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The human rights-based approach: our contribution to its operationalization

Since 2020, Human Dignity is promoting the operationalization of the human rights-based approach (HRBA) in development projects and programs following France's commitment to integrate such an approach in all sectors of its international cooperation policy.

To that end, we have been supporting various actors in integrating a human rights-based approach (HRBA) into their projects and programs,  including the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Development Agency,  the French Media Development Agency (CFI) and French NGOs. Our next step will be to support our NGOs partners in Africa to operationalize this approach.

In October 2024, we published an analysis report on the level of integration of the human rights-based approach by French NGOs. The report is available in French here.

This report offers a non-exhaustive analysis of the level of integration of HRBA by a sample of NGOs, an analysis based on comments collected from a sample of collaborators of French international solidarity NGOs. It highlights the divergences in the understanding of HRBA and reveals the many difficulties that NGOs face and which compromise an effective integration of HRBA. These include insufficient funding from donors to achieve the objectives of the AFDH, but also a lack of time and human resources that prevent the identification of rights holders and their needs from being fully carried out.

In September 2024, we led a short discussion on the HRBA at CFI at their request.

In 2023, we produced a guide at the request of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in French. Its objective is to present the HRBA and the modalities for its concrete integration into development policies and programs. It is aimed at all French government staff in charge of France's international cooperation policy and agents of public development operators, so that they can gradually implement this approach in all sectors of this policy.

In 2021 and 2022, Human Dignity also supported the French Development Agency (AFD) in the development of its very first training on the integration of a HRBA into its operations. We have developed 5 online modules on, accessible to the approximately 3,000 AFD Group agents in Paris and its 85 agencies and 17 regional directorates worldwide, as well as to all agents of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between March and June 2022, we also led 5 on-site training courses for AFD agents in Paris. 

In 2023, Human Dignity has advocated for the meaningful participation of civil society organisation (CSOs) in the development of a human rights marker by the French Development Agency, an assessment framework for use in development co-operation. Thanks to our request, a formal invitation was sent to French CSOs for a consultation on the drafting of this first ever marker. We provided important inputs to this human rights marker, also called HRBA Check. Developed as part of a partnership between AFD and the Danish Institute for Human Rights, it measures the degree to which development co-operation is implementing a human rights-based approach to development.

We also participated in the publication of an expert brief on the human rights-based approach in the water and sanitation sector by the Water Coalition, of which we are a part. It is available HERE.

The drafting of the note has been led by Secours Islamique France (SIF) with contributions from Human Dignity and other members of the Coalition Eau including Gret, Kynarou, SEVES, Human Dignity and Solidarité Eau Europe.

For more information and/or to organise a tailored made training for your organisation or insitution, please contact us at info@hdignity.org