Human Rights-Based Approach and advantages for project management
HR2W was invited last week to present key learnings from Paving the Inclusive Path toward Water for All: Policies and Cases Supporting a Human Rights-Based Approach in Asia and The Pacific, the joint publication with the Asian Development Bank, to their project managers.
It was an opportunity to also include examples from other regions, based on similar regional publications produced by HR2W with other development banks in Latin America and Africa.
The Human Rights-Based Approach is the key element of all these publications, translating national legislation into local project activities, and how they can benefit vulnerable people in local communities where projects are being developed. We looked at how the principles of non-discrimination, participation, access to information, accountability, and sustainability can be useful for project development.
By involving communities and individuals in the decision-making process, through from design and development to the monitoring of projects, HRBA processes can help to ensure that investments are securing access for the most vulnerable and support the wider set of SDGs.
Key takeaways from the workshop included the following:
- Non-discrimination is about ‘who’ rather than ‘how many’ people can access water and sanitation, including the most vulnerable.
- Participation focuses on getting insights from the most vulnerable to ensure their needs are met.
- Access to information: data and information need to be accessible, but it is also essential that this information is understandable for everyone.
- Accountability feedback mechanisms need to be practical and designed so that communities feel comfortable giving feedback.
- Sustainability considers how to ensure that solutions are long-term and therefore supported by the community, whether it is environmental, social or economic sustainability.
Learn more about these principles on our three regional publications linked below:
