, most duty bearers including the government feel that promoting human rights is in- stilling rebellion and rudeness to people, especially when they demand their rights. For example, many primary and secondary schools have been reluctant to welcome human rights talks to students on fear of making students ruder to teachers. Working as Education, Information and Training Oficer for four years at the Commission, I have come in contact with various sections of soci- ety, like members of parliament, teachers, police oficers, magistrates, social service providers, traditional leaders, university, secondary and primary school students, civil society organizations, and local community members at large, just to mention a few. This interaction has exposed me to different schools of thought that have challenged the practicality of human rights in Malawi and regarded the concept ‘human rights’ as a Western idea imposed on Africans as part of post-colonialism and as a strategy to break up African traditions and culture. For example, prohibition of corporal punishment on children is always challenged by parents on the basis that a Malawian child grows better with spanking and every Malawian child has grown up in such environment. Second- ly, our culture teaches us that children have no say on matters even those that affect them and they are expected to obey whatever parents say. This is against the principle of child participation that regards children as having the potential to express their views. This challenge has been positive to my job as I have always worked hard in researching to have a deeper understanding of human rights and how principles of human rights can be localized in the Malawian context without losing their universality. For example, Article 16 of the Conven- tion on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 56 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) provides for women’s rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights. Basically, Malawian culture has lived and taught us that man is the head of the family, and as the bread winner has the powers to decide on how many children to have and not a woman. This kind of challenges have helped me to always enjoy my job and have the desire to keep myself updated on global issues regarding human rights and on new thinking over human rights concepts. Personally, I have come to under- stand that human rights do not necessarily imply getting a license to do what- ever one wants but rather promotes justice, peace, solidarity, transparency and accountability. This led me to adopt a very participatory and critical approach to human rights education and how it applies to the Malawi situation as part of the global community. Hence my interest in writing on the Farm Input Subsidy as one of the popular government programs introduced since democracy. 2. Problem statement The fact that the right to development is provided for as a legal entitlement, implies that it has created the people of Malawi as claim holders and the gov- ernment as a duty bearer. As such, it is expected that to have a meaningful real- ization of the right to development, the government should adopt a rights based approach to development especially regarding the formulation and implemen- tation of national development agendas. It is against this background that this paper critically analyses the approaches adopted in the implementation of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) aimed at achieving food suficiency and food security. Since the economy of Malawi is agro-based with 85% of the population engaged in farming, agriculture is a priority area of the government’s develop- ment agenda. As stated during the opening of the 45th parliamentary session in June 2014 by the president of the Republic of Malawi: “Mr. Speaker Sir, My Government will continue to implement Farm Input Subsidy (FISP) to support maize production by subsistence farmers. We are however, aware of the challenges faced in the implementation of the programme. To address the challenges, government will abolish the coupon system and put in place measures to ensure that the sub- sidized inputs are made available to subsistence maize farmers who deserve it”.1 This statement emphasizes the government’s commitment to implementing FISP through an approach adapted from previous years but with a slight change to accessibility of the subsidized commodities. This paper therefore analyses the added value of applying a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) to FISP that would take human rights standards and principles as the point of departure for its design and implementation. Al- though it might be argued that FISP to some extent has led to improved stand- 1 State of the Nation Address Aurther Peter Mutharika Prsident of the Republic of Ma- lawi; “Transforming our Country into a Prosperous Nation with a Shared Vision” June, 2014 Selected papers – 57 ards of living for farmers, who are also agents in the realization of their hu- man rights, the HRBA calls for the realization and acknowledgement of human rights to result into an improved standard of living. As I show below, the needs based approach, which is the current basis of FISP, responds to people’s needs in the short term and regards farmers as objects of the programme rather than as subjects of it. This results in challenges in social justice and discrimination, as well as in the accessibility, quality and sustainability of the programme. Fur- ther to this, the lack of a HRBA to FISP has subjected the process to politiciza- tion and being regarded as works of charity, thereby taking away the obligation of the state as a duty bearer and the power of people to claim their rights. 3. Brief background information about the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) Farm input subsidy and maize market intervention policies have been a long- standing and major, though often contentious, feature of the Government of Malawi’s and varied donors’ strategies to promote agriculture and food secu- rity. From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, the government inanced a uni- versal fertilizer subsidy, subsidized smallholder credit, and controlled maize prices. The system began to break down in the late-80s/early-90s with cash low dificulties, rising treasury deicits, partial market liberalization and the in- creasing importance of parallel grain markets. The state system of subsidized input loans, with loan recovery through farmers’ delivery of grain to Agricultural Development and Marketing Cooperation (ADMARC), collapsed in the mid-90s as a result of the coincidence of widespread harvest failure, multi-party elec- tions, credit default, and the rise of parallel markets, partial implementation of liberalization and structural adjustment policies and substantial devaluation (raising local fertilizer prices). With other policy changes drawing more produc- tive smallholders away from surplus maize production into tobacco production, there was then a widespread perception in Malawi in the mid-1990s that falling fertilizer support was leading to falling maize production and a food and polit- ical crisis. From 1998/99 onwards, government, with mixed donor support, re- instated a variety of interventions subsidizing maize fertilizer and seed access, with intermittent interventions in maize markets. Seed and fertilizer subsidies shifted from universal price subsidies to free provision of small ‘starter packs’ initially to all households (in 1998/99 and 1999/2000) and then to more limited (but varying) numbers of targeted households (from 2001/2 to date) (Doward and Chirwa, 2011, p. 2). 4. A Human Rights Based Approach to the Farm Input Subsidy Programme A HRBA to development recognizes the human rights of every human being and the realization of such rights as the basis and objective for designing and implementing any development programme. According to this approach, hu- 58 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) man rights standards and principles guide all programming in all phases of the programme process including assessment and analysis, programme planning and design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.2 Section 30 of the Con- stitution of the Republic of Malawi recognizes the right to development, which takes into account the right to food.3 Malawi also ratiied the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which also safeguards the right to development. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food.4 Malawi is also a state party to the 1966 Interna- tional Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which also provides for the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food that is of good quality and suficient.5 All these legal instruments impose obligations on the government of Malawi as a state party to ensure the realization of the right to suficient food. This then means that the design and implementation of FISP should be guided by human rights standards and principles, such as universality, indivisibility, participation, accountability, transparency and non-discrimination. The appli- cation of the HRBA to FISP will make sure that every citizen has the right to equal access to FISP as a public service for the country6. As such, the HRBA to FISP should be implemented as a universal programme rather than as a targeted system with a complex implementation strategy based on the will of government rather than on the realization of the various interdependent human rights of all the people of Malawi. Taking a rights based approach to achieving food security through Farm Input subsidy Programme will aim at reducing discrimination over qualiication of beneiciaries, empowering the communities to avert causes of hunger, im- proving accessibility of the farm inputs which includes the availability of access points within reach, the availability of the commodities in time to match with the growing season, and strengthening of capacity and skills of right holders in making the best out of farming through agricultural technical assistance and empowerment. This approach will help the government to assess the under- lining causes of food insuficiency and how the FISP would help to address the root causes. This analysis will guide the design and implementation of the pro- gramme and the cost of the subsidized inputs will be realistic unlike the current K500.00 when price of the same commodity on the market is K17, 000.00. 2 The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation; Towards a Common Understanding among UN Agencies, 1997 3 Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948 4 Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 5 Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 6 Article 13 (2) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Selected papers – 59 5. Challenges of the current needs based/ charity based approach to the Farm Input Subsidy Programme The current implementation of FISP lacks an exit strategy and has not empow- ered farmers to carry out farming without the subsidy programme, thereby fail- ing to recognize farmers as subjects of rights. Rather, in the current approach, farmers are regarded as objects or beneiciaries of the programme, which would not be the case under a HRBA. Moreover, the current approach does not involve the people in the design and implementation, hence everything is decid- ed for them. This has led to many challenges, like selling of subsidy vouchers, lack of monitoring of subsidy commodity outlet points leading to overpricing and selling to market vendors who are not beneiciaries of the programme, but who in turn sell the same at higher prices. This is why after 15 years of imple- mentation (1998-2014), Malawi is still food insuficient. The programme also does not create the duty bearer and claim holder structure that helps to hold the government accountable for its failure to run an effective and eficient programme when actually the government implements this programme with tax payers’ money. For example, decisions on who the beneiciary is rest on the government without consultations leaving the ben- eiciaries to access it as a matter of chance or luck. This in turn has created conlict among community members and against traditional leaders and re- sponsible oficers implementing the programme as people scramble to beneit from the few opportunities. Even in situations where the “lucky” beneiciaries have failed to access the subsidized commodities despite given the voucher, no claim has been leveled against the government for failing its obligation. To sum up, the current programme has been subject to abuse and political inluence and turned into political propaganda. 6. Political will to implement a HRBA to FISP programming Understanding human rights as entitlements one possesses by virtue of being a human being (Dembour, 2010, p. 2) with the power to claim them from duty bearers, has been one of the causes of reluctance from many duty bearers to adopt a human rights based approach to the implementation of development agendas. Many duty bearers who are obligated to offer every service as aiming at realization of several rights and empowers rights holders to claim their rights, do not think of it that way due to lack of knowledge on a HRBA. As such, with the knowledge gap that exists among many duty bearers as to the linkage of their work to the realization of human rights and the unwillingness to be held ac- countable, several services are offered as charity works the way FISP has been implemented as a tool to gain political mileage. Therefore, implementation of 60 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) FISP as a charity programme robs people of their power to claim the right to food suficiency and security, in the sense that nobody can take the government to task for not beneiting from the programme despite meeting the criteria of being entitled to it as a rights holder. 7. Conclusion From this analysis, it is clear that the design and implementation of the current Farm Input Subsidy Programme has been based on a needs based approach, resulting in numerous challenges and problems of sustainability. Adopting a HRBA to the design and implementation of the same programme will have an added value as it aims at empowering the beneiciaries, which are right hold- ers. A HRBA to FISP will work to build links between aspects of good practice and increase justice and equity in accessibility of the subsidized commodities. In this light the focus should be how the programme can be implemented to achieve the intended objectives rather than what can be done differently from previous formats. Therefore, designing and implementing a universal FISP rather than the targeted programme will help in sustaining the programme and reduce expenses that are done as a matter of charity rather than as the realization of people’s rights. Further to this, universal FISP will prevent the programme from being overtaken by politics. Finally, the Universal subsidy programme will create the government as a duty bearer in the realization of people’s right to development, and it will allow it to meet its obligations towards creating food suficiency and food security and avoid that it fails to ensure accessibility of the commodities. From the same resources spent every year, the government with other stakeholders can work out a practical and rights based universal subsidy programme. The Malawi Human Rights Commission guided by Section 13 of the Hu- man Rights Commission Act, No.27 of 1998, has the duty to Act as a source of Human rights information to the government and the people of Malawi.7 There- fore, the Commission should enhance its programming of human rights based approach to Social Service Delivery to include the right to development and en- gage the government more so that it embraces this concept and acknowledges its added value. 7 The Human Rights Commission Act, No. 27 of 1998. Selected papers – 61 References Malawi Human Rights Commission (2006), Resource Manual on Human Rights Training. State of the Nation Address Aurther Peter Mutharika, President of the Repub- lic of Malawi (June 2014), “Transforming our Country into a Prosperous Nation with a Shared Vision”. Doward, A. and Chirwa, E. (2011), Agricultural Input Subsidy Programme 2005/06-2008/8, International Journal of Agricultural sustainability. The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation; Towards a Common Understanding among UN Agencies, 1997 Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948 Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 Article 13 (2) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights Dembour, M.-B. (2010), What are Human Rights? Four Schools of thought, Hu- man Rights Quarterly, 32(1). The Human Rights Commission Act, No. 27 of 1998 62 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Relections on Transitional Justice, Socio-economic Rights and Rights- Based Approach Huma Saeed 1. Introduction As a doctoral researcher at the University of Leuven, part of my research in- volves the discussion of the link between transitional justice and socio-eco- nomic rights. In other words, what I am interested to examine is the violation of people’s socio-economic rights during periods of conlicts and remedy mech- anisms to address such violations when a conlict comes to an end. My case study is Kabul, Afghanistan and I am particularly interested in understanding victims’ perceptions on 1) the nature of such violations and 2) potential remedy mechanisms. Therefore, in a sense I apply a bottom up approach to transitional justice in my research. I have chosen to focus only on this aspect of my ex- ploration for the current relection given its relevance to certain concepts and ideas discussed during the irst module of the HR4Dev training from July 28th – August 8th, 2014. With this brief introduction to my research topic, there are two concepts from the training that I would like to draw upon. First of all, the notion of indivis- ibility and interdependency of rights, which, as it was discussed during the lec- ture on the right to development, is crucial in realizing the full range of human rights, from civil and political to socio-economic and cultural rights. There was a brief mention of the politics of rights hierarchy within the international human rights regime. However, my overall impression is, both from this training and other literature, that many scholars and practitioners, particularly those at- tuned to development and rights based approach, present an assumption that such divisions and rights hierarchy was a phenomenon of the Cold War era and that we are increasingly moving towards the indivisibility and interdependency of rights. While this notion may be true at some level, and certainly as a con- ceptual aspiration for many scholars and practitioners, practically it can still be challenged on the ground. Transitional justice is one area where this tension is clearly visible, which will be discussed briely in the next section. The other concept, which I believe will enrich my research, is the rights based approach (RBA). As mentioned earlier, I am primarily adopting a bottom up approach to transitional justice by brining the angle of victims’ perception in the discourse as related to the violation of their socio-economic rights. In gathering this perception in my ieldwork, I am interested in understanding how people themselves see the notion of agency, which I think is central in any RBA approach. This concept too will be further explored in the next section. Selected papers – 63 2. Transitional justice and socio-economic rights discourse To understand the relevant argument on the link between transitional justice and socio-economic rights (or with the broader ield of development thereof), it is irst important to present a brief discussion of transitional justice. Transi- tional justice is often articulated as an umbrella term for approaches to address and redress massive past human rights violations in the aftermath of a conlict or after a period of dictatorship (Hayner, 2002; ICTJ, 2010; Duthie, 2009). It is considered an interdisciplinary ield of study with an “expanding range of mechanisms and institutions” with the goal to provide justice in times of tran- sition and to restore the dignity of victims (Buckley-Zistel et al., 2014, p. 1). Although the debates and discourses around transitional justice is a relatively new phenomenon, with Ruti Teitel claiming to have coined the term in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union (Teitel, 2008), the practice might have existed at other times as well, though not under a systematic, formal and “ofi- cial” guise as we know it today. While an underlying set of agendas may give uniformity to the practice and discourse of transitional justice, i.e. reckoning with the past and prevent- ing future atrocities, every state may have a core objective or a set of objec- tives in responding to its past atrocities. For some countries it may be estab- lishing the truth, punishing perpetrators, paying respect to victims, or paying reparations; for others the goal may be national reconciliation and granting amnesty to former perpetrators (Hayner, 2002). Yet for other countries it may be gaining access to international markets or receiving foreign aid (Grodsky, 2008). Accordingly, mechanisms of transitional justice adopted by each country may vary. Some, and increasingly so, have established truth and reconciliation commissions, such as those in Chile and in South Africa. Others, like Argen- tina (although complemented by a truth commission), the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have pursued prosecution of the high-ranking oficials involved in mass atrocities. Notwithstanding the particular form of an adopted mecha- nism, thus far the focus has remained primarily on addressing civil and political rights alone at the expense of leaving out socio-economic rights. Consequently, during the last years, scholars have, increasingly, been critical of this one sided approach aiming at civil and political rights alone (Carranza, 2008; De Greiff and Duthie, 2009; Miller, 2008; Mani, 2008; Muvingi, 2009). Some go as far as arguing that transitional justice discourse and prac- tice has inherited the bias of the parent ield, human rights itself, with its tradi- tional focus on civil and political rights (Miller, 2008). While several authors put this argument under the “classic” discourse of rights hierarchy (Laplant, 2007; Arbour 2007), others place it as part of the critique of the liberal peace building (Sriram, 2014) where the main emphasis in reconstructing post-conlict coun- tries is placed upon the marketization of the economy and democratization of political institutions without considering the real need of people on the ground on the one hand and a country’s speciic cultural, social, political and economic circumstances on the other (Paris, 1997; Paris, 2010). Such realities have lead a number of scholars to argue resolutely that socio-economic issues should be 64 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) tackled as a structural cause of violence (Miller, 2008; Mani, 2008), and, there- fore, a link must be established between the ield of transitional justice and development (De Grieff and Duthei, 2009) to address distributional inequalities in the aftermath of a conlict. However, despite the recognition of the importance of addressing so- cio-economic issues as part of transitional justice process by some scholars, the issue, in practice, has largely remained unaddressed in both policy formula- tions as well as in academia. By largely ignoring the inclusion of socio-econom- ic rights violations in its mandate, transitional justice discourse and practice has framed the conlict in “one dimension without providing an alternative vo- cabulary” (Miller, 2008, p. 280). Thus, many human rights abuses such as those during the apartheid regime in South Africa became the story of individual’s rights violations and that of racism without tackling the broader framework of generations of structural inequality mostly based on economic projects. This, in turn, as Muvingi (2009) warns us can become a “powder kegs” that, if not resolved, will “threaten to blow up peace initiatives” (p. 163). Despite such criticisms, it is nevertheless important to acknowledge and build upon this shift in the discourse on transitional justice particularly considering that most post-conlict countries undergoing political transitions during the last three decades happen to have been developing countries where socio-economic rights, and thus their violations, in and of themselves are im- portant considerations in comparison to, for example, post-WWII Germany or Argentina after the dictatorship. As Duthie (2009) argues most of today’s conlicts and human rights violations take place in underdeveloped countries where a lack of provision of basic resources, if not the cause of war, can be enabling or contributing factors. Therefore, the argument goes that in an al- ready underdeveloped situation, accompanied by wars, authoritarian regimes and human rights abuses, development oriented progress can be severely af- fected if not addressed as part of the broader package of transition. Likewise, the implementation of transitional justice measures under such circumstances -incapacitated by poverty, poor governance, insecurity, weak institutions- can face signiicant limitations. Hence, in this context, exploring the link between transitional justice and socio-economic issues becomes all the more relevant in considering the allocation of resources for justice initiatives (and the overall establishment of the rule of law) and, conversely, its impact on development projects. Therefore, in exploring this nexus, the current research moves from the assumption that in the discourse and practice of transitional justice in any given country, it is not enough to merely consider a country’s political history of conlict and the violation of civil and political rights alone in order to de- cide a transitional justice mechanism. The argument presented here is that it is equally important to consider a country’s socio-economic background, as well as violation of socio-economic rights committed during periods of conlict, in order to decide the mechanism of transitional justice that may suite best the country and its people’s needs. While it is impossible to provide speciic examples of cases that demon- strate the above argument in the capacity of the current paper, in general, the experience with transitional justice mechanisms demonstrate the dificulty of indivisibility and interdependency of rights in practice. Therefore, it is plausible Selected papers – 65 to argue that apart from the dominant legal rights regime, the political under- pinning of many processes and mechanisms that entail addressing rights is- sues continue to remain a major obstacle where often a hegemonic power dis- course prevails as opposed to the real needs of people on the ground, which in many cases may will be provision of their basic rights and needs instead of the right to vote or freedom of expression, for example. A widow in Kabul captured this notion well in a quote during an interview with me in 2008: “If my stomach and that of my children are empty and we have no shelter, how can I appeal for justice, demanding the what, who, and why of what happened to my husband?” 3. Transitional justice and Rights-Based Approach The later issue then moves me to the second point, which is the role and agency of people themselves in changing their circumstances. Considering the over- all critique of transitional justice as a top down and the “one-size-its-all” ap- proach, emphasis in the current research is placed on the perceptions of vic- tims on questions of justice and mechanisms and methods that they see as the most suitable to address their needs. As Vinck and Pham point out, the form, implementation and outcome of transitional justice mechanisms are often in- luenced by factors such as political will and availability of resources at the national and international level. They argue that “missing in the equation is the active involvement of the affected population in the planning and implementa- tion phases” (Vinck and Pham 2008, p. 398). Their survey of 2,620 adults in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo suggest that basic survival needs and security trump mechanisms dealing with justice and reparation. Perhaps one way to make transitional justice processes more inclusive and bottom up is to incorporate the RBA principles in its mechanisms. With an emphasis on participation, accountability, non-discrimination and empower- ment, RBA approach can help address the root and structural cause of poverty and conlict, not merely addressing the symptom. This –addressing structural cause of violence- is one of the main issues that has been discussed by a num- ber of transitional justice scholars (Mani, 2008; Miller, 2008). Crucial in this approach is the way in which people perceive themselves and are perceived by others–not merely as victims and passive agents, but as active citizens who de- mand their rights. In other words, as Slim (2002) puts it “in grammatical terms, it moves [people] from being the objects in somebody else’ sentence to being the subject of their own free speech (p. 3). Likewise, Gready (2008) discusses the importance of advocacy and mobilization in turning people into active citi- zens and putting them on the track of political activism. He argues that partici- pation, which can become meaningful only through the notion of empowerment and agency, can become transformative. In my research, one central question entails the way forward –in terms of remedy mechanisms as compensation to the harm done- from the perspec- tive of victims. One aspect, which I will be interested to explore during the ield- work, is the degree to which people see themselves as agents of change. A prior understanding of a RBA approach therefore will serve as an analytical tool to link data from the ield with certain concepts. 66 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) 4. Conclusion Human rights talk and practice seem to be inseparable from politics. Time and again experience has shown that no matter how many conventions and treaties there may be, if there is no political will to implement, to hold the powerful ac- countable, to bring real change by tackling structural causes, those treaties and conventions remain mainly in the realm of aspirations, whether at the national level or internationally. Despite many struggles and initiatives, this argument may still hold true as regards to the indivisibility and interdependency of rights as evident in the discourse on transitional justice. The neoliberal credo with its emphasis on marketization and democratization has become the dominant hegemonic power discourse of our time. This aspect was one area that I wished could be further elaborated upon during the training. I see this political element as the underpinning premise for many human rights agenda that on the face of it may appear “purely” legal. And I have a feeling that human rights scholars and practitioners are not placing enough emphasis on this fundamental issue. On the other hand, the RBA approach, with its emphasis on people as agents of change could potentially turn into a counter-balance force to the above, or at least this is how I like to understand it, as a “theory of change”. References Arbour, L. (2007). Economic and Social Justice for Societies in Transition. New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, 40, 1. Buckley-Zistel, S., Beck, T. K., Braun, C., & Mieth, F. (2014). Transitional justice theories: An introduction. In Transitional Justice Theories (p. 228). Rou- tledge. De Greiff, P., & Duthie, R. (2009). Transitional justice and development: making connections. Social Science Research Council: New York. Duthie, R. (2009). Introduction. In Transitional justice and development: Making connections (p. 378). New York: Social Science Research Council. Gready, P. (2008). Rights-Based Approaches to Development: What is the Val- ue-Added? Development in Practice, 18(6), 735–747. Hayner, P. B. (2002). Unspeakable Truths: Confronting State Terror and Atrocity (1st ed.). Routledge. Laplante, L. J. (2007). On the indivisibility of rights: Truth commissions, repara- tions, and the right to development. Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal 10, 141. Mani, R. (2008). Dilemmas of Expanding Transitional Justice, or Forging the Nexus between Transitional Justice and Development. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2(3), 253–265. Miller, Z. (2008). Effects of Invisibility: In Search of the “Economic” in Transi- tional Justice. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2(3), 266–291. Selected papers – 67 Muvingi, I. (2009). Sitting on Powder Kegs: Socioeconomic Rights in Transitional Societies. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 3(2), 163–182. Paris, R. (1997). Peacebuilding and the Limits of Liberal Internationalism. In- ternational Security, 22(2), 54–89. Paris, R. (2010). Saving Liberal Peacebuilding. Review of International Studies, 36(02), 337–365. Slim, H. (2002). A Response to Peter Uvin- Making Moral Low Ground: Rights as the Struggle for Justice and the Abolition of Development. Praxis: The Fletcher Journal of Development Studies, XVII. Sriram, C. L. (2014). Liberal Peacebuilding and Transitional Justice: What Place for Socioeconomic Concerns? In D. N. Sharp (Ed.), Justice and Economic Violence in Transition (pp. 27–49). Springer New York. Retrieved from Teitel, R. (2008). Editorial Note-Transitional Justice Globalized. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2(1), 1–4. Vinck, P., & Pham, P. (2008). Ownership and Participation in Transitional Jus- tice Mechanisms: A Sustainable Human Development Perspective from Eastern DRC. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2(3), 398–411. 68 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) A Roadmap towards ending Female Genital Mutilation in Tanzania Fransisca Silayo 1. Introduction Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a term used to describe various traditional practices that involve the partial or total removal of the external female gen- italia for cultural and traditional reasons in many African societies. Female genital mutilation has been classiied into four types by the World Health Or- ganization (WHO). These classiication includes; • Type I - this is often referred to as Sunna or Circumcision involves excision of the prepuce, with or without excision of part or all the clitoris. • Type II - This is also referred to as clitoridectomy or Excision. This involves excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora • Type III - Often referred to as Pharaonic or Inibulation. This involves exci- sion of part or all of the external genitalia and stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening • Type IV - Unclassiied. This involves pricking, piercing or incising of the clitoris and/or labia; stretching of the clitoris and/or labia; cauterization by burning of the clitoris and surrounding tissue; scraping of tissue surround- ing the vaginal oriice or cutting of the vagina; introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina to cause bleeding or for the purposes of tightening or narrowing it. 2. Background to the Problem Tanzania is among 29 countries which practice FGM. It has a prevalence rate of 15% and it is estimated that 7.9 million women and girls in Tanzania have un- dergone FGM (UNICEF, 2013). According to Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS), the estimated prevalence of FGM in girls and women (15-49 years) is 14.6% (TDHS, 2010). This shows a slight decrease from 17.9% in 1996. It was also found that 90.9% of girls and women who undergone FGM have experienced Types I and II ‘cut, lesh removed’ while Type IV was recorded at 2.2% and Type III which is inibulation at 0.7% (DHS, 2010). The same report also shows that mutilation of young girls is increasingly carried out at an earlier age, with girls cut before their irst birthday increasing from 28.4% in 2004-5, to 31.7% in 2010. This followed by the awareness campaigns and fear to be impris- oned as it is against the Penal Code of Tanzania, where Section 169 A specify it a criminal offence and provide punishment for the same. The main reasons for the practice appear to be customs and traditions of a certain society, faithfulness between the marriage couples, and preserva- tion of virginity. Some people also associate it with religion though it is opposed by the religious leaders of both Christianity ad Islamic religions. Selected papers – 69  Despite the reasons for the societies to continue performing the act, there are some dangerous effects associated with mutilation practice. In fact, FGM can be a matter of life and death, as it puts the lives of young girls in a death row due to health consequences they suffers like losing too much blood, increase the risk of sepsis, istula, vagina prolapsed and scars which make them to feel pain during sexual intercourse and sometimes infected with trans- mitted diseases like HIV and AIDS due to unsafe procedures used by some practitioners due to lack of medical and health information. This sometimes affects the right to life in situations where death occurs resulting from the mu- tilation procedure. 2.1 Is FGM a violation of human rights? It is true that FGM practices are accepted by the culture of the societies which perform it. But the problem is, the act now is not relevant in today’s world and it is against humanity as well as the law of the country. It is a violation because the girl’s consent to the act is not necessary, most of them are forced to it and those who consented to it usually do so due to undue inluence. Studies show that most of the girls and women did not want the act to perpetuate in Tanza- nia, as it was found that 92% of girls and women said they do want FGM to be banned in their societies (UNICEF, 2013). I also asked myself: is it done for a person who has the capacity of making decisions? If not, is it in the best interest of the child? Is the act done in a safe and clean environment? Is the act legalized by the laws of the country? I found myself with a lot of questions, the answers to which are either not available or not certain. From a human rights perspec- tive, this practice violates a number of rights, a few examples of which will be discussed below. 2.2 The right to non-discrimination and health Article1 (CEDAW,1979) provides for “Discrimination against women” based on sex. To my view, as FGM affects women and girls only, it is a discrimination against sex, as the idea behind it is that of reducing female prostitution espe- cially to married women and girls so they remain faithful to their husbands. Article 12 of the ICESCR provides for the highest attainable standards of health. The practice however has psychological and physical effects to women, hence infringement of their rights to health which is also prohibited under Article 1 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treat- ment or Punishment (CAT, 1984). CAT which deines torture as an intentional inliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental to a person or another third person on discrimination grounds. Also Article 19(1) of the CRC protects against all forms of physical and mental harm. The CRC also in Arti- cle 24(3) requires all states to take measures to abolish traditional practices which are prejudicial to health of children. Regionally, the African Charter on the rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC, 1999) under Article 4 also provides rights to health. 70 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) 2.3 The right to education Right to education is provided under Article 11 ACRWC provides for rights to ed- ucation for every child as well as preserving positive African moral values and culture and fostering human rights. FGM violates the girl’s right to education as provided in the Charter and it is not a positive culture or value. It is the violation of the rights to education because in many societies which perform FGM in Tan- zania, as soon as the girl is mutilated, the parents tend to marry her off. This is done without her consent and often to a man even older than their father. Also, it violates the right to education because not enough information on the health consequences of FGM is given to the child. 2.4 The right to life and physical integrity Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being” and has been used to argue that FGM violates the right to health and bodily integrity. This has been also prohibited under Article 37a of the CRC. In general, the prac- tice violates the right to liberty and security of child girls as they are subjected to FGM unwillingly, coercively, as it is done to them before they have reached the age at which they can decide for themselves if they need to be mutilated. Also, the mutilators destruct the physical qualities and the natural look of a female genital and their normal sexual function, hence infringing the right to not only life but also physical/bodily integrity and dignity. 2.5 The right of the child Article 1 CRC deines a “child” as a person below the age of 18 unless majority is attained earlier under the law applicable to the child. In Article 3 ACRWC, it provides the right to non-discrimination to the child and Article 4 provides the rights to be heard and participating on the matters of their concern. Article 3 CRC supports that “the best interests of the child shall be a primary considera- tion” in all matters affecting the child. One may ask the validity of my statement, but looking on the way FGM is performed it is totally a child rights violation recently in Tanzania, due to some campaigns and the law that prohibits FGM. Some societies such as the Nyaturu, Gogo and Maasai have invented a new approach of cutting much younger girls, often new born babies. This shows ex- treme violation of human rights of a child as a new born does not know anything and one can imagine the kind of pain the baby girl feels under such circum- stances. When looking at those affected they meet the deinition of “child” when considering factors such as the age. In this juncture, I conclude that FGM is great violation of human rights as well as a barrier towards social development. 2.6 What has been done by the Tanzanian Government? The government of Tanzania as a duty holder has a responsibility of protecting the rights of all individuals, including children who are not only the future, but also the present generation, as was stressed on multiple occasions throughout the HR4DEV training programme. The government has ratiied almost all the international instruments, but it has domesticated only some of them like the CRC, CEDAW, and African Charter on human and people’s Rights, as well as the Selected papers – 71 ACRWC. Some of the rights are there in the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania. Coming to our case, Tanzanian Penal Law prohibits FGM (2002, p. Setion 169A), while S.169(2) of the same law provides for the purnishment of imprisonment of not less than ive years and not more than ifteen years, or a ine which does not exceed three hundred thousand Tanzanian shilings, or both. However, the act persists and I believe it is the duty of the government to implement that law effectively, especially to make a quick and early inter- vention in order to stop the practice as well as make the perpetrators of the act accountable in the courts of the law. I believe that the future generation is depending upon building a nation with strong men and women. So, giving prior- ity to equal rights to both girls and boys will create a society which is aware of human rights, and adheres to the principle of equality and dignity. 3. Integrating a Human Rights Based Approach into cultural perspective Engaging more people especially the girl children to participate in matters, es- pecially by using the trained members of the same community, will make the community feel the sense of ownership of the whole process of the ight against FGM. Hence, engagement of more people in human rights awareness raising can help in ensuring behavior change onto the minds of some people in the community and eventually the whole community. Tanzania is now in the process of making a new constitution and some of the women’s rights organisations came together and formulate Wanawake na Kati- ba Coallition (Women and Constitution Coalition), of which I am a member. As I am also a member of the technical committee in that coalition, the HR4DEV train- ing comes in the right time as it fuelled my spirit to spread the ire of human rights. So, my fellow coalition members and I will make sure all human rights pertaining to equality, dignity and equity are incorporated in the new constitu- tion in order to continue our ight against violence perpetrated against women in Tanzania. The function of culture is to provide for the wellbeing of its individuals. Likewise, human rights are aimed at enhancing the wellbeing of human be- ings. Thus, I will not be wrong if I say culture and human rights go together. When I go back to my country and organization, I will raise awareness to my colleagues that human rights and culture are interlinked. Then, through the knowledge that I have gained, my organization and I will continue to advocate through awareness raising, trainings and workshops, among other things, to the rights holders and the general public through forums like media. More so, I will facilitate the discussions and dialogues not only on a girl child’s rights but also on human rights in general to the local leaders and traditional leaders who are the most inluential and have the last say in their societies to integrate a human rights based approach in their culture. This is aimed at inding the alter- native rite of passage instead of FGM. This will need inclusion of more children in providing their views about the act and empower them to air their views in front of the elders (according to most of these societies a girl child cannot talk in front of her elder but through the open forum we will facilitate that). By doing so, human rights will be adhered hence positive change. 72 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  In addition, human rights trainings and case studies of the best practice from other cultures who stopped FGM will be a good method of changing this cultural practice without changing their culture. Our success in one society will be an example to other societies. 4. Challenges towards the ight against FGM 4.1 The tripartite Law system in Tanzania Tanzania recognizes different laws which are civil laws, customary laws and re- ligious law. This has been a major hindrance towards the ight against FGM be- cause this act is deeply rooted under the shields of customs and traditions of the societies which perform it according to their customary laws. Hence, it is dificult to implement it fully as the societies also hide the perpetrators of the act. 4.2 Lack of Political Will Despite having a law which prohibits FGM to a girl child, FGM is still there and one of the strongest reasons being lack of political will of some leaders and gov- ernment oficials who are supposed to implement the law. In some places, espe- cially the Mara region where CDF is working hard to make sure that the practice becomes history, you may ind celebrations involving girls who have been or are about to be mutilated performing in public like they are commemorating a big event, yet no one is bothered to take action. This is because some of the leaders are the members of that community, and it is part of their culture. Therefore, they are not willing to take any measures toward the perpetrators. Some leaders fear to lose their political positions during the next time of the election. 4.3 People’s Attitudes towards FGM FGM is associated with traditional beliefs of some societies who perform it. It may be well known that a belief is like a faith in traditions and customs, so changing someone’s mind or attitude on the thing he or she believed for long time to be good, takes time. For instance, in some societies where FGM is taken as a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood, they believe that girls who have undergone FGM have a higher chance of getting married. Immediately after FGM, men go to the girl’s parent’s house asking for the girl’s hand in mar- riage. FGM is a guarantee of marriage because men desire to marry a woman who has undergone FGM; normally one gets a husband within the two years before the next FGM ceremony. If they don’t get the husband, the community feels that you have bad luck. If you are not circumcised, it is seen as the reason why the girl does not marry, as it is not considered you should be anyway. These beliefs stand as an obstacle towards the ight against FGM. 4.4 Lessons learnt and Relection This training of human rights and children’s rights helped me to realise that many human rights violations occur because the state as a duty bearer – and other duty bearers (external actors) like local and international NGOs – do not apply this model of a HRBA; not only to this problem of FGM, but also to all hu- man rights violations in the country. Selected papers – 73  I have also realized that some of the strategies used by some advocates and activists of human rights sometimes failed because of the method used in the community they want to make changes. For instance, in my case, I cannot go to the community and tell them that their culture is bad. I should rather try to look for a better way to make them understand the whole idea about human rights and their responsibilities as parents, as well as the health effects of the act. Thus, we have to provide the better way of solving the problem rather than telling them that FGM is bad, so they should stop it. Awareness is a key to end FGM, as the act will end only when society is aware of their rights and human rights in general as well as the presence of the law to ban FGM and the punishment of the act. Remember, any development comes from the change in the mindset or attitudes of that particular society – in this case social change or society consensus is what is needed to abandon FGM. As I said earlier, Tanzania has a good law which prohibits FGM, however those who practice it are still doing it and the main reason is they are still believing in their tradition. That is why I am of the view that this could only be abandoned if a human rights based approach is integrated into their culture and they become aware and ready to change by themselves. 5. Conclusion Issues relating to culture are so sensitive hence need a serious plan to tackle it. In tackling the issue of female genital mutilation that is deeply rooted in cul- ture and traditional beliefs, one should have enough knowledge of a particular society. Many societies in Tanzania are governed by their customary laws and traditions, so the human rights advocates, and especially those advocating for the elimination of this practice, should be more informed and sometimes when they are going to the ield should go with different strategies to apply depending on the reaction of the community or their selected audience. By using a correct approach and strategies, the society will be informed and become aware, so as to slowly change their mindset and attitude towards the practice with the aim of ultimately abandoning it. Bibliography African charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1999). Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). Convention on the Right of the Child (1989). Tanzanian Government (2002). The Tanzania Penal Code Revise Edition. Dar Es Salaam: Government publishers. UNICEF (2013). Female Geital Mutilation/Cutting: A statistical Overview of the dynamic of change. New York, USA: UNICEF. WHO (1998). Female Genital Mutilation: An overview. Geneva: World Health Or- ganisation. 74 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) The child-caretaker dynamic and the Senegalese Daara: An inclusive universality approach? Kirsten Van Camp 1. Introduction 1.1 Setting the scene In this paper I will discuss the case of the Senegalese Daara (Qur’anic schools). This is the children’s rights context I am mostly familiar with and on which I have conducted research from a developmental perspective on social justice. The Daara of Senegal are a highly diverse group of educational institutions which provide Qur’anic education (recitation, memorization and Islamic prin- ciples) to children (and in some cases adults). These schools are associated with a number of practices which are often considered to be violating children’s rights: child mendicancy1 and teaching the memorization of the Qur’an (rather than the state-prescribed curriculum). Indeed, Talibés (students at a Qur’anic school) are often seen wandering the streets with an empty tomato can to beg for money and food. Prioritizing a religious education and especially instructing the memorization of the Qur’an is also what deines these schools. As such the Daara of Senegal are often in outright opposition with human and children’s rights activists, who consider these schools to be a violation of the right to be free of exploitation and the right to education (e.g. the Human Rights Watch report published in 2010). On the other hand, it is widely recognized that parents attribute great im- portance to their children’s religious and moral education and therefore make a conscious choice to send their children to these schools (either as the sole form of education or as a type of pre-school (or even weekend) education. This choice can be considered to be a valid claim on their right to provide guidance in the religious freedom of their child and their right to ensure the religious and moral education of their children. This contradiction can be considered to be an unsolvable deadlock in which either party’s rights will have to be made subordinate to the other. In this paper I will demonstrate, however, that when we take a core/periphery approach to the integral rights approach, and when we make a distinction be- tween the ideological basis of these perceived child rights violations (the insti- tutionalized or cultural argument for child mendicancy and Qur’anic education) and the blatant child rights violations that occur due to a lack of control, social 1 Mendicancy = the practice of begging. Selected papers – 75 disintegration, destitution and abuses of power, that there should not be such a rejection of either one’s rights. Inclusive Universality In the following I will try to respond to the call of professor Eva Brems for a two- way effort of “human rights to become more receptive to differences among societies”, and of societies “to make them[selves] more receptive to human rights” (2013: 204). In order to do this she suggests the concept of inclusive universality which recognizes that each of the human rights standards is nec- essarily subjective, context-dependent and non-neutral and accommodating to diversity. According to Brems (2013), this can be done within the current legal framework of human rights which she proclaims has an inherent lexibility in the interpretation and implementation of universal standards that allows for a lexible interpretation of general concepts and the balancing between compet- ing interests. In addition, the international human rights system can be and is dynamic, and it should accommodate other ‘structural’ claims through further transformation. This is perfectly feasible, as long as these do not threaten other established rights. However, when conlicts between rights do arise in claims made by dif- ferent parties (e.g. caretakers and children), either to the same human rights standards or to different human rights standards (e.g. the CRC vs. the CDHRI; religious freedom vs. collective dimension of religious freedom), Brems sug- gests to irst try to eliminate fake conlicts (i.e. ind a solution that leaves both rights intact). If this is not possible, a compromise should be sought that tries to guarantee maximum protection of both rights. Only as a last solution, prior- itization of one right over the other can be considered. In order to make sure that this prioritization does not lead to the complete annihilation of the other right, she suggests to differentiate between the core and the periphery within each right. In a conlict between rights A and B, it is possible that realizing A infringes upon the core of B, whereas realizing B would only infringe upon a peripheral zone of A, which would argue in favor of that solution. The severity of the interference also has to be taken into account. With regard to children’s rights, four additional principles for prioritiza- tion are introduced: 1. The best interest principle: when a conlict arises between a child and its caretaker(s) only arguments that hold the child best interests’ at heart should be considered; 2. Participation: the child’s perspective should be considered when prioritiz- ing; 3. The insider perspective: avoid making paternalistic interpretations and in- terventions; 4. The weight of the group: recognizing the strong emancipative claim of a mature and informed individual child against group pressure. 76 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) 2. An Inclusive Universality approach to the case of the Senegalese Daara My application of the model will mostly be concerned with identifying poten- tial real or fake conlicts of rights related to the Senegalese Daara system and exploring whether a consensus or prioritization based on a core-periphery dis- tinction can be obtained. I only use the core-periphery criterion because the three later above mentioned principles require a case by case consideration and therefore complicate general policy recommendations to be made. These issues include the maturity of the child to decide on the weight of his or her perspective (in relation to collective rights or group pressure; or in an inter- pretation of the “child’s best interest”) and the relevant insider perspectives (inclusive to minority perspectives). As such, I will not apply these principles in the general analysis of the Senegalese Daara case study. With regard to determining the core of a right, no adjudicative principle or determinative procedure is indicated within the text. In other documents ref- erences are made to authoritative decisions (Brems in David P. et al., 2003) and consensus (Brems and Gerards, 2014), however, these do not seem to be clear- ly elaborated principles in this text. For this exercise I will look for consensus on caretakers’ and children’s rights, at the crossroads of the arguably relevant (although not exhaustively) identities relevant to this Senegalese case study (i.e. global –even economic- citizenship, Islam and African shared culture- see table 1), and the corresponding human and children’s rights declarations (although - again - not exhaustively). Identity/ membership Human rights law Signed/ Ratiication Global / economic - Convention on the rights - 1990 of the child - International Convenant - 1978 on Civil and Political Rights (part of the UDHR) Islam - Cairo Declaration on - 1990 Human Rights in Islam Africa - African Charter on the - 2001 Rights and Welfare of the Child 3. The core of caretakers’ and children’s rights In what follows, I will look at the consensual dimensions of the rights with re- gard to education/parental guidance, religious freedom, right to education and freedom of exploitation, within and between the following associated human rights standards: the CRC and CCPR, the CDHRI and the ACRWC. Although we Selected papers – 77 can and should recognize that each of these rights is different with regard to their extent (e.g. within the DCHRI the rights are more limited in regard of its accordance to the principles of the Shari’ah; e.g. within the CRC parents have a lesser claim on providing guidance than within the CCPR), we can adopt a comparative approach to a “common core” consensus on the crossroads of the identities relevant to this Senegalese case study. This becomes an interesting endeavor when we try to identify and solve potential conlicts in human rights claims (which are necessarily shaped by the human rights standards available) for the instrumental purpose of legal certainty and conlict reducing capacity, and agree that a human rights approach to development (and therefore also to policy and governance) can allow for greater social justice in these endeavors. 3.1 Parental guidance and religious freedom In all three Conventions there are provisions, on the one hand, for the parents to make a claim on parental guidance in a child’s religious freedom and education: • “the right to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, guidance in the exercise by the child [of his/her right to religious freedom]” (CRC and ACRWC) • “the right to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions” (CCPR) • “to choose the type of education they desire for their children, provided they take into consideration the interest and future of the children in ac- cordance with ethical values and the principles of the Shari’ah” (CDHRI). On the other hand, each Convention also provides for the child to make a claim on the right to religious freedom: • “freedom of religion” (CRC and ACRWC) • the prohibition “to exercise any form of pressure on man or to exploit his poverty or ignorance in order to force him to change his religion to another religion or atheism” (CDHRI). As such, we can say that the core of these caretakers’ rights is to ensure the educational and normative upbringing of their child, as long as they make these decisions in the interest of their child (with reservations such as “in accordance to the principles of the Shari’ah”, which can then again be interpreted in a lex- ible way); whereas the common core of a child’s right to his or her freedom of religion, is that they cannot be forced to adhere to one or another conviction. 3.2 Right to education The core of the parents’ relative claim over the religious and moral upbringing of their child (with the above-mentioned conditions) also remains relevant for potential conlict with regard to the right to education. Whereas each Conven- tion puts forward different emphasis, contents and goals of education (e.g. in the interest of society cf. the CDHRI and ACRWC vs. the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest po- tential cf. the CRC and ACRWC), they all agree on the right or even obligation of the child to receive both religious and worldly education (including literacy). In addition, this recognition of the right to both religious as worldly education 78 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) can be seen as an arguably important condition for a child to be able to actually exercise his/her right to freedom of religion (vs. indoctrination). 3.3 Freedom of exploitation All three conventions recognize the right of a child or each human being to be free from exploitation. Again, whereas they put a different emphasis (e.g. inter- ference with the child’s right to education in the CRC), it is clear that exploita- tion that interferes with a child’s other fundamental rights cannot be accepted. • ACRWC: “Every child shall be protected from all forms of economic ex- ploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social de- velopment.” • CRC: “States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” • CDHRI: “Authority is a trust; and abuse or malicious exploitation thereof is explicitly prohibited, in order to guarantee fundamental human rights.” 4. Change from within and above: The history of the Daara and the institutionalization of its practices today Qur’anic schools came to existence with the spread of Islam in Western-Africa in the early 7th century (Ndiaye, 1985) and are – at least in origin – mainly con- cerned with teaching their students to memorize and recite the Qur’an, and practice Islamic principles. During early colonization, Qur’anic schools were considered to be a threat to the French colonization project and critiques on the basis of human rights discourses (such as the freedom of religion) were instru- mentalized to antagonize Qur’anic schools. This deliberate “conquête morale” (through various restrictive and integrating decrees) of the French colonizers was strongly opposed by parents and the political class of Marabouts (religious scholars who organize and instruct Qur’anic education, organized into three large brotherhoods) who became a stronghold of resistance to the colonial in- terferences within the Senegalese society. They were able to do this due to their large social capital, as the only authorities and scholars with regards to religion (they were often also the only ones that were able to read and write - in Arabic- which was not instructed in the Daara), and economic capital. Most Marabouts were large landowners and due to their access to cheap labor of their Talibés, were able to beneit from the groundnut production stimulated and exported by the French. Up till then, the Qur’anic schools held tight to their traditional curricu- lum: reciting and memorizing the Qur’an. In the 1950s, however, the Qur’anic schools and political class of Marabouts were confronted with a new compe- tition: the Islamic reform movement. These youngsters who had gone to Ar- Selected papers – 79 abic countries to study came back with a whole different view on religion and education, and challenged the privilege of Arabic literacy and the rejection of worldly subjects. The appearance of this new political elite, which equally ap- pealed to religion as their authoritative source, initiated a new type of schools, the Franco-Arab institutions that combine both traditional Qur’anic education (recitation and memorization) with more worldly (they reject the term ‘secular’ as no knowledge can be really secular from their perspective) education. This reformist movement clearly diminished the political, religious and educational stronghold of Marabout elites. Another important evolution that foundered the political and economic power of the Serignes (or Marabouts) was the succession of droughts since the 1970’s, which also worsened in the 1980’s. Before this period, Marabouts sustained most of their activities through agricultural production (traditionally, no fee can be asked from a parent for the religious instruction of his child), performed by the Talibés. Up to today, the majority of young Mourid men (who also call themselves Talibés, as even though they are not in the schools they are the disciples of the great Marabout) still go to Touba once a year (the holy city of Mouridism and the burial place of its founder, Shaikh Aamadu Bàmba Mbàkke) to work on the ield of the Khalife (of the lineage of the founder). In addition to these agricultural activities, students practiced a restricted and in- stitutionalized form of mendicancy whereby students would get the leftovers of an assigned family. The environmental disaster of droughts together with the adverse ag- ricultural policies of the Structural Adjustment Programs however caused an economical-agricultural crisis that lasts until today, and threatened the means for subsistence of the Daara and inancial income of the Marabout. As such, the crisis brought about the search for a different source of income: intensi- ied mendicancy activities (as Muslims are obliged to the ‘Zakhat’ as one of the 7 pillars of Islam this can be a rather lucrative activity) in the cities (this concurred with a more general rural exodus within Senegalese society). With this geographical distance between Talibés and their families (often the school was embedded in the community of which the Marabout and his disciples were originating), social bonds and control that exists in rural societies weakened. As such the institutionalized mendicancy system became untenable and an in- tensiied begging practice on the street became the new means of sustenance. This begging is largely conined to food products, and mostly much consumed and long tenable products, such as rice, sugar, tea and bread. When the Tal- ibés arrive at the Daara they join these products together and the wife of the Marabout (or the older Talibés) cook a meal from this. However, whereas men- dicancy in the villages was restricted to food only, the move from the city also installed a practice for the begging of money. Usually Talibés are required to bring in 500 xof (around €1) a day. Social control on child rights abuses also weakened with a move from the village to the city. As such mendicancy and other forms of child labour has become susceptible to severe exploitation and child rights abuses. Whereas mendicancy was a side practice before, today many children spend most of their day on the streets to collect their daily quota of 500 XOF (about €0.80). This does not mean that traditional practices such as foster families providing 80 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) for one or more Talibé(s) assigned to them, by giving them the leftovers of their meals, no longer exist. In smaller cities such as Thiès (where I lived), the shop keeper, my gym teacher, my tailor and several of my neighbor families still have their “own” Talibé to whom they give money, food and leftovers. I also noticed this in Diourbel and other villages, where Talibés also continue to perform ag- ricultural activities and wood gathering. These evolutions that have weakened the political, religious and eco- nomic power of the Marabout elite, on the one hand have opened up the cultural discourse on education for the recognition of worldly knowledge and skills (cf. right to education) and Arabic literacy (cf. right to religious freedom), yet on the other hand reduced social bonds and control, and general economic ma- laise have led to the detriment of human and children’s rights in practice (e.g. no resources or time for educational activities, unreported physical and sex- ual abuse, etc.). It is these children’s rights violations that make human and children’s rights organizations directly oppose and call for the abolition of the Daara. 5. The core of rights as a conlict resolving principle The fact that for each of the caretakers’ and children’s rights some kind of “common core” can be identiied across different human rights standards, and that these are not inherently mutually exclusive, implies that when conlicts between parental and children’s claims arise, solutions which distinguish be- tween this shared core and periphery might provide for an acceptable outcome to all parties. As mentioned above, the Qur’anic schools in Senegal are often considered to be violating children’s rights due to the associated practices of child mendicancy and strict Qur’anic education. Human and children’s rights organization in Senegal therefore often advocate for the abolishment of these schools, and/or at least the practices that are in direct violation of children’s right (e.g. the law against child mendicancy). Nevertheless, parents often choose consciously for Qur’anic education (combined or not with “formal” ed- ucation in various ways). This choice was often thought to be a negative choice, due to the lack of resources of parents to take care of their children at home or send them to other schools. However, quantitative, qualitative and comparative research on this issue shows that parents make this choice willingly to ensure the religious and normative education of their children. This choice should also be seen within its historical perspective, since state schools during colonial time were associated with the French’s ‘conquête morale’ and sending your children to a Daara was therefore considered to be an act of resistance against oppression. Today, the resistance against “French” schools is much less, and parents often send their children to the Daara as some type of preschool program or in addition to their education in a secular (or even Catholic) school. We can thus argue that parents make a claim on their right to provide guidance in the educational and normative upbringing of their child by choosing for a Qur’anic education. Selected papers – 81  However, this seems to conlict with children’s rights organizations claims on children’s rights standards, more speciically with the right to edu- cation, the right to religious freedom and the right to freedom of exploitation. In what follows, I will try to explore whether the current day institutionalized (i.e. part of accepted current day cultural discourse) forms of child mendicancy and religious education do conlict inevitably with children’s rights and whether we should therefore subordinate the caretaker’s right to guidance and moral education to this. I only look at the cultural discourse and not at the practices as they are occurring today, since I believe that it is what is assumed to be acceptable and not acceptable in society that determines the room for change, and not what is actually happening. 5.1 Conlict between the parents’ claim and the child right to education? I argue that there is no real conlict of rights because most parents do recog- nize the importance of worldly subjects and literacy. Whereas, during colonial times, secular education was considered to be an attempt to secularize the normative upbringing of their children, secular education is seen today as a useful and necessary addition to Islamic education. A much stated sentence is “Le coran est le socle” it should be the basis of everything (cf. the CDHRI), but other subjects should be taught as a necessary addition to this. The importance of these other subjects is often even legitimized by quoting a hadith that states ‘seek knowledge even [if you have to go] as far as China’2. The following sta- tement, written on a banner in one of the Daara where I conducted research, illustrates this adequately: « Celui qui veut réussir dans ce monde doit apprendre, celui qui veut être béni dans l’au delà doit apprendre, et celui qui veut avoir les deux à la fois doit apprendre. ». Parents thus value both types of education, but since they consider Qur’anic education to be the priority they often opt to send their children a Daara. These might or might not provide also non-religious educa- tion, depending on their resources (human and inancial) and their strictness. We can therefore come to the conclusion that any conlict that arises on these claims is a fake conlict. 5.2 Conlict between the parents’ claim and the child’s right to freedom of enforcement of religion? Since the different conventions recognize the parents’ right to provide guidance to the religious and normative upbringing of their child in different extents (with limitations as with regard to the principles of the Shari’a and in accordance with ethical values, cf. CDHRI; with regard to the states obligation to ensure edu- cation of the religion of Islam, cf. CDHRI; or with regard to the child’s evolving capacities, cf. the CRC) and also the children’s right to be protected from reli- 2 There is debate about the legitimacy of this hadith in Muslim society. However, since each of the marabouts and parents I talked to quoted this to be a valid statement from the Qur’an I believe this debate has no relevance to the conlict resolving or adding value of this quote. 82 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) gious oppression (which can be considered to be a positive right, cf. the CRC, or a negative right to be protected from pressure, cf. the CDHRI; or can be limited by the responsibility of a child to work for the cohesion of the value and preserve African cultural values, cf. the ACRWC), a conlict may arise when these rights are opposed to each other or interpreted in a different way. In addition, many parents maintain that the Qur’an should be the basis, the roots, from which children can open up to the rest of the world. They should not loose these roots, and especially (young) children should be irst embedded within this normative framework before their opinions on religious matters can be taken seriously. The claim they can make within the light of the CDHRI on choice of education for their children can therefore enter in a conlict with the child’s claim on freedom of religion. Nevertheless, I have no knowledge of children or youth who reject the Islamic schooling they receive on the basis of freedom of religion. In addition, it is clear that parents and teachers do take the maturity of a child into consid- eration. We can assume that the religious lexibility inherent to the Senega- lese community (a nice example is the Mosque called Sacré Coeur) allows for enough room for children to exercise their right to freedom of religion next to their religious schooling. Conversions in Senegalese society are not rare. The child of a mixed couple (that is with a Christian mother, and a Muslim father, or vice versa) also often has a free choice to decide on his or her religion. A Christian child can therefore have a Muslim brother or sister. In order to know whether this is a generally accepted compromise between conlicting rights we would have to engage more with children and parents (insider’s views) and consider the claims they make individually. If the assumed compromise is re- jected than we need to evaluate more whether the core of the right to religious freedom does not conlict with the caretaker’s right to guidance. 5.3 Conlict between the parents’ claim and the child’s right to freedom of exploitation? As we have seen above, all human rights Conventions that are considered pro- vide for the right to be protected of severe exploitation, that is one which by deinition infringes upon a child’s other fundamental rights. The historical de- scription of the Daara made clear that child labor and mendicancy has existed within the Daara since their coming to existence in Senegal. This is related to the strong work ethic with which Mouridism (the largest Islamic brotherhood within Senegal) identiies itself, the idea that each Qur’anic disciple needs to acquire the virtue of being humble and the taboo on receiving pay for reli- gious education. As such, child labor and mendicancy (albeit in a less intense form) have been part of the Daara since the beginning. These practices are also considered to be part of the good religious and normative education that their children should receive in the Daara. Many parents have often been Tal- ibés themselves (rich or poor), and consider this to be an invaluable part of their upbringing. There is however a general rejection of the current intensiied practices of begging for money, by children that have been clearly neglected, which is considered as “severe economic exploitation” and rejected as a posi- tive contribution to a child’s upbringing in any way. Selected papers – 83  With regard to the strongly conlicting rights (as a real conlict) of parents to ensure the religious and moral upbringing of their children in conformity with their own convictions (cf. ICCPR) as opposed to the child’s right to freedom of economic exploitation, can be solved by considering the core of the latter as se- vere exploitation that directly contributes to the violation of other fundamental rights. As such, practices of child labour and mendicancy that do not violate the child’s right to education (by ensuring the primordial importance of knowledge acquisition), to health; and to protection from physical and sexual abuse; etc. could be accepted. Even more so since denying the parents’ strong adherence to this moral and religious practice (in this restricted way) would infringe on the core of their right to ensure the religious and moral education of their child, whereas child labour and mendicancy in this restricted form (which recogniz- es the core of the right and at the same time the importance of other rights) would arguably infringe only on the periphery of the child’s rights. However, it is clear that many children’s rights organizations would reject this deinition for the core of the right to freedom to exploitation (as I have also experienced with other participants during the HR4DEV workshop with Terres des Hommes), and the model unfortunately provides us with little to decide upon this. 5.4 Conlict resolution and the recognition of diversity In this analysis we have seen that when human and children’s rights are for- mulated on a core-periphery basis (and are therefore not interpreted in an ex- haustive way), cultural discourse and human rights standards encounter very few inherently irresolvable conlicts. The cultural discourse on the right to edu- cation, religious freedom and mendicancy and child labour practices to render children humble for example is in strong conformity to human rights standards when a solution based on a balancing the cores of rights is allowed for. I stress the application of the core and periphery criteria of a right here, even before particular conlicts might arise, since a too strict and exhaustive interpretation of certain human rights can exactly lead to an antagonistic and conlicting in- teraction with societies (e.g. refusing for either form of mendicancy) that is not conducive for the proliferation of human right standards within society. In addition, as I have demonstrated above, human rights claims can build on these cultural discourses since the current children’s rights violations are equally conlicting with cultural discourse. Again, such a mutually condu- cive relation might require a differentiation between the core and periphery of a right as to be successful. This interplay of the semi-autonomy of state laws, i.e. how state laws interplay with local normativities, is an area that deserves more attention (Corradi, 2011: 16). The historical overview on the Daara also shows how social, economic and political interrelated changes brought about the transformation of an antagonistic relation between the cultural norms of Senegalese society and human rights standards to a relation of complementa- rity. It is important to stress that although the cultural discourse of the Senega- lese society no longer stands in direct opposition of some human and children’s rights, in practice children’s rights are violated more often than before, due to the agricultural malaise and the dissolution of social ties and control. 84 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) 6. Conclusion As I have demonstrated above, the principle of core and periphery of a right can help accommodate diversity, and see compatibility between cultural discours- es and human rights standards rather than outright opposition. As such, the model of inclusive universality is interesting to improve legal certainty and con- lict-reducing solutions (cf. negotiation models) for conlicting rights, and make “the human rights […] more receptive to differences among societies” (Brems, 2014: 204). This also facilitates the task identiied for societies “to make them[- selves] more receptive to human rights” (Brems, 2013: 204), although it is clear from the last chapter that real change with regard to the rights’ claims can only be achieved with a certain political, economic and social context. We should recognize that the actual nonexistence of human rights conlicts and the rec- ognition of human rights claims in principle, without ensuring the political, economic and social conditions conducive to its actual implementation (that is providing subsidies and food programs to schools to reduce mendicancy activ- ities, provide more state control mechanisms, support the voluntary insertion of Qur’anic schools in the formal education system with an exhaustive curric- ulum ensured) will still bring about human and children’s right abuses. When doing this we should not only take in mind the instrumental opportunities of a corresponding cultural concept for implementing human and children’s rights (i.e. for example the creation of state-led Franco-Arab schools) but also ac- knowledge the different power dynamics behind these discourses. As Corradi also states in her discussion of women’s rights in Pemba city: “[implementation strategies and practices] need to go beyond legal and technical approaches and discuss the causes of asymmetrical [] relationships” (2011: 16). Whereas Marabouts today fully acknowledge and encourage the impor- tance of a dual education system we should not forget that part of their moti- vation is their quickly fading economic power. This does not however coincide with the same reduction in religious and political power. In order for the state then not to create an elite that is left behind and might revert to antagonistic discourses and abusive practices for their own sustenance, this social group should be integrated within the new policies of the state. Although inclusive universality allows for the consideration and prioritization of each actor’s hu- man rights, needs in practical terms for establishing a conducive power bal- ance need to be recognized as well. Whereas Marabouts would therefore not be recognized in a state-caretakers-children’s rights model, they will have to be in the successful implementation of such models. In addition to the critique that inclusive universality needs to better un- derstand the power dynamics within society that stimulate social change (and therefore not only prioritize the reconciliation or prioritization of different con- cepts), I found it highly dificult to implement the inclusive universality model as there is no adjudicative principle for deciding on the core and periphery of a right. The most basic problem, that is whose interpretation or on the basis of which arguments we should distinguish between the core and the periphery, is not addressed. As such there is no ideological stance and it seems that in order to deine the core of a right, all claims are considered equally valuable. Selected papers – 85 The solutions that are suggested elsewhere, that the core of a right needs to be determined in an authoritative manner, without stating which actor or adjudica- tive principle has the right to do so (which is of course dificult as we recognize the subjectivity of each human rights standard and therefore of each human being or committee), or through consensus (and even compromise), which will undoubtedly be inluenced by the power relations of the negotiating parties, is equally confusing. There is no active engagement with issues of power or cul- tural dominance when determining the core of a right. In this paper I have tried to explore a consensus at the crossroads of the different human and children’s rights conventions relevant for this case study for determining the core of the rights. Although I was able to identify for each such a common core and use this as a conlict resolving principle, my interpretation remains extremely vulnera- ble to outside critiques since the comparative method I’ve used can be rightfully criticized. In addition, even when we are able to identify the core of right in this way, a personal interpretation remains inherent (e.g. How do others deine “exploitation”? When do we consider one thing to “interfere” with another?). It is unlikely that a universal consensus exists on this, since even a European consensus on these issues is not always self-evident. To reine the model of prioritization, four additional criteria or prin- ciples for prioritization are suggested, which acknowledge the poten- tial problematic nature of different interpretations of rights and therefore claim the priority of the rights of the individual child, the child’s best inter- est and participation over other interests, such as a too-western or pa- ternalistic interpretation, collective minority rights, or the caretakers in- terests. On the other hand these principles equally remain indecisive as the relevance of these principles is to be weight against the maturity3 of the child and its ability to make informed decisions. Again there is no norm that deines when a child is mature or adequately informed. These principles are therefore only useful when deciding on a case-by-case basis, and even then remain elusive. I would argue that taking up of a certain position on which rights should be prioritized over others (individual vs. collective, children vs. caretak- ers) as Brems does, does not threaten the inclusiveness of human rights stand- ards, but should invite for discussion. For example, as Brems states herself “I submit that group rights derive their value from the meaning they present for individuals” (2013: 214; my emphasis). These principles should therefore not be an absolute in deciding upon the core of a right, but should be correctly identi- ied as an ideological stance. In order to resolve these issues and for identifying the core and periph- ery of a right in a more deinitive way, I believe it would be interesting to turn to a similar discussion on how to allow for social justice in participatory and inclusive development. Here concepts such as reasoned debate (Kapoor, 2002) 3 In addition, whereas this latter guideline allows for a great amount of lexibility it does not make explicit the western perspective on children as ‘normatively becoming’ and therefore sometimes capable to make their own decision (vs. a view of children being unruly and therefore not able to make decisions before they have incorporated the community’s normative standards). 86 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) and negotiation (Leeuwis, 2000) through an explicit recognition of power strug- gles and diverging interests, are suggested as the adjudicative principles for inding a socially just consensus or compromise. This could also be a solution when dealing with conlicting claims and/or deciding on the core of a right. This should be made more explicit as to allow for guarantees against too arbitrary decisions and exactly revert to a too cultural relativist or proclaimed objective point of view. Relection Although it was a very dificult endeavor for me, as a development professional and anthropologist, to adapt my thinking with a legal model of inclusive uni- versality, I am very grateful for the opportunity to apply and fully understand the implications of a rights based approach (although the lectures have shown that this can surely be done in an entirely different fashion). Whereas in a de- velopment approach we often start from the idea of some kind of developmen- tal goal that has very little recognition for procedural rights and the diversity of interests within a society, this rights based approach makes an interesting case for a more inclusive and undeniable acknowledgment of each individu- al’s (and sometimes collectivity’s) rights when endeavoring development. Albeit the theoretical, instrumental and technical dificulties of implementing such an approach on the ground can be quite challenging, I consider rights based approaches as a strong way forward to ensure social justice within the glocal development discourses and processes. Bibliography Brems, E. (2003) “The margin of appreciation doctrine of the European Court of Human Rights : accommodating diversity within Europe” in David P. For- sythe and Patrice C. McMahon (eds.) Human Rights and Diversity, 2003: 30-81. Brems, E. (2013) “Inclusive universality and the child-caretaker dynamic”, in K. Hanson en O. NIeuwenhuys (eds.) Reconceptualizing Children’s Rights in International Development. Living Rights, Social Justice, Translations, Cambridge University Press: ?. Brems, E., & Gerards, J. (2014) Shaping rights in the ECHR: the role of the Europe- an Court of Human Rights in determining the scope of human rights. Cam- bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Corradi, G. (2011) “Access to justice in Pemba City: How exploring women’s lived realities with plural law uncovers programmatic gaps” Journal of Legal Pluralism (64): 1-31. HRW (2010) Off the Backs of the Children - Forced Begging and Other Abuses against Talibés in Senegal. Selected papers – 87 Kapoor, I. (2002) “The Devil’s in the Theory: a critical assessment of Robert Chambers’ work on participatory development” Third World  Quarterly (23.1): 101-117. Leeuwis, C. (2000) “Reconceptualizing Participation for Sustainable Rural De- velopment: Towards a Negotiation Approach” Development and Change (31): 931-959. Ndiaye, M. ( 1985) L’enseignement arabo-islamique au Sénégal, Istanbul, Centre de recherche sur l’histoire, l’art et la culture islamiques, Organisation de la Conférence islamique. 88 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Applying a HRBA towards development advocacy in the ‘north’: enhancing legitimacy or adding discourse? Thijs Van Laer 1. Context and problem-setting The author of this paper is currently working for 11.11.11, the platform of Flemish north-south organizations, as policy oficer for Central-Africa and focal point human rights. 11.11.11, as the umbrella organization of devel- opment NGOs, has for a long time been engaging on development issues and gradually shifted its discourse from based on charity over a needs- based approach to a strong human-rights framed vision on development. The latter becomes immediately visible when consulting the 11.11.11 Char- ter, the foundational political document endorsed by its 60 member organi- zations. The Charter starts off with framing development “not as a favor for some, but as a right for everyone”. Development is “a basic right that has to be guaranteed for every human being. Everyone must be able to exert this right and claim it for him/herself or for the group he/she belongs to”.1 11.11.11 claims to focus on the structural causes and solution of the lack of development and to “ight against injustice”, as is claimed in its baseline. This positioning on the right to development is in reality translated into public-campaigning, political work and support to local civil society groups in developing countries. 11.11.11 works on a wide variety of issues related to de- velopment, ranging from development cooperation (including advocating for the famous 0.7% of the GNP as inancing for development) over the right to food to natural resources. Human rights are certainly present in the content of the actions undertaken by 11.11.11, including by lobbying on human rights norms in trade and investment agreements, stronger safeguard policies by the World Bank (WB) or the respect of international human rights law (IHRL) in the Belgian and EU policy towards the Middle East. To a certain extent, the umbrel- la organization thus advocates for a human rights based approach (HRBA) to development by the Belgian government and international organizations (WB, IMF, UN, EU). When reading its foundational charter, different elements of a HRBA also seem to apply to the way 11.11.11 does its work, to the very process of reaching its goals. This is of particular interest, especially for its campaigning and lobby work in Belgium, since the organization in a way is a ‘spokesperson’ for the people in developing countries. However, when western ngo representatives take positions on development issues in the south, issues related to legitimacy, 1 11.11.11, Handvest, 2004, http://www.11.be/11/visie/artikel/detail/detail/hand- vest_11_11_11,1025 Selected papers – 89 participation and accountability can and do often arise, similar issues as men- tioned in publications on a HRBA to development projects. Can a HRBA be an answer to these issues and to criticism, and can the HRBA principles be applied to political work in ‘the north’? Several advantages of a HRBA, such as the pos- sibility to “to balance the impact of asymmetries in power on the development agenda” by resorting to “objective and universally agreed upon standards”2 would certainly contribute to overcoming existing weaknesses. Therefore, this will be the focus of this paper, with the following research question to be ad- dressed: To what extent is the HRBA applied to the process of development advoca- cy and political work of 11.11.11? The focus will be on the process of development advocacy, not on the content of advocacy work, although it is acknowledged that both are equally important and although substantial work is done by 11.11.11 on the content in terms of human rights and a HRBA to development. This paper will also not analyze the applicability of the HRBA to the programs of 11.11.11 with local civil society organizations in the south, even if this is also a vital component of this work. The main focus will be the work of 11.11.11, but possible analogies with other NGOs do of course exist. 2. HRBA principles as a yardstick A short web research teaches us that the existing material on the application of a HRBA to advocacy, both from the academic or practitioners’ sphere, is limited, in contrast to the literature on a HRBA for the programming and implementa- tion of development projects and programs or for the post-2015 framework. An exception is a toolkit by Minority Rights Group International (MRGI) for new EU member states on a HRBA to development education. Although development education is different from advocacy and lobby work, it certainly can be of value for the question asked in this paper. According to MRGI, the following ive prin- ciples can be used to apply a HRBA to development campaigning: 1. The use of the international human rights framework 2. The empowerment of the beneiciaries to claim their rights and to address violations 3. Addressing all segments of society, including marginalized groups 4. Addressing the rights and possible violations of all groups, including vul- nerable groups. 5. Accountability and transparency of the campaign3 2 M. Darrow & A. Thomas, “Power, Capture and Conlict: A call for Human Rights Ac- countability in Development Cooperation” in Human Rights Quarterly, Volume 27, Num- ber 2, 2005, p. 520. 3 Minority Rights Group International, Human Rights-based Approaches to development education: A toolkit for activists in new EU member states, http://www.minorityrights. org/download.php?id=729, p. 41. 90 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) In the forthcoming UNESCO guide on a HRBA to development, the fol- lowing principles are laid out: participation, accountability, non-dis- crimination and equality, transparency, empowerment and rule of law.4 To assess whether a HRBA is to a certain extent already applied into the pro- cess of development advocacy work and to investigate possible obstacles and room for improvement, the following human rights (based approach) principles will be used as a yardstick, merging the lists of Minority Rights and UNES- CO: participation of and accountability towards rights-holders; transparency; accountability patterns between duty-bearers and rights-holders; equality and non-discrimination in developing and developed countries; empowerment of rights-holders; and rule of law and the use of IHRL. First of all, the need for a free, active, meaningful and inclusive par- ticipation by and accountability towards rights-holders is an important chal- lenge when engaging in political work on development issues: it is crucial to provide the necessary legitimacy for the work done by the concerned ngo. MRGI proposes the following elements to enhance participation and account- ability: “Make your campaign transparent. Design the monitoring and evalua- tion system jointly with the communities represented in the campaign. Ensure their participation in the planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the campaign, and ensure that their views are incorporated.”5 Transparency will be discussed in another section, but the participation of ‘beneiciaries’ deinitely deserves attention. Most development NGOs working on development advocacy, such as 11.11.11, do have projects or partners in the global south and are part of global networks that also include local activist groups, allowing them to interact with the beneiciaries of their advocacy ac- tivities. Within 11.11.11, these networks do however not suficiently result in a meaningful participation of beneiciaries throughout the whole project cycle of a campaign or a lobbying trajectory. Beneiciaries (or ‘rights-holders’) are seldom consulted in a structural and meaningful sense. The involvement of beneiciaries in campaigning, including in the yearly November campaign, is limited to the provision of some testimonials by local partner organizations to include ‘the voice of the south’. The goal here is mainly to show legitimacy of the international ngo towards its public in the north, not to really engage in struc- tural cooperation. In the past, common campaigns with local NGOs have taken place, with mixed results. Concerning lobbying positions, the participation is a lot more qualitative, depending nevertheless on the personal networks of the responsible policy oficer and on the concerned theme. Contacts with partners are mostly limited to the 11.11.11 employees responsible for the partnership programs, who are not central in deining advocacy policies and strategies, and do also include pitfalls. Beneiciaries of foreign funding rarely challenge the narrative, priorities and strategies of their funding agencies because of fear of losing their inancial means. Furthermore, local civil society groups that are 4 A. Vandenbogaerde, W. Vandenhole and Konstantinos Tararas, Human Rights-Based Approaches to Development, UNESCO Manual, forthcoming, pp. 29-39. 5 Minority Rights Group International, p. 41. Selected papers – 91 suitable for support programs by international NGOs are often composed of the urban, highly-educated and cosmopolitan elite, with a possibly disconnected- ness from a real popular base. The main reason for this mitigated result is, according to the author, due to the dominance of the northern political and communicative agenda on the campaigning and advocacy priorities and methods in the work of 11.11.11. NGOs working on development advocacy often compete for the limited press coverage on north-south issues, have to work with tight deadlines and are often dominated by professionals that have limited experience working in the south. The existence of this participation shortcoming is acknowledged, but this is of- ten grounded in a need to increase (the perception of) legitimacy of the NGOs work and positions and rarely bring about a real change in terms of activities, positions and modalities of development advocacy work in the north. While ensuring participation is thus not an evident issue for development advocacy, accountability of duty-bearers is far more present in the activities carried out by 11.11.11 and similar NGOs. Holding duty-bearers accountable for their obligations is at the core of development activism: a lot of attention is devoted to denounce violations and to demand justice and redress in situations of human rights violations, although it is often not framed as such. Three short- comings can however be identiied. Firstly, dificulties arise when addressing the obligations of the main duty-bearing in the current human rights frame- work: the state of which the victims of violations are nationals. Legitimacy is- sues arise when a European ngo directly engages the state in a development country: what ‘right’ does a Western ngo have to criticize a government of a developing country? This is reinforced when the home country of the ngo is the former colonizing power of the concerned developing country, as is the case for the thematic focus of the author. Attempts to neutralize criticism in terms of paternalism or neo-colonialism (terms often used by those that are criticized) are and can be made referring to IHRL but also by putting more emphasis on the role of the ‘international community’ and especially the foreign policy of the home state of the ngo. This brings us to the second shortcoming: NGOs such as 11.11.11 can have the tendency to overemphasize the role of the international community to promote human rights, address violations and provide effective remedy in a given country. This is not always in conformity with the existing (but not static) body of IHRL, with a primary focus on the state as a duty-bearer, but can also be in contradiction with the actual situation on the ground, where often violations are the responsibility of (the lack of action by) the domestic state and need a national process to provide real solutions. Thirdly, development ad- vocacy is in itself less focused on capacity-building of rights-holders to claim their rights. The main focus is on changing international policy directly, not on the strengthening of rights-holders, who tend to be overlooked and even weak- ened. One should however mention that NGOs often also implement projects or programs on the ground that aim at reinforcing these right-holders (cfr. infra). NGOs such as 11.11.11 often have a strong focus on equality and non-discrimination in more general and global terms, such as the ight against inequality. The focus on structural and larger patterns, also in country-spe- ciic advocacy, however brings about a lesser focus on aggregation of data 92 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) or on speciic vulnerable or minority groups, such as required in a HRBA.6 Speciic interests of affected groups such as women or minorities are from time to time addressed by 11.11.11, but their involvement in the ad- vocacy process or in public communication is almost zero. Furthermore, as the MRGI-manual rightly states, NGOs should also address their mes- sages to all segments in their own (in casu Belgian) society, includ- ing marginalized groups such as handicapped people and migrants.7 This is a huge challenge, since both the staff and the natural constituency of NGOs such as 11.11.11 mainly consists of middle-income, cosmopolitan and highly-educated people, which makes it challenging but equally important to reach out to vulnerable groups. Transparency is deined as a process to make public policies and de- cisions visible and accessible to the public, grounded in the notion that people have a right to know about and to control policies and actions that affect them.8 The Belgian ngo-community has certainly taken steps to improve their trans- parency, through the publishing of their positions but also of inancial and oth- er quantitative data on the websites of umbrella organizations 11.11.11 and Ngo-federatie9. These transparency efforts are however mainly directed at the (more and more critical) population of the NGOs home country. Stakeholders in the south, on the other hand, are almost unable to consult the available in- formation, because of the language and IT barrier. More steps deinitely have to be taken to improve transparency towards the concerned rights-holders in the south, making information available in their language and actively pursuing outreach to the concerned communities, especially when speciic cases are be- ing addressed in development advocacy, such as on the respect for economic, social and cultural rights in and around mining sites. When it comes to empowerment, the image of development ad- vocacy by 11.11.11 and likeminded NGOs is mixed, depending on the level on which the principle of empowerment is applied. Two lev- els can be distinguished: the individual level and the state level.10 When empowerment is framed as reinforcing individuals so that these can ex- ercise their rights and claim them vis-à-vis the duty-holder(s), development ad- vocacy has little effect. Collaboration with southern civil society organizations on a common lobbying trajectory can nevertheless reinforce the latter actors, although, as mentioned above, this is mainly done to increase the (perception of) legitimacy of the international ngo. Programs and projects implemented by the same NGOs can of course empower right-holders. Further steps can be taken to make the voices of local actors heard and to positively communicate about their stories and images, avoiding stereotypes. When framing empowerment from a second and more macro-level as the responsibility of the state to provide an enabling environment conducive to 6 A. Vandenbogaerde, W. Vandenhole & Konstantinos Tararas, pp. 34-36. 7 Minority Rights Group International, p. 41. 8 A. Vandenbogaerde, W. Vandenhole & Konstantinos Tararas, p. 37. 9 See www.11.be and www.ngo-federatie.be 10 A. Vandenbogaerde, W. Vandenhole & Konstantinos Tararas, p. 38. Selected papers – 93 the fulillments of all human rights, the image is certainly brighter. 11.11.11 often includes the need for an enabling environment for human rights in their positions on inter alia trade, development cooperation or global governance. This is mostly, but not exclusively, centered on advocating for an enabling en- vironment for local civil society, explained by the civil-society nature of NGOs themselves. An overemphasis can however exist on the role of the international community to bring about such an enabling environment, in a similar way as was discussed here above for the application of the accountability principle. The rule of law is deinitely a cornerstone of the work of most develop- ment NGOs: the strengthening of regulation on different actors of development (state, private sector, international organizations) as well as its enforceability are regularly part of the priorities and action plans of various NGOs. More can however be done to contribute to enforceability of regulation. International de- velopment NGOs have a tendency to frame and pursue their actions often in political terms and could improve their use of the human rights framework and judicial mechanisms to get results. A lack of knowledge on human rights treaties and procedures and cold feet to engage in time-consuming procedures could be part of the explanation. 3. Conclusion From the rather supericial and limited analysis conducted in this paper on the application of HRBA-principles to development advocacy as done by 11.11.11, one can conclude that these principles could be instrumental to enhance the legitimacy of the ngo as well as to reinforce the capacity of both rights-holders and duty-bearers (or at least avoid doing harm). Several obstacles do however exist, entrenched in the very nature of development advocacy as driven by the northern political and public agenda. Initiatives have to be taken to improve ac- countability and the knowledge and use of legal frameworks by those involved in development advocacy. Further research into the applicability of the HRBA to development advocacy and the development of speciic toolkits would certainly provide an added value. A set of guidelines should be developed speciically for a HRBA towards advocacy, which would imply developing speciic standards re- lated to the speciicities of advocacy work. The importance of an organizational ‘enabling environment’ to allow policy oficers to develop a better understand- ing of structural dynamics and local contexts, by investing in terrain visits, study work etc. should deinitely be developed in that sense. 94 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Human Rights Violations by Transnational Corporations in Developing Countries: Methodological Framework and the Realist Critique Lieselot Verdonck 1. Introduction I am currently undertaking the challenging activity of writing a doctoral dis- sertation on the issue of human rights violations committed by transnational corporations (TNCs) in developing countries. My case study focuses on envi- ronmental degradation caused by natural resource extraction and the resulting health risks for local communities living in the vicinity of such projects. Con- fronted with the abundance of knowledge and resources in the ield of human rights and development, I had vainly hoped that HR4DEV would enlighten me. Instead, most sessions left me in confusion at irst, but they subsequently en- couraged me to relect on their implications for my research project. Although every single session has been thought-provoking, in this paper I will focus on two main issues. First, I ponder on the relationship between the set-up of my research project and the localizing human rights (LHR) framework explicated by Professor De Feyter. Second, inspired by Professor Dembour’s session on critiques to human rights, I took up the challenge of thinking critically about human rights violations committed by TNCs in developing countries. For both issues I will relect on their relevance for and application to my research project as well as on the lessons that I will draw from them. 2. Exploring the Localizing Human Rights Framework Human rights and development are at least linked in the following four ways: there is a right to development; development actors increasingly adopt a hu- man rights based approach to development; transnational obligations for hu- man rights are the subject of heated discussions; and, researchers increasingly examine the local relevance of human rights. In my doctoral dissertation I will analyze litigation strategies as a tool to constrain corporate behavior and to ensure that TNCs at the very least respect the rights of the people living in their vicinity. My research project is thus inextricably connected to the idea of transnational human rights obligations. However, given the particular set-up of my research — notably the fact that I focus on whether human rights claims formulated by local communities in response to the adverse impacts of eco- Selected papers – 95 nomic globalization upon their lives can effectively change corporate conduct — compels me to consider how my research project relates to the LHR frame- work. The main idea behind this framework is that human rights abuses are experienced at the local level and that the global human rights regime can only be practical and effective if it adequately protects against local abuses. Through the LHR framework (see Figure 1) researchers examine whether local needs indeed inspire the further interpretation and elaboration of human rights. The question is thus whether local groups, that are generally powerless to impact national policies, can shift the domestic balance of power. Figure 1. The process of LHR There is deinitely (1) Regional court, UN monitoring body, decisions by international some overlap be- organizations, universal jurisdiction judgments (Source: Oré Aguilar, 2011, p. 131). tween my research project and the LHR framework. First of all, I look into human rights violations suf- fered by local groups and the subsequent human rights claims they formulate. In addition, my re- search is not neces- sarily limited to claims based on human rights law — as was stressed at regular in- tervals throughout the course, human rights do not equal human rights law. It sufices that the local community making the claim uses human rights language, iden- tiies a duty-holder and insists on the accountability of that duty-holder for the human rights violation. Nevertheless, my research project is more limited, be- cause it only deals with human rights claims that are expressed in the course of a judicial strategy. I acknowledge, however, that such strategy is but one trajectory available to victims when their rights are under threat and is even unlikely in and of itself to result in true legal or social transformation. Generally, litigation thus forms part of a wider social and political strategy to raise awareness and to ind broad public support for the proposed change — which I will take into account when assessing the effectiveness of judicial proceedings. Similarly to the LHR framework, my research project then examines the response of the relevant authorities to the litigated human rights claim. Where- as in the case of a failure, research under the LHR framework goes a step fur- ther by looking at the possibilities at regional or international human rights fora, this is not within the ambit of my research project, which immediately addresses the question of impact. That question is relevant both for the local 96 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) community that formulated the initial claim and for any other community facing a similar situation. I will compare different litigation strategies within one legal system so as to discuss their effectiveness and the underlying causes thereof. Whereas the LHR framework eventually aims at establishing whether local hu- man rights claims have an impact on the normative framework of international human rights law, my research project analyzes whether and how local human rights claims may impact the domestic legal framework that should constrain corporate behavior so as to ensure that TNCs respect the rights of local com- munities living in their vicinity. Fitting the set-up of my research project into the LHR scheme results in the slightly modiied research scheme represented in Figure 2. In sum, the Figure 2. The set-up of my research project as compared to the LHR framework LHR framework is deinitely relevant for the set-up of my research. Our basic assumption, that local communities should inspire the interpretation and elaboration of hu- man rights, is iden- tical. My project, however, focuses on the litigation of local human rights claims, and their im- pact upon domestic as opposed to inter- national and region- al law. I believe that both approaches are complementary and, accordingly, I will deinitely learn from any results of research undertaken in the context of the LHR framework 3. Realistic Critique to Hunan Rights in Relations to TNCs Human rights are not free from criticism. There is a diversity of critical theories on human rights, some of which are limited to denouncing their lawed practice while others question the very idea or concept of human rights and their abili- ty to realize true justice, equity and emancipation. Since my research projects analyzes litigation strategies that ultimately seek to ensure that States ade- quately constrain corporate behavior, I relect on the relevance of one particu- lar critique, notably realism, to the issue of human rights violations committed by TNCs in developing countries. Selected papers – 97  The realist critique is in fact at the heart of my research project. We are currently facing a globalized world in which TNCs are increasingly capa- ble of threatening human rights in way that is essentially similar to the threat emanating from the formerly omnipotent State. Nevertheless, whereas the in- luence and leverage of TNCs in the international arena is undeniable, inter- national human rights law has not yet responded to this fact by imposing any duties on these ‘new’ international actors. For several decades the interna- tional community has been (unsuccessfully) exploring the possibility to directly impose human rights obligations upon TNCs. Although human rights advocates and activists frequently denounce the abuses committed by TNCs, there is as yet no way to enforce any direct legal obligations for human rights upon these wealthy economic actors. Nevertheless, I should already note that since human rights are not limited to human rights law, the absence of a real remedy does not prevent the use of human rights language. States are thus still the primary duty-bearers under the international human rights regime and have to protect their population against infringe- ments by private actors such as TNCs. Accordingly, they should adopt laws, regulations and policies that adequately govern corporate behavior. From a re- alist perspective, this indirect approach has clear limits. Realist critiques posit that human rights do not pre-exist but are created, because real rights demand man-made laws. The state is thus a key actor. However, as highlighted by the realist critique, states only act in their own interest (‘raison d’état’). Both the argument that human rights require real laws and that the State and its interests play an essential role in this regard are the starting po- sition of my research project. After all, developing countries are unlikely to reg- ulate corporate behavior for fear of divestment. Ever since the decolonization and independence movements, these countries want to attract foreign invest- ment in order to stimulate their economic growth. Moreover, in an economi- cally globalized world the revenues of a TNC may very well surpass the gross domestic product of a single state, deinitely of a developing country. States may thus de facto be incapable of enforcing more stringent standards vis-à-vis TNCs. Then I have not even mentioned the problem of investment agreements that protect the commercial interests of TNCs and, accordingly, prohibit the subsequent adoption of stricter laws. Nevertheless, since there are no direct human rights obligations for TNCs that could address the adverse effects of globalization, ‘real laws’ at the domestic level are required for local communi- ties to truly enjoy their rights. Therefore, in my research project I want to examine whether and how any possible reluctance on the part of the government of developing countries to adopt adequate laws, regulations and policies can be tackled through do- mestic litigation. This demonstrates how my belief in human rights is as strong as ever. In particular, human rights should be used to challenge the persisting inequities that constitute a legacy as well as a continuation of colonialism. How- ever, I am aware of the fact that also the judiciary operates within that same State and might thus be captured by its interests in economic growth. Moreover, even if progressive judgments for the protection of human rights are adopted, their enforcement demands government intervention. 98 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  Now that I have relected on the relevance of the realist critique for my research project — a thinking process that I could repeat for all human rights critiques, as was rightly pointed out by Professor Dembour — I would like to conclude by highlighting two points that I have learned from this exercise. First, I still believe in the idea of human rights. Even those critiques that not merely demand a better human rights practice, but challenge the very idea of human rights, do so in the pursuit of a more just world. Therefore, instead of ignoring critical theories of human rights for fear of opening Pandora’s Box, they should be taken into account so as to inform human rights research and practice and to progressively sculpt human rights into tools that are effective in achieving a more just world. Second, the realist critique has highlighted some issues that are of critical importance in order for my research project to be successful; in addressing my research questions I should be aware of the ‘raison d’état’ and, accordingly, the extent to which a developing country is capable to regulate TNCs operating on its territory. 4. Conclusion The interplay between human rights and development has been stirring emo- tions amongst academics, human rights practitioners and development actors for many years. My research project tackles one particular issue in this ield, namely business and human rights in a globalized economy. As I want to ana- lyze litigation strategies that contribute to constraining corporate behavior so as to ensure respect for the rights of local communities living in the vicinity of TNCs, I was particularly interested in two topics addressed during the irst module of HR4DEV. The irst topic, the LHR framework, is rather of methodological rele- vance for my research project. In this paper I have relected on how the set-up of my research relates to this particular framework and, accordingly, how my project can be informed by the experiences encountered by LHR research. Sim- ilar to the idea of localizing human rights, in my doctoral dissertation I examine how local human rights claims may be used to shift the domestic balance of power and to respond to a government that is reluctant to adequately regulate corporate behavior. The second topic, the realist critique to human rights, has given me the opportunity to carefully think about the possible limits to using human rights as a tool to realize a more just society. Whereas the realist critique is in fact one of the reasons why I have opted for examining the role of the judiciary in ensuring that the State adequately regulates corporate behavior, I am aware that judges are members of that very same society and might also be captured by the rai- son d’état. Nevertheless, the objective of my research is precisely to examine which litigation strategies are most effective in increasing control over corpo- rate conduct and which features of a domestic legal system are relevant to this end. Human rights critiques should not make us lose trust in human rights, but should encourage us to improve them so that they can be used to address the abuses suffered by vulnerable and marginalized groups. Selected papers – 99 Bibliography Oré Aguilar, G. (2011), “The local relevance of human rights: a methodological approach”, in Koen De Feyter et al. (eds.), The Local Relevance of Human Rights, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 100 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV)  APPENDIX 1. Summary Programme 2. ENMCR Newsletter 3. Biographies of Speakers and Participants Appendix – 101  ANNEX I: HR4DEV – SUMMARY PROGRAMME Week 1 Sunday Monday 28-07 Tuesday 29-07 Wednesday 30-07 Thursday 31-07 Friday 01-08 Saturday 102 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Welcome and Course Right to Localising human Theme Objectives Human rights Development development rights Development Oficial Opening of International Human Development Overview: Linking Localising human Course Rights Law and paradigms Human Rights and rights: Introductory lecture Institutions J. Adam Development (15’) Approach and (objectives and S. Smis A. Vandenbogaerde Methodology structure) K. De Feyter 9– G. Corradi & Concept, Context, 10:30 W. Vandenhole Current Debate A. Punj Getting to know each other K. Vlieghe & S. Lembrechts Opening lecture: De- Critical approaches to Development and A Critical Perspective Case studies on local- velopment – critical human rights (1) conlict A. Vandenbogaerde izing human rights 11 – perspectives M. Goodale J. Adam K. De Feyter Arrival Free 12:30 R. Kosla Respondent: M. Goodale Brieing paper Critical approaches to Critical approaches: Towards a Framework Critiques assignment human rights (2) gender and develop- Convention on the M.B. Dembour 14 – W. Vandenhole M. Goodale ment Right to Develop- 15:30 A. Punj ment? Library Tour K. De Feyter L. Verdonck Paper Brainstorm paper & Critical approaches: Paper Open forum open forum gender and devel- 16 – opment: Exercise/ 17:30 relection A. Punj 17:30 Meet Free 17:00 VISIT City walk Free (Dinner with Free Evening and drink speakers) & Greet  Week 2 Thursday 07-08 Sunday Monday 04-08 Tuesday 05-08 Wednesday 06-08 09:00 deadline paper for Friday 08-08 Saturday participants Module 1 Rights-based Transnational Human Rights and Natural Resource Project work Theme Approaches to Human Rights Legal Pluralism Exploitation Development Obligations An overview Emerging Frame- Human Rights and Natural resource Roundtable discussion (+ theories of works Legal Pluralism exploitation with NGO representatives change) W. Vandenhole G. Corradi P. Urteaga (9-10.00) K. Tararas • Anthony Vanoverschelde • Thomas Craenen 9– • Lien Phan Thi Kim 10:30 • Lies Dewallef Explanation project work (10.00 – 10.30) W. Vandenhole & A. Vanden- bogaerde RBAD experiences Workshop: Com- Workshop: Legal Project work: design/adapt of NGOs panies pluralism and a rights-based development 11 – K. Tararas L. Verdonck human rights project? Free 12:30 Free E. Desmet W. Vandenhole & A. Vanden- bogaerde The UNESCO man- Paper Law of the Jungle Panel with NGO / IO Presentations project work ual: introduction Documentary representatives : policies, + feedback from NGOs Exercise / Relec- practices and challeng- Selected papers – 103 tion es of natural resource 14 – K. Tararas exploitation 15:30 P. Urteaga; Y. Weyns (IPIS) Koen Warmenbol (11.11.11.); R. Herman (UNESCO) Moderation: E. Desmet 16 – Open Forum Paper Paper Feedback session on papers 17:30 Closing session Evening Free Free Free Free Free  Week 3 Multidisciplinary introduction Towards a critical approach Sunday 10/08 Monday 11/08 Tuesday 12/08 Wednesday 13/08 Thursday 14/08 Friday 15/08 Saturday 16/08 Children’s rights & Children’s rights & Implementation & Theme Children’s rights law Critical approaches 104 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) social science anthropology working methods Children’s rights as Childhood images Introduction Implementation: Panel discussion: human rights B. Vanobbergen G. André introductory lecture Cornerstones of a 9– W. Vandenhole K. Hanson critical approach 10:30 E. Desmet, K. Hanson, D. Reynaert, R. Roose, W. Vandenhole International and re- Educational and Workshop Children’s Rights Case study critical Arrival new gional mechanisms pedagogical per- G. André from below & re- approach: Curriculum 11 – participants on children’s rights spective fracting development HR- 12:30 W. Vandenhole D. Reynaert K. Hanson 4DEV/ICCR: W. Vand- enhole, D. Reynaert Brieing assignment; Workshop Open forum Testimony on human Paper Free (library tour) D. Reynaert & B. and children’s rights 14 – Vanobbergen activism, followed by 15:30 debate N. Cruz & B. Rodriguez Cortes Paper Paper Paper Optional parallel sessions: • Informal meet & greet (in Spanish) • N. Cruz & B. Rodri- 16 – guez Cortes 17:30 • Practical aspects of organizing a training course • K. Vlieghe & S. Lembrechts Walk through Free Free Free Free Free Ghent with Evening dinner at Vooruit  Week 4 Thematic approaches Closing Sunday Wednesday 20/08 Saturday Monday 18/08 Tuesday 19/08 Thursday 21/08 Friday 22/08 17/08 17:30 deadline paper 23/08 Children & cultural Children & global Children & armed Theme Children & migration Concluding lectures diversity poverty conlict 9– Extra session (t.b.c.) 10:30 Experiences from Children on the move: the African and CRC Between universal- World poverty and A perspective from the Introduction to the Committee ism and relativism social justice global South legal framework B. Mezmur (t.b.c.) E. Brems M. Benavides K. Van Buyten & W. Vandenhole Feedback session on Z. Herman papers Brainstorm & evalua- tion of the course 11 – Psycho-social per- Case study: Roma An anti-globalist Unaccompanied mi- 12:30 Free spective on children & Departures children in Ghent perspective nors in Europe Closing Ceremony armed conlict E. Hemelsoet F. Mestrum I. Derluyn R. Kasujja 14 – Gender, sexuality and Workshop : title A transitional justice 15:30 LGBT Children’s Rights I. Derluyn, K. Van Buyten perspective K. De Graeve Walk & Z. Herman S. Parmentier Selected papers – 105 17:30 Deadline Paper Departures 16 – Paper for participants of Mod- 17 :30 ule 2 and entire course Paper Free Evening Free Free ANNEX II: ENMCR Newsletter 106 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Appendix – 107 ANNEX III: Biographies of speakers and participants EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BREMS, Eva Belgium – Ghent University Eva Brems is a Professor of Human Rights Law at Ghent University. Before joining the Ghent University Law Faculty in September 2000, she studied law at the universities of Namur (candidat 1989), Leuven (licenciaat 1992) and Harvard (LL.M 1995), and she was a PhD researcher at the University of Leuven (1995- 1999) and a lecturer at Maastricht University (1999-2000). At Ghent University, she founded the Human Rights Centre. Eva’s research interests cover most are- as of human rights law, in European and international law as well as in Belgian and comparative law, with a particular emphasis on the protection of the rights of non-dominant groups and individuals. She has a keen interest in multi- and interdisciplinary research. Eva has been an activist in the board of several Bel- gian human rights NGOs, including as the chair of the Flemish section Amnesty International (2006-2010), and she was briely active in politics (as a member of the Belgian federal Chamber of Representatives 2010-2014). CORRADI, Gisele Argentina / Belgium – Ghent University Giselle Corradi is a post-doctoral researcher at the Human Rights Centre at the Law Faculty of Ghent University. She studied law in Buenos Aires before moving to Ghent, where she completed her Masters in Comparative Studies of Culture (2005) and her PhD in Law (2012). Her research focuses on the interplay between human rights and legal pluralism in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Before joining the Human Rights Centre in 2008, Giselle Corradi worked as a consultant for fair trade projects in Guatemala and Peru for the Durabilis Foundation (2006-2007). DESMET, Ellen Belgium – Ghent University / University of Antwerp Ellen Desmet is a post-doctoral fellow at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University and the Law and Development Research Group of the University of Antwerp. She is the project manager of the Interuniversity Attraction Pole “The Global Challenge of Human Rights Integration: Towards a Users’ Perspec- tive”. Before that, Ellen was researcher and policy staff member at the Chil- dren’s Rights Knowledge Centre, and a substitute lecturer in anthropology of law at the KU Leuven. She complemented her law studies with a master in Cultures and Development Studies (KU Leuven) and a master in Development Cooperation (UGent), and holds a PhD in Law from the KU Leuven. Her research interests are situated in the ields of human rights (including children’s rights and indigenous peoples’ rights), legal anthropology and research methodology. 108 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) LEMBRECHTS, Sara Belgium – Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre (KeKi) Sara Lembrechts is fulltime staff member at the Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre (KeKi), where she is responsible for the collection and dissemination of children’s rights research, as well as for policy advice to the Flemish gov- ernment. She has a MA in Childhood Studies & Children’s Rights from the Free University of Berlin (Germany), as well as an LLM in International & European Law and a BA in European Studies, both from the University of Maastricht (Netherlands). She has experience as an intern with Amnesty In- ternational in New Zealand, with UNICEF in Geneva and with the Belgian Na- tional Commission on Children’s Rights (NCRK). In addition, she has regularly assisted KeKi with projects and events since 2010, including the international children’s rights course ICCR in 2010, and the irst edition of HR4DEV in 2012. PARMENTIER, Stephan Belgium – KU Leuven Stephan Parmentier studied law, political science and sociology at the univer- sities of Ghent and Leuven (Belgium) and sociology and conlict resolution at the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (U.S.A.). He currently teaches sociology of crime, law, and human rights at the Faculty of Law of the University of Leuven and is the former head of the De- partment of Criminal Law and Criminology (2005-2009). All over the globe he has served as a visiting professor (Oñati, San José, Sydney, Tilburg, Tokyo), visiting scholar (Oxford, Stellenbosch, Sydney) and guest lecturer in the ields of human rights, criminology and socio-legal studies. His research interests include political crimes and transitional justice, human rights and asylum, and restorative justice and peacebuilding. REYNAERT, Didier Belgium – University College Ghent Didier Reynaert holds a bachelor in child nursing and a master in special edu- cation (orthopedagogics). In 2012 he obtained his PhD in Social Work at Ghent University with a dissertation on children’s rights education and the role of the children’s rights movement in implementing the U.N.-Convention on the Rights of the Child. As lecturer social work at the Faculty of Education Health and Social work of the University College Ghent, he is involved in several research projects in the ield of child and youth policy and children’s rights. He is member of the board of the Flemish Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre. Previously, he worked for the Flemish Children’s Rights Coalition, the Child Legal Centre and as a civil servant at the Ministry of the Flemish Commu nity on youth protection. SMIS, Stefaan Belgium – Free University Brussels Stefaan Smis is professor at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB). His research focuses on international law, interna- tional protection of human rights, settlement of international disputes, states in transition, the prosecution of grave violations of human rights, relationship between human rights and international humanitarian law, and regional in- Appendix – 109 tegration in Africa. Stefaan also holds teaching positions at the University of Westminster (UK – London), at the Belgian Royal Higher Institute for Defense and at the Université Catholique de Bukavu (UCB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he created the Centre régional des droits de l’homme et de droit international humanitaire as a interuniversity development coop- eration project between the VUB and the UCB. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Georgia (USA), the University of Ghent (Belgium), the Univer- sity of Antwerp (Belgium), the Catholique University of Bukavu (DR Congo) and the University Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique). VANDENHOLE, Wouter Belgium – University of Antwerp Wouter Vandenhole teaches human rights and holds the UNICEF Chair in Chil- dren’s Rights – a joint venture of the University of Antwerp and UNICEF Belgium – at the Faculty of Law of the University of Antwerp (Belgium). He is the spokes- person of the Law and Development Research Group and chairs the European Research Networking Programme GLOTHRO. His research aims at exploring the interaction between, and mutual enrichment of, children’s rights and hu- man rights in the ield of economic, social and cultural rights. Particular atten- tion is paid to the mobilization of children’s rights in the Global South. VLIEGHE, Kathy Belgium – Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre (KeKi) Kathy Vlieghe has a master’s degree in German philology and a specializa- tion in documentation and literature sciences from Ghent University, Belgium. From 1989 to 2009, she worked as a scientiic collaborator at the Centre for the Rights of the Child (Ghent University). Until today, she is associated for 10% at the Department of Social Welfare Studies of Ghent University. She is co-organ- izer of different national and international training programmes, such as the Post-Academic Training Children’s Rights and the International Interdiscipli- nary Course on Children’s Rights. She is also editorial secretary of the Journal on Youth and Children’s Rights (in Dutch: Tijdschrift voor Jeugd en Kinderre- chten). SPEAKERS ADAM, Jeroen Belgium – Ghent University Jeroen Adam is an assistant professor at the department of Conlict and Devel- opment studies, Ghent University. His work mainly focuses on the link between resource governance and violent conlict in Southeast Asia, more in particular Indonesia and the Philippines. He is also an afiliated researcher at the Justice and Security Research Programme, based at the London School of Economics where he is responsible for a project on Theories of Change and Conlict Medi- ation in the Philippines. 110 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) ANDRE, Géraldine Belgium – University of Liège Géraldine André is a Postdoctoral Researcher for the National Fund for Sci- entiic Researcher in Belgium. She is currently visiting fellow at LSE, and in Belgium, she is afiliated to Pôle Sud and the Lasc at the University of Liège. Her PhD on working class youth and vocational education has been recently published (PUF, 2012). Her postdoctoral research focuses on the case of Afri- can child workers in small-scale artisanal mining. With this focus, she aims at analyzing the effects on the legislation of children’s rights on the evolution of processes of socialization in Sub-Saharan Africa. BENAVIDES, Martin Peru – GRADE Martín Benavides has a PhD in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University where he also attained a Master’s Degree in Education Policy. He has a degree in Sociology from the Pontiical Catholic University of Peru. He is currently the Executive Director and a Senior Researcher at GRADE and also works as a Associate Professor in the Department of Social Science at the Pontiical Catholic University, where he is a member of the Faculty Council and the Ad- visory Committee of Graduate Programs in Sociology. He served as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University during the 2007-2008 academic year and he is an Afiliated -Researcher at the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality. He has done research on education, children development, youth and violence. He was responsible for the elaboration of the reports of children situation in Peru for Unicef and has been a consultant of different institutions such as Bernard Van Leer, Ford Foundation, IDRC, Hewlett foundation, World Bank and IADB. CRAENEN, Thomas Belgium – NGO Broederlijk Delen Thomas Craenen is Programme Manager for South America for the NGO Broederlijk Delen. He is in charge of managing and monitoring the country pro- grammes for Bolivia, Colombia and Peru and coaches local representatives. He also contributes to the organization’s lobbying efforts in the EU. His areas of specialization are human rights, natural resource exploitation and civil so- ciety. Within Broederlijk Delen, he has also held the positions of programme manager for the Middle East (February 2011 – September 2012), for which he has managed a rights-based regional programme with local partners in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel, and of country representative in Peru (January 2005 – December 2010). Before taking up his posts at Broederli- jk Delen, he has been a development worker in Peru (Coordinadora Nacional de Comunidades del Perú Afectadas por la Minería, June 2002 – December 2004), a policy oficer Belgian development cooperation policy (11.11.11, November 2001 – May 2002) and a European Information Oficer (October 1998 – March 2001). Appendix – 111 CRUZ, Norma Guatemala Norma Cruz is an outspoken and well-respected human rights defender in Guatemala, willing to stand up against abuse and impunity. Known particularly for her advocacy on behalf of women and children, Cruz founded Fundación Sobrevivientes (Survivor’s Foundation), a non-governmental organization that supports survivors of violence with legal and psychological support services, including shelter. Cruz’s peace work dates back to the war years in Guatemala (1960-1996) when she took a leadership role in the resistance movement. Cruz has since focused mainly on post-conlict violence against women – inspired in part by sexual abuse that her daughter endured. Standing up to the perpetra- tors of violence, Cruz often accompanies survivors of violence to the courtroom lanked by an impressive legal team. In recognition of her courage, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. In 2009, Cruz was awarded a U.S. State Department International Woman of Courage Award, a distinction reserved for only a handful of women making a profound impact with their work. DE GRAEVE, Katrien Belgium – Ghent University Katrien De Graeve is a postdoctoral research fellow of the Research Founda- tion Flanders (FWO), afiliated to the Department of Languages and Cultures of Ghent University. In the academic year 2013-1014, she has worked as a visiting fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (Finland). She holds a Master degree in African Languages and Cultures and a PhD in Comparative Sciences of Culture, both from Ghent University, Belgium. Her research inter- ests are situated at the intersection of critical kinship and family studies and the anthropology of migration and postcoloniality, with transnational adoption and guardianship of refugee minors as speciic empirical focus. DE FEYTER, Koen Belgium – University of Antwerp Koen De Feyter is the Chair of International Law at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), Faculty of Law. He is the Spokesperson of the Law and Develop- ment Research Group at the University of Antwerp Legal School, the Convenor of the International research network on ‘Localising human rights’, Chair of VLIR-UOS (Flemish Interuniversity Council – university cooperation for devel- opment); Board Member of the Inter-University Research Network on Law and Development, LAW&DEV; and board member of the academic committee of international summer schools on ‘Cinema, human rights, advocacy’ (National University of Ireland, Galway), ‘Liberty, equality and fraternity’ (Utrecht Net- work) and ‘Religion, culture, society’ (UCSIA). DEMBOUR, Marie-Bénédicte United Kingdom – University of Brighton Marie-Benedicte Dembour is Professor of Law and Anthropology at the Univer- sity of Brighton. She joined t he Brighton Business School in September 2013, where she leads the research of the law subject group. She received a teaching award (2003) from the University of Sussex where she was based from 1991 112 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) till 2013, as well as various research awards. Marie studied law at the Free University of Brussels and Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford. She has been a visiting scholar/tutor/Professor at various European institutions, including the University of Oxford and the Free University of Brussels. She is regularly invited to participate in international conferences and workshops. Her main research interests relate to human rights, business eth- ics, ethnographic studies of law and migration. DERLUYN, Ilse Belgium – Ghent University Ilse Derluyn obtained her PhD in Pedagogical Sciences at Ghent University (Belgium) and is currently afiliated as lecturer to the Department of Social Work, Ghent University, where she teaches courses in migration and refugee studies. Ilse is also co-director of the Centre for Children in Vulnerable Sit- uations, an interuniversity centre researching the psychosocial well-being of children in vulnerable situations in the South (www.centreforchildren.be). Ilse’s main research topics concern the psychosocial well-being of migrant and refu- gee children, child soldiers, unaccompanied minors, war-affected children and victims of traficking. DEWALLEF, Liesbet Belgium / Haiti Lies Dewallef has been an NGO development worker for the Belgian NGO Broederlijk Delen at RNDDH (National Human Rights Defense Network – Port au Prince, Haiti) from 2010 until end 2013. She also has work experience with Humanita rian Accountability Partnership International and Trócaire. Lies- bet studied at the KU Leuven in Belgium, where she obtained her licentiate in Social and Cultural Anthropology in 2001. As an enthusiastic participant of the 2012 edition of HR4DEV, she has a lot of experience in delivering participatory training on Human Rights Based Approaches to Development. GOODALE, Mark United States of America / Switzerland – George Mason University / University of Lausanne Mark Goodale is an anthropologist, sociolegal scholar, social theorist and the Series Editor of Stanford Studies in Human Rights. Until 2014, he was Professor of Conlict Analysis and Anthropology at George Mason University (USA) and from August 2014 he will occupy the chair in cultural and social anthropolo- gy at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). He is the author or editor of nine books, including, most recently, Human Rights at the Crossroads (Oxford UP, 2013), Mirrors of Justice (with Kamari Maxine Clarke, Cambridge UP, 2010), Surrendering to Utopia: An Anthropology of Human Rights (Stanford UP, 2009), and The Practice of Human Rights (with Sally Engle Merry, Cambridge UP, 2007). He is currently writing a book on the relationship between law, human rights, and radical social change based on six years of ield research in revolutionary Bolivia. For more information, see www.mark-goodale.com. Appendix – 113 HANSON, Karl Belgium / Switzerland – Children’s Rights Unit, University Institute Kurt Bösch (IUKB) Karl Hanson is Professor in Public Law at the Children’s Rights Unit, University Institute Kurt Bösch (IUKB) in Sion, Switzerland. He received his PhD in Law from Ghent University, Belgium, where he worked as a Researcher at the Chil- dren’s Rights Centre and as a Senior Researcher at the Human Rights Centre. His publications and main research interests are in the emerging ield of interdisciplinary children’s rights studies and include international children’s rights advocacy, child labour and working children, juvenile justice and the role of independent national children’s rights institutions. He teaches at the IUKB in the Master interdisciplinaire en droits de l’enfant (MIDE). He is also the Pro- gramme Director of the Master of Advanced Studies in Children’s Rights (MCR) and a member of the Directive Committee of the European Network of Mas- ters in Children’s Rights (ENMCR). HEMELSOET, Elias Belgium – Ghent University Elias Hemelsoet is lecturer in the Bachelor degree in Early Childhood Educa- tion in Arteveldehogeschool Ghent. Previously he was employed by the Depart- ment of Educational Theory and the Department of Social Welfare Studies at Ghent University, where he inished his PhD titled ‘A critical appraisal of policies and practices focusing upon the right to education: The case of the Roma in Ghent.’ His research focuses on the meaning of the right to education for Roma chil- dren in relation to issues of social justice, integration and inclusion. In his work, he relates practical questions concerning the way educational institu- tions interact with socially vulnerable groups with conceptual discussions and broader societal and policy issues. His work is inspired by the Wittgensteinian ‘education as an initiation into practices’ paradigm, which is taken as a starting point to develop a ‘pedagogy of otherness’. Besides his scientiic work, he is also engaged with a number of voluntary initiatives, including local NGOs that are involved with the social integration of Roma people as well as irregular migrants. HERMAN, Rudy Belgium – UNESCO Dr. Rudy Herman is a marine biologist. Since 1992 he is the Flemish repre- sentative in the Belgian delegation at the General Conference of UNESCO and the General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, where he supports initiatives dealing with training through research and other innovative capacity building programmes. Formerly, he was a senior research- er of the Department Economy, Science & Innovation and a researcher at Ghent University. 114 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) KAJJUSA, Rosco Uganda – Makerere University Rosco Kasujja (PhD) is a clinical psychologist currently working with Makerere University as a lecturer in the Department of Mental Health and Community Psychology. He has been involved since 2007 in trauma-related work in North- ern Uganda, a region that was affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) ac- tivities for over two decades. He has worked with various organizations involved in psychosocial work including AVSI-Kitgum, Center for Children in Vulnerable Situation (CCVS). He continues to offer clinical supervision many organizations involved in trauma-related work in Uganda. He is also the president (Elect) of the Uganda Clinical Psychology Association (UCPA). KHOSLA, Rajat India – World Health Organisation (WH0) Rajat Khosla presently works as Human Rights Adviser for Department of Re- productive Health Research at the World Health Organisation. He is a lawyer by training and specialises on issues related to sexual and reproductive health and human rights. Previously he worked with UN agencies and others on ICPD+20 review process and post 2015 MDGs discussions. He used to work as the health policy advisor with Amnesty International. In this capacity he provided research guidance and policy support on a variety of health and human right issues, in particular around maternal health and sexual and reproductive rights and HIV. MESTRUM, Francine Belgium – Free University of Brussels Francine Mestrum has a PhD in social sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She is a researcher, international consultant and activist and works mainly on poverty and inequality, social development and globalisa- tion. She is chairwoman of ‘Global Social Justice’ (www.globalsocialjustice.eu), an association working on the promotion of social commons / transformative universal social protection and the Common Good of Humanity. She is an asso- ciated member of CriDIS (Université Catholoque de Louvain), and member for CETRI (Centre Tricontinental, Louvain-la- Neuve) of the International Council of the World Social Forum. She published various books in Dutch, French and English on development and development cooperation, poverty and international taxes. PHAN THI KIM, Lien Vietnam / Belgium – Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp Lien Phan Thi Kim graduated from the Vietnam Institute for International Re- lations in 1999, specialized in international laws. However, the idea of helping disadvantaged children and communities like those in her homeland had moti- vated her to change her career from being a diplomat to working in the devel- opment ield. That is why she joined Plan International in Vietnam 15 years ago Appendix – 115 with different positions: a sponsorship communication oficer, a child rights coordinator and then a program unit manager. During her profession, she has participated in many development and human rights promotion activities. Lien is now studying an advance master on governance and development in the Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB), University of Antwerp, Belgium. The HRBA is the main part of her research topic. PUNJ, Amita India – National Law University, Delhi Dr. Amita Punj is Associate Professor of Law at the National Law University, Delhi. She has also taught at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. After completing her undergraduate degree in law she worked with national and international NGOs on the issues of human rights and social justice. On completion of her post-graduation in law from the University of Delhi, India she pursued specialization in Law in Development from the University of War- wick, U.K. and has been a British Chevening scholar. Apart from research and creation of easily understandable learning material on women’s rights, pris- oner’s rights and Human Rights Commissions in India, she has been engaged in capacity building of activists and lawyers in the area of gender, law and hu- man rights. She has also been a recipient of VEWA fellowship for research and teaching in Europe. She is currently engaged in research on the legal dimen- sions of economic globalization especially with respect to their impact on the marginalized in India. ROOSE, Rudi Belgium – Ghent University / University of Brussels Rudi Roose is a senior researcher at the Department of Social Welfare Studies at Ghent niversity and is part-time Associate Professor at the Department of Criminology at the Free University Brussels. He teaches, among others, youth criminology and juvenile justice and pedagogic theories. At the Free University of Brussels, he teaches the course forensic welfare work. TARARAS, Konstantinos Greece – UNESCO Since January 2001 Konstantinos Tararas works as a human rights specialist in the Public Policies and Capacity-building Sections at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. In this capacity and in liaison with both inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, he has coordinated and assisted in the exe- cution of educational and training programs of UNESCO in relation to human rights issues, in particular economic, social and cultural rights. Previously, he has worked for the Greek section of the European Court of Human Rights and as a legal research assistant in human rights for the Commissioner of Human Rights at the Council of Europe. URTEAGA, Patricia Peru – Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú Patricia Urteaga Crovetto is researcher and professor at the Pontiicia Universi- dad Católica del Perú. She got a Law degree at the same university and a Ph.D. 116 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focus- es on natural resources, indigenous rights, extractive industries and water in the Amazon and the Andes from a Political and Legal Anthropological perspec- tive. For several years, she has worked with regional and national indigenous organizations in Peru. She is also a researcher of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, and has been Guest Researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Halle, Germany. She is also a member of the Executive Board of the Master Programme on Integrated Water Resources Management at the Pontiicia Universidad Catolica del Peru, and member of the Executive Board of the International Commision on Legal Pluralism. VAN BUYTEN, Kristien Belgium / Senegal – Terre des Hommes Kristien Van Buyten has a background in Law and Criminology and has previ- ously worked in academic settings, NGOs as well as UN. Ms Van Buyten has extensive experience in human rights, child rights and child protection and has several years of ield experience in West, Central and East Africa. Ms Van Buyt- en started her career at the International Centre for Children’s Rights at Ghent University, where she worked from 2003 until 2005. In October 2005, she started working for one year in a local project for street children in rural Tanzania, after which she worked for two years in Mali as child protection development worker for the English NGO International Service. From October 2008 until May 2010, Ms Van Buyten was the regional program facilitator for Burundi and eastern DRC for the Belgian NGO VIC (now KIYO), in charge of coordinating a project on the reintegration of former child soldiers and street children. From June 2010 until June 2013, Ms Van Buyten was associate human rights oficer at the Regional Ofice for West Africa of the Ofice of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), based in Dakar, Senegal. Since August 2013, she is the regional child protection advisor for West Africa for Terre des hommes foundation. VANDENBOGAERDE, Arne Belgium – University of Antwerp Arne Vandenbogaerde is a doctoral candidate at the Law and Development re- search group at the Faculty of Law. He holds a MA degree in international rela- tions (University of Ghent) and obtained an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the Irish Centre for Human Rights (Galway, Ireland). Previous to his current research at the University of Antwerp he worked with several NGOs and intergovernmental organisations such as the FAO Right to Food Unit. Until recently he was the programme coordinator of the Research Networking Programme Beyond Territoriality: Globalisation and Transnational Human Rights Obligations (GLOTHRO). VANOBBERGEN, Bruno Belgium – Children’s Rights Commission Bruno Vanobbergen received his PhD in Educational Sciences at Ghent Uni- versity (Belgium). He published several national and international articles in journals a nd chapters in books on the history of childhood, focusing on pro- Appendix – 117 cesses of commodiication, medicalization and educationalization. Bruno Va- nobbergen was lecturer at Groningen University (The Netherlands) and visiting fellow at the Department of Childhood Studies of Rutgers University (US). He is member of the editorial board of Paedagogica Historica. Since June 2009 Bruno Vanobbergen is the Flemish Children’s Rights Commissioner. He is also guest professor of Childhood Studies at Ghent University. VANOVERSCHELDE, Anthony Belgium – Plan Belgium / Plan International Anthony Vanoverschelde works as a Research and Advocacy Advisor with the NGO Plan Belgium and Plan International. He is in charge of the NGO’s North programs. Before taking up this post, he has worked for the same organization as the Advocacy, Campaign and Development Education Manager (2008-2012). In addition, he was the Head of Staff at the University Centre for Development Cooperation, UCOS vzw (1999-2008), as well as an Academic Assistant at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Free University of Brussels, VUB (1999-2003). He is also an alumnus of the HR4DEV 2012 edition. VERDONCK, Lieselot Belgium – Ghent University Lieselot Verdonck is a doctoral researcher at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University and the Law and Development Research Group of the University of Antwerp. She is a fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). Lieselot holds a Bachelor and a Master’s degree in law from Ghent University (2010 and 2012). In addition, she obtained an LL.M. degree in International Human Rights Law from Harvard University in 2013. Her research interests relate to business and human rights in developing countries, in particular in relation to the extractive industry. WARMENBOL, Koen Belgium – 11.11.11 Koen Warmenbol is a Policy Oficer for Natural Resources at 11.11.11 (Coalition of the Flemish North-South Movement) since January 2008. He is responsible for advocacy on the environmental, social and economic aspects of resources extraction in the Global South. Before taking up this position, he was a coordi- nator for Latin America at 11.11.11 (September 1998 – December 2007). WEYNS, Yannick Belgium – International Peace and Information Service (IPIS) Yannick Weyns is a researcher at the International Peace and Information Ser- vice (IPIS), an independent research institute devoted to peace and develop- ment in sub - Saharan Africa. He studied law, social and cultural anthropology and international relations. For his master’s dissertation he went to South Kivu in order to evaluate reintegration programs for former child soldiers. After an internship at UNESCO, he started to work as a human rights oficer for the 118 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Ofice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN stabilization mission in the DR Congo. At IPIS he works as a researcher on mapping and natural resources. ZOUNGRANA, Herman Burkina Faso – Terre des Hommes Herman ZOUNGRANA is a lawyer, specialized in Human rights and Child Pro- tection. He also has a specialization in Project Management and Human Re- sources Management. He is a graduate in Action and International Cooperation and has a speciic training in Transnational Social Work. M Zoungrana has if- teen years of experience in child protection projects management, in several national and international organizations. In 1995, M ZOUNGRANA participated in a training of trainers on the Rights of the Child, organized by the United Na- tions, after which he became part of the irst team of specialist trainers on child rights in West and Central Africa. Among other functions, he was also Coordi- nator of the West African Network for Child Development from 1999 to 2001 and worked until 2006 as Technical Director of CIFOM International, (Centre Inter- national de Formation et de Management), specializing in management and or- ganizations development support. From 2006 to 2013, he was Child Protection Program Coordinator for Terre des hommes Lausanne’s Delegation in Burkina Faso and accompanied the implementation of several projects to protect chil- dren on the move. Since March 2013, he is the Coordinator of Tdh’s Regional Project for the protection of unaccompanied migrant children in West Africa. PARTICIPANTS (ENTIRE COURSE) Abenaitwe, Catherine Uganda Mrs. Abenaitwe grew up in Kihiihi Sub County of Kanungu District, Uganda and obtained her irst degree in Development Studies in 2005 from Mbarara University of Science & Technology, Mbarara – Uganda. She has held key posi- tions within several NGO’s such as T.A.S.O (one of the most acclaimed NGO’s in response to HIV and AIDS in Uganda and the rest of Africa) and has also at- tended on job related short courses. She is current a Community Development Oficer serving with the Kanungu District Local Government since 2011. Ashour, Majdi Palestine Dr. Ashour completed his medical training in Dagestan State Medical Insti- tute (Russian Federation, formerly USSR) in 1994, and since then he has been working at both primary and secondary platforms of health-care services in the Gaza Strip. After obtaining a Master in Public Health Administration and Policy from the University of Minnesota (USA) in 2004, he has become involved in health research and health policy analysis in Palestine. He is passionate to Appendix – 119 linking human rights with health research to achieve evidence-based equitable health improvements through Universal Health Coverage. Barsulai, Joan Chepkorir Kenya Ms Barsulai has worked as a national and regional print journalist for Kenyan and European media for ive years. As a journalist, she extensively covers news stories that concern human (especially children’s) rights, women issues as well as development. Becerra Salas, Ana Cristina Peru Ms. Becerra Salas holds a B.Sc. in Forestry and a specialization in Public In- vestment Projects from the National Agrarian University - La Molina in Lima, Peru. She is experienced in consultancy, research assistance and childhood environmental education programs. Presently, she is conducting her own re- search on forest conservation strategies for a peasant community in the high- lands of Peru. Braun, Marine Belgium After having been a young criminal defense lawyer at the Brussels bar for four years now, Ms. Braun has decided to leave the bar in order to work for the as- sociation “Defence for Children (Belgium)”. Previously she has had the oppor- tunity to work for them in Argentina, where she spent four months as a trainee. Briot, Bénédicte Belgium/India Mrs Briot is currently working as Technical Oficer in Gender, Equity and Human Rights at World Health Organization Regional Ofice for the South-East Asian Region (SEARO) in New Delhi. She previously worked for UNDP in Peru and the Belgian Cooperation in Ecuador. She has a MA in Political Science (In- ternational Relations), a MA in Area Studies (Latin American Development) and DU in Public Health and Health Promotion. Chanda, Patrick Zambia Mr. Chanda has an M.Sc. in Human Rights and Social Work. He is a researcher and a lecturer on these issues. He was awarded with Lusaka Hindu Association Prize for Best All Round Student (2010); he also won a study scholarship by a Swedish Institute. Cheng, Zhe China/Belgium Zhe Cheng is currently a joint Ph.D student at University of Antwerp (Belgium). He inished his postgraduate studies in Applied Linguistics at China North- west University and received his Master degree from Shaanxi Provincial Party School of the CPC. Prior to his Ph.D. career, he served as a researcher at Policy Research Institute for China National Yangling agricultural Hi-tech Industri- ous Demonstration Zone. His current research project focuses on development 120 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) intervention and local institutional change. His research interest also includes cross- cultural communication and management. Cyment, Paola Argentina Mrs. Cyment is a researcher at the Migration and Asylum Pogram of the Human Rights’ Centre at the Universidad Nacional de Lanús, Argentina. She holds a licentiate degree in Political Science (University of Buenos Aires, UBA) as well as a Master`s in International Affairs (Columbia University). She has participat- ed in various projects regarding rights of children in the context of migration and migration and development for the Migration and Asylum Program of the CDH-UNLa. Additionally, she is an independent consultant for various nation- al and international NGOs on issues related to international cooperation, especially in the area of rights based approach to development. Her research is oriented towards a human rights focus on development, as applied to migra- tion, especially children in the context of migration. Dutt, Abhinav Alexander India Mr. Dutt has eleven years of professional experience with development sector, which includes planning, monitoring and evaluation of child rights and com- munity development programs, and advocacy. Half of his experience is with im- plementing NGOs and the other half with donor NGOs in India. Mr. Dutt has primarily worked on holistic child rights, rural livelihood, strengthening local-self-governance institutions, community mobilization, girl child protec- tion and women empowerment. His professional qualiications are a Master degree in social work, and a Master degree in development evaluation. Gebreegziabher, Hiruy Wubie Ethiopia Mr. Hruy Wubie is an assistant professor of law at the university of Gondar, Ethiopia. He worked there since September 2006 and headed the university’s legal aid center from April 2010 to October 2013. He is currently on study leave pursuing his PHD at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Goel, Arushi India Ms. Goel is a inal year student of B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) at the National Law Uni- versity, Delhi, one of the premier law universities’ in India. She works as a stu- dent research coordinator for the project “Privatisation and Right to Water for Urban Poor in Delhi”, being undertaken jointly by the University of Antwerp and National Law University, Delhi. Earlier, Arushi has worked as a Research Assistant for a book on ‘Environment Law’. She has also been engaged with the issue of children’s rights while working with the State Human Rights Commis- sion and during my tenure as a member of the University Legal Aid Committee. Appendix – 121 Mamad, Farida Aligy Mozambique Mrs. Mamad is a Ph.D. candidate at Hasselt University (Belgium). She works as a lecturer at Faculty of Law at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (Mozam- bique). She is a member of the Mozambique’s National Human Rights Com- mission. Mbembe, Aaron Clevis Rwanda Mr. Mbembe is a Project Assistant at Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (IPHR), which is a sub-regional organization active in Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo, in the enhancement of the culture of Peace through Human Rights and Good Governance education. In this regard, he focuses on the development of curricula, programs and workshops intending to a better understanding of national, regional and international instruments related to women’s and chil- dren’s rights. Mpaso, Jeremiah Malawi Mr. Mpaso received a Bachelor of Education Degree from the University Of Ma- lawi. He served the Ministry of Education as Secondary School Teacher for four years and worked for six years in Human Rights Education with the Malawi Human Rights Commission (National Human Rights Institution), working 4 of the 6 years in General Human Rights Education and 2 years in Children’s Rights Education. Muchunguzi, Jovina Tanzania Ms. Muchunguzi has been working with the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance for seven years, speciically for Human Rights Depart- ment. She has an investigative experience in Human Rights environment, sound knowledge of human rights issues in civil, political, cultural, social and eco- nomic spheres, strong ability to work in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural en- vironment. She is proicient in techniques and approaches to tackle sensitive human rights problems as well as exceptional analytical, negotiating and judg- ment skills. Mushonga, Tafadzwa Zimbabwe Ms. Mushonga holds a M.Sc. in Forestry and Nature Conversation. She works as a research oficer in Forestry Commission. Her research interest focuses on natural resources conversation policy and governance, forest law enforcement and community development. 122 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Nijeassam, Esther Effundem Cameroon / South Africa Dr. Njieassam is a research assistant to the Dean Faculty of Law, Maikeng, South Africa. She worked eight months as an intern coordinator for SASDA. She was a coordinator for the Youth program at Global Conscience Initiative, Kunba, Cameroon. Dr. Njieassam has a sound knowledge in legal issues concerning discrimination, social violence, human rights and peace building. She possess- es good management en organizational skills. Oliveira, Inajara Maria Brazil Ms Oliveira is Licensed and has a Bachelor in Arts with majors in the Portu- guese and English languages. Currently, Inajara is specializing in Management of Human Rights Public Policies at the National School of Public Administra- tion in Brazil. She has four years of experience in teaching both teenagers and children. She was recently admitted as a Technical Analyst of Social Policies, directly assisting the Director of Thematic Policies at the National Secretariat for the Promotion of the Rights of Children and Adolescents. Paudel, Anil Nepal Mr. Paudel is a Nepali national with around twelve years of experience in the development ield, especially in the sector of children/young people, education, and project management. Currently, he is working for ight4Children, an NGO in Nepal, as an Education and Research Manager. Mr. Paudel has earned a Mas- ters Degree in Development Studies (with a major in Population, Poverty and Social Development) from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in the Nether- lands. He has also considerable experience in research for development. Pereira, Susana Portugal Mrs. Pereira has a degree in International Relations and a Master in Social Justice. Her professional career has been developed at the Portuguese Ministry of Solidarity, Employment and Social Security, where she currently works as member of the International Relations and Cooperation Team. Besides EU and UN social affairs, cooperation and human rights in African Portuguese speak- ing countries are a main focus of her work. Rahman, Mohammad Mostaijur Bangladesh Mohammad Mostaijur Rahman has over 5 years’ eficient experience of ad- vocating, communicating, designing, managing and implementing Children’s Rights, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Education, Entrepreneurship Development, Youth Empowerment, Human Rights, Volunteers’ Management, Sustainability and Market Development. He is an Inspirational Author, Newspa- per Columnist, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, International Events Presenter, Leadership and Management Development Advisor as well as Dedicated Hu- man Rights Advocate. Appendix – 123 Silayo, Fransisca Tanzania Ms. Silayo is a lawyer and activists who works as a program oficer at Children’s Dignity Forum, a human rights and legal facilitator. She has a Certiicate of competence on human rights awarded to her at ARASA in South Africa ( 2012). Ms. Silayo has a bachelor Degree of Laws at Tumaini University Collage- Irin- ga, (2009), She followed a capacity building course in human rights, facilitation skills, gender issued and Legal Aid provision skills (2011). Taher, Mohammed Jordan Mr. Taher holds a M.Sc degree in Sustainable Development. He works as a Edu- cation Programme Director at the NGO “Sustainable Alternative” in Jordan. Mr. Taher is highly interested in environmental education, human rights education and grass-root activism. Torres Menéndez, Anna Mexico Ms. Torres Menéndez holds a Bachelor degree in social work from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico. She participated in an academic ex- change program at the University of California, Davis (US). Ms. Torres Menén- dez worked as a research assistant at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM-Conacyt); She also coordinated the implementation of Research projects at UNAM. She also worked as a volunteer in orphanages and primary schools. Valla, Celly-Neyda Rhana Mozambique Ms. Valla is a researcher at the Centre for Human Rights in Maputo, Mozam- bique. She holds an LLB in Law and an LLM in Human Rights and Democratisa- tion in Africa 2013 from the University of Pretoria. Van Camp, Kirsten Belgium/Senegal Kirsten Van Camp is a development professional with a background in partici- patory governance and inclusive development, more speciically in the ield of education and family agriculture. She has worked in Senegal over the last two years as a junior expert in Community-driven Development and has experience in a wide range of positions related to international development. She is inter- ested in human, and children’s rights in particular, as they relate to governance issues and development processes in general Van Onsem, Marie-Hélène Belgium Ms. Van Onsem is a lawyer with an initial specialization in Maritime Law and she has been working in the ield of marine insurance for almost ive years. She took up an additional Master in International and European Law, focusing on International Children’s Rights (in armed conlicts) and Human Rights. 124 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) Yusuf, Abdulkader Mohammed Ethiopia Mr. Yusuf holds LL.B. (2006) and LL.M. (2010) with specialization in Public Inter- national Law. He worked as a Human Rights Researcher at the Ethiopian Hu- man Rights Commission. He was also a Research & Dissemination Director at Samara University and a lecturer in law at Unity University. Mr. Yusuf published books “The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights”, “The Ethiopian Fed- eral System” (as editor) and “Compendium of Environmental Laws of Ethiopia” (Editor, forthcoming). Presently he is a consultant and researcher in the ield of human rights and environmental law. PARTICIPANTS (Module 1) Chane, Addisu Ethiopia Mr. Chane is the coordinator for Gender equality and women empowerment, Reproductive health- maternal health, population and development and Right based approach to Adolescent and Youth Development projects across Amhara and Afar regions. Apart from managing the planning, implementation, mon- itoring and evaluation of programs, he is also in charge of the result based management of UNFPA activities in the regions and acting as an analyst/ ad- viser, proactive to provide the CO with information on achievement of results. Mr. Chane facilitates and promotes partnership, synergy and strategic alliances with regional government counter parts, multilateral and bilateral agencies as well as civil society organizations working on Gender equality and women em- powerment programs. Habtegiorgis, Yared Hailemariam Ethiopia Mr. Habtegiorgis received a Master of Laws degree at KULeuven university. He also holds a bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the KUL. He re- ceived a Law diploma at the Unity University College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In September he starts working at the University of Ghent as a PhD student. Mr. Habtegiorgis worked as a Project Facilitator for the Action Professional Associ- ation for the People (APAP). He also worked as an Senior Investigator of human rights violation for the Ethiopian Human Rights Council( EHRCO). Hashmi, Faiz Ahmad India Mr. Hashmi is pursuing a post graduate diploma in Rural Management from Xa- vier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Ranchi (India). He has a bachelor degree in English. He has gained experience in public communication and social mobi- lization while working in the radio sector. He is currently conducting a research study on the topic ‘Understanding Child Labour with a Human Rights perspec- tive’ as an intern at PRAYATN, a Rajasthan (India) based NGO. His professional interests are child protection with a special focus on Child labour, education and gender equality. Appendix – 125 Jacques, Laura Belgium Ms. Jacques obtained a Master degree in Law in 2012 at the UCL (Louvain- la-Neuve) and a LLM Diploma in International and European Law in 2013 at the VUB (Brussels). Since 2012, she is a volunteer the Belgian Red Cross in the Humanitarian Outreach Unit. Since January 2014, she is enrolled as a PhD candidate within the Research Group Fundamental Rights & Constitutionalism (FRC) where she prepares her PhD thesis on a subject related to women rights and works on an EU project concerning privacy and the RPAS technology. At the FRC, Ms. Jacques is also a member of the Programming Committee of the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference 2015 (CPDP). Her research interests are: women rights, children rights, discrimination issues, develop- ment cooperation issues, security law, privacy and data protection law. Lagos Morales, Gonzalo Alberto Chile/Belgium Mr. Lagos Morales is a sociologist and a student in the Master of Arts in Gov- ernance and Development Policy at CERIS. He is also working at the Ministry of Public Works of Chile as head of the ofice of indigenous affairs in Chile. Rakotojoelimaria, Rindra Madagascar Mrs. Rakotojoelimaria holds of a B.Sc. in Hydrogeology. With signiicant experi- ences in leadership and management positions, she developed a sound heart- beat for the population welfare and empowerment. The long lasting voluntary activities she has led on hand nurtured the passion for humanitarian issues and conducted her to work in the ield of a sector which she think is fundamental for all human beings: the right to a decent life through an improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Saeed, Huma Afghanistan / Belgium Ms. Saeed is currently a PhD researcher at the Leuven Institute of Criminology (KU Leuven). Prior to this, she worked as a human rights and justice program oficer with the UNDP in Kabul, Afghanistan. She holds an M.A. degree in Hu- man Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in Political Science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country. Ms. Saeed worked as a human rights and women’s rights advocate for many years in Afghanistan, Pakistan and internationally. Sarwar, Mohammad Golam Bangladesh Mr. Sarwar has completed a Master of Laws degree at the University of Dhaka. From his student life he has worked as a street Lawyer and Trainer at Empow- erment through Law of the Common People (ELCOP) where he engaged with disseminating human rights knowledge. He works as a Law Desk Associate at “The Daily Star” for the last two years. Recently, he has been appointed as a Lecturer of Law at Eastern University. He was also working as an Intern at 126 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) National Human Rights Commission Bangladesh for eight months. He com- pleted two research projects namely on Tantee communities of Bangladesh and Economic rights of Enclave dwellers. Over the years he attended a number of seminars and international trainings. Stana, Ridiona Albania After graduation of Law school, Ms. Stana joined World Vision in 2008, work- ing in the ield of child protection starting as a project oficer and than as the Child Protection (CP) Programme Manager of World Vision Albania and Koso- vo (WVA&K). The Child Protection Programme is one of the biggest and key centrepieces of WVA&K programming – with a total of 18 CP private and non private funded projects impacting the lives of more than 20000 vulnerable chil- dren in Albania. In this role she has had the pleasure of being involved in sev- eral advocating and lobbying legal and policy change processes for children’s rights in Albania. The most impactful advocacy processes for her have been the ones where children themselves have directly participated, such as writing the shadow report to the UN on Child Rights Convention Implementation in Albania, Universal Periodical Review etc. Sundi, Pascal Democratic Republic of Congo Pascal Sundi is a PhD candidate at the Université Kongo, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He has extensively worked with HR organisations in South Africa. He is currently specialising in the localisation of the right to water in the Bas-Congo province, in the DRC. His research interests include human rights, right to water and localisation. Taha, Suhail Palestine Mr. Taha is a project coordinator at Annajdeh Palestinian Women’s Development Society. He is also a member of the Right-2-Education Campaign at Birzeit Uni- versity. Moreover, Mr. Taha works as Advocacy & Support Assisstant at the Pal- estinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms. Vaibhavi, Vitrishna India Ms. Vaibhavi is a studies Management with specialization in Rural Management at XISS, Ranchi, India. She acquired her bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Delhi University and soon realized she had a penchant for the development sec- tor and joined Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi to pursue a Post Grad- uate Diploma in Rural Management. She is pursuing a research study on the topic “Understanding Declining Sex Ratio with a Feminist Perspective” with a Rajasthan based NGO, PRAYATN. She aims to work in the ield of Human Rights with a speciic interest in area of Human Traficking and Prostitution. Appendix – 127 Van Laer, Thijs Belgium Thijs Van Laer is currently policy oficer Central-Africa and focal point human rights at 11.11.11, the platform of Flemish north-south ngo’s. He has previous work experiences at the development policy department of the European Com- mission and at the Belgian embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He holds an LLM in international and European law and a master’s de- gree in international politics and has published on the European human rights framework. PARTICIPANTS (Module two) Benfquih, Yousra Belgium Mrs. Benfquih holds a European Master (E.MA) Human Rights and Democ- ratisation from the European Inter-University Centre for Human rights and Democratisation. She received a Master of Laws at the University of Antwerp. Ms. Benfquih got into the European Law Moot Court Competition, regional i- nals. In February 2011 she became an aspirant-assistant in Administrative Law. From February to July 2014 Ms. Benfquih worked as a EIUC fellow at the Human Rights and Social Affairs division of the Delegation of the EU to the United Na- tions in New York (Third Committee). As from 2013, she works as an Assistant of professor Vandenhole in the ield of Fundamental Rights and Liberties at the University of Antwerp. As of 1 October 2014 she will work as an FWO-aspirant. Ms. Benfquih also did Internships at law irms ALLEN & OVERY and LIEDE- KERKE WOLTERS WAELBROECK. De Craim, Christel Belgium After a paramedic study, Mrs. De Craim obtained a master’s degree in Criminol- ogy at the KULeuven in 1994. After two years working in a setting with children in dificult life situations, she began working at the Ministry of Justice. However, she took one year leave to go to work as a special public servant concerning child abuse at “Kind en Gezin” (“Child and Family”). Then she returned to the Ministry of Justice, where she, within the Service for criminal policy, leads the juvenile affairs unit. She’s currently also the chair of the Flemish forum of child maltreatment. De Munck, Joeri Belgium Mr. De Munck works as the program facilitator ‘Philippines’ at the children’s rights NGO KIYO (Kids & Youth). Grandty, Maya Indonesia Ms. Grandty has an educational background in law. She joined the State Minis- try of National Development Planning of Indonesia in 2006. Working as a plan- ner in the Directorate of Law and Human Rights requires her to work closely with ministries, agencies and development partners in formulating and coordi- 128 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) nating the development policies of law sector in Indonesia, which some of them are policies for child protection and criminal justice system for children. She inished her LLM from Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne, Australia in 2013. She is interested in the discourse of “human rights and de- velopment” from the perspective of developing countries. Janssen, Jeroen Belgium Mr. Janssen graduated in June 2013 as Master of Science in Social Work. In No- vember he started working on the research project “MeMoQ” (Measuring and Monitoring Quality in Childcare). This three-year project was commissioned by Kind & Gezin and is performed by the Department of Social Welfare Studies (Ghent University) in collaboration with CEGO (Catholic University of Leuven). Van Audenhoven, Marleen Belgium Mrs. Van Audenhove worked as a volunteer for ‘Gents Milieufront’ as an admin- istrative assistant. She currently works at KIYO, Belgium. KIYO works in South- ern regions where they engage in the realization of children’s rights. Her job is a combination of administrative and communicative tasks, in contact with partners, donors and other NGO’s. PARTICIPANTS (Single sessions) David, Valeska Chile / Belgium Valeska David is Doctoral researcher at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University and part of the research network “the Global Challenge of Human Rights Integration: Towards a Users’ Perspective”. She is a lawyer (University of Chile) and holds an LL.M in International Human Rights Law and Criminal Jus- tice from Utrecht University (2012). Her professional experience includes con- sultancies to national human rights institutions, pro-bono legal aid, research, teaching and training for Latin-American judges, prosecutors and defenders. Degerickx, Heidi Belgium Mrs. Degerickx has a Master degree in Pedagogical Sciences. She worked as an educational co-worker for ‘Mensen voor Mensen VZW’, an organisation where people who live in a situation of poverty take the loor and participate in poli- cy-making. She was an educational co-worker in the centre of Basic Education Ghent (Basiseducatie). Mrs. Degerickx is currently an assistant and PhD stu- dent at the University of Ghent. Destrooper, Tine Belgium Dr. Destrooper is a post-doctoral researcher in the Law and Development Re- search Group and a guest professor at the Department of Political Science of Appendix – 129 the University of Antwerp. Her current research is on the localization of human rights, with a regional focus on the DRC and Central America. In the past she conducted research on women’s rights in post-conflict societies, as well as on interest representation and advocacy networks in the EU. Her academic back- ground is in security studies and gender studies. Hanin, Jérôme Belgium Mr. Hanin is a Historian of contemporary history, sociological history and his- tory of immigration. He has 3 years of pedagogical expertise as a high school teacher and a trainer for adults in learning process. He has ive years of expe- rience in the civil society and NGO sector. He has worked for the CNAPD, the Secretaría Nacional de la Juventud Peruana and the UNV, Vrede vzw, Plan Bel- gium and now PROTOS. Nowadays, Mr. Hanin is an activist in the ield of access to Water as a Human Right, recently attempting to integrate ‘Access to Water’ in the Belgian Constitution. Laporte, Farah Belgium Farah Laporte holds a master in History and in Conlict and Development (UGent). While starting her career at SOS Children’s Villages Belgium, she transferred in 2011 towards the Flemish Child Rights Coalition. This umbrella organization is responsible for writing the alternative report about the situation on children’s rights in Belgium towards the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Since 2013 she is coordinator of the organization. In her free time she is a board member of CATAPA, a young volunteer organization who supports the local struggle against transnational mining projects in Latin America. Lavrysen, Laurens Belgium Laurens Lavrysen holds a master in Law from the University of Ghent. Since 2010 he is afiliated with the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University. He is currently working on an FWO (Research Foundation Flanders)-funded PhD on the concept of ‘positive obligations’ in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Lefevere, Nele Belgium Ms. Lefevere worked with UNICEF Sierra Leone and since 2009 she’s working with UNICEF Belgium. As Child Rights Oficer she’s responsible for the advo- cacy work on child rights. For this, she concentrates on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Belgium, mainly in the Belgian de- velopment cooperation. In that context, she also coordinates the Platform Child Rights in Development Cooperation. Lietaert, Ine Belgium Mrs. Lietaert holds a Master degree in Social Work from the University of Gh- 130 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) ent. She is currently a PhD candidate at the department of Social Welfare Stud- ies under the supervision of Prof. dr. Ilse Derluyn. She is doing a longitudinal research on migration processes, experiences and wellbeing of migrants who return. Massarongo-Jona, Orquídea Mozambique Mrs. Orquídea is a lecturer of International Law at Faculty of Law (Eduardo Mondlane University). She is also Program Coordinator at the Centre for Hu- man Rights (UEM – Mozambique). Over the past 8 years, Orquídea has been working on human rights issues as a Program Coordinator and Researcher. She is a Project Leader of various projects on human rights in partnership with International institutions (Programa Desaio VLIR/UOS). She holds a Master in Development and Implementation of Human Rights from UEM (Mozambique). Nachtergaele, Siebren Belgium Mr. Nachtergaelen received his bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Arte- velde University College Ghent. He continued at the University Ghent to receive his master’s degree in Social Work and a teacher training certiicate (upper secondary education). At this moment, Mr. Nachtergaelen is involved in a re- search project about human rights and community development at the depart- ment of Social work at the University College Ghent. Op de Beeck, Hanne Belgium Hanne has a master’s degree in Criminological Sciences from the University of Leuven, for which she did internships at the ‘Regina Alternative Measures Program’ (a restorative justice program for youth in Regina, Canada) and at the ‘Terrorism Prevention Branch’ (United Nations, Vienna). After her graduation in 2006, she obtained an additional Academic Teacher’s degree, also at the Uni- versity of Leuven. From 2008 to 2011, she worked as a researcher at the Youth Research Platform; in December 2011 she defended her doctoral thesis (title: ‘Strain and youth delinquency. A dynamic relation? Testing two central mechanisms from Agnew’s General Strain Theory’). Since January 2012, Hanne has a halftime position at KeKi and remains a research fellow at the Leuven Institute of Crim- inology (LINC) of the University of Leuven. Van Kelecom, Anneleen Belgium Mrs. Van Kelecom holds a Diploma in Social Pedagogics, teacher training, courses in education and anthropology. She has experience in development cooperation in the ield (about 4 years): Burkina Faso, R.D.Congo and Viet- nam. She also has experience in organisational reinforcement and institution- al development with local partners, monitoring and evaluation of projects and programs (agriculture, Wash, education, entrepreneurship, disability); and re- search (participation, health HIV/AIDS and decentralisation). She Worked for UNICEF Belgium for 2 years in child rights education and advocacy. Appendix – 131 Vanderstraeten, Magali Belgium Ms. Vanderstraeten is in her second year of master studies at the faculty of law, Ghent University, Belgium. Her area of specialization is criminal and family law (including youth law). In September 2014 she starts an internship at the Youth Court of Ghent. She is writing her thesis on how the right of privacy of minors can be or is violated in an educational setting. Willems, Nele Belgium Nele studied Social Welfare Studies at Ghent University. She worked as attaché for the study department of the League of Families from 2000 to 2005. There she was responsible for the preparation and monitoring of iles relating to ed- ucation and training, youth and children. In 2006, she took up the coordination of the Child Rights Coalition Flanders. She worked out several thematic stud- ies, including “violence against children”, “failure and exclusion at school” and “perceptions of children and young people”. She also collaborated with col- leagues from the French-speaking sister organization la CODE to the Alterna- tive Report of NGOs on the implementation of the CRC in Belgium. In 2011, Nele exchanged the Coalition for the teacher’s training at Artesis Hogeschool Ant- werp. In the past two years, she also taught “Human and Children’s Rights” at the Katholieke Hogeschool West Vlaanderen. Nele is for 20% employed at KeKi. 132 – Human Rights for Development (HR4DEV) THE INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSE WAS MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF : VLIR-UOS University Development Cooperation UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientiic and Cultural Organisation Doctoral Schools of Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven The Flemish Authorities