Women, Girls, Boys and men - HumanitarianInfo.org

LEGAL FRAMEWORK
I A s c g e n D e r h A n D b o o k
tion. The ICCPR article 4, for example, permits States, in
times of public emergency which threaten the life of the
nation, to derogate from certain obligations subject to
the following conditions: the emergency must be officially
proclaimed; the measures must be strictly limited to the
exigencies of the situation; they must not be inconsistent
with other obligations under international law or discriminatory
in nature. It is important to note that article 4 does
not permit States to derogate from the following rights:
• the right to life;
• freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment;
• freedom from slavery, the slave trade and servitude;
• freedom from imprisonment because of the inability to
fulfil a contractual obligation;
• prohibition of retroactive criminal laws;
• the recognition of everyone as a person before the
law; and
• freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The guarantees offered by the different bodies of law are
mutually reinforcing, thus enabling humanitarian and human
rights actors to maximize the protection offered to
people. In some situations they will overlap and a determination
should be made on how to apply them to secure
the greatest protection for affected populations.
rIGHTS-BASEd And
PArTICIPATory CommunITy
APProACHES
A rights-based approach uses international human rights
law to analyse inequalities and injustices, and to develop
policies, programmes and activities in all areas of work to
redress these obstacles to the enjoyment of human rights.
It focuses both on process and outcomes.
A rights-based approach is a framework that begins with
the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of
individuals and groups, and States’ obligations under international
human rights law to respect, protect and fulfil
these rights.
It identifies rights-holders (i.e. women, girls, boys and
men) and their entitlements on the one hand, and corresponding
duty-bearers (i.e. principally the State and its
agents; however, there are duty-bearers at various levels
of society, including in the household and community,
and at the national and international levels) and their
obligations on the other hand, and seeks to strengthen
T H e I n T e R n AT I o n A l l e G A l F R A m e w o R k F o R P R o T e C T I o n
the capacities of rights-holders to make their claims and
of duty-bearers to satisfy these claims. It also emphasizes
pursuing accountability for violations of human rights.
Such a framework can be applied to strengthen humanitarian
programming and achieve the aims of protection
activities by basing actions and objectives in law, and
ensuring that the policies and programmes of humanitarian
actors, including UN organizations, non-govermental
organizations (NGOs) and others such as the Red Cross
and Red Crescent Movement, contribute directly to the
realization of human rights by assisting rights-holders
and duty-bearers.
Using a rights-based approach requires that human rights
principles and standards, along with the recommendations
of the human rights treaty bodies and mechanisms,
guide and underpin all phases (assessment, analysis, planning,
implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting)
and sectors of humanitarian programming.
A rights-based approach espouses the principles of participation
and empowerment of individuals and communities
to promote change and enable them to exercise their
rights. Given the inequalities and discrimination that women
and girls face, their participation and empowerment are
crucial to making real and sustainable improvements.
A rights-based approach entails:
• understanding international human rights principles
(such as equality and non-discrimination, participation
and inclusion, empowerment and accountability) and
standards and the content of rights as defined by the
human rights treaty bodies;
• knowing the human rights obligations by which a particular
State is bound;
• assessing and analysing the reasons for the non-realization
of rights, including looking at underlying and
structural obstacles;
• working in partnership with all members of the community
in order to understand the community’s priorities,
capacities and resources and to build on them in
order to empower the community and work towards
the realization of their rights;
• in partnership with rights-holders and duty-bearers,
developing policies and programmes to build the capacity
of rights-holders to claim their rights and dutybearers
to meet their obligations, with attention to
marginalized and vulnerable groups;
• measuring progress and results against indicators of
enjoyment of human rights; and