Case studies of Rights based approach and its necessity in (Abia state) Nigeria

1. Case studies of Rights based approach and its necessity in (Abia state) Nigeria By EmekaOnonamadu Executive Director Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights. (CCIDESOR)Nigeria Tel: 08037423140 @ 2012

2. RBA as an essential strategy • Human Rights reflect the moral conscience of the world, every government, every society, community or citizens. Going beyond treaties regarding specific rights, it has been reaffirmed on numerous occasions that right to development is a human right. It confirmed the human person as the central subject of development and the active participant and beneficiary of development.

3. RBA as an essential strategy • In reality, what does integrating human rights with Sustainable Human Development mean? • what added-value does such an approach bring to a society of communities? • Does the approach tackle key poverty or development issues and obstacles • Why is it necessary in our society today?

4. RBA as an essential strategy • Integrating Human Rights in sustainable development confirms the human person as the central subject of development and the active participant and beneficiary of development . • Since Human Rights are innate to all people, irrespective of their ethnic origin, beliefs and practices, geographic location, gender , income level or political affiliation, application of Human Rights in development enables development and Human Rights to be realized at the same time without additional resources. • Rights Based Approach specifically targets the most marginalized groups – and the most vulnerable members of a community, which are often women and children –who have highest need in the society. Tackling the challenges of women and children amounts to tackling of over 70% of a societies poverty problems.

5. RBA as an essential strategy • RBA is essential for so many reasons especially: • To protect the rights and dignity of citizens • To reduce corruption. • To ensure value for money and rapid grow both micro and macro economy • To create the consciousness in both the rights holders, and the duty bearers • It ensure cost effective security of life and property

6. RBA as an essential strategy In the context of rights based approach to development, the process of decentralization via fiscal, political, and administrative measures can be seen as an effective way of addressing the needs of the citizens and of bringing public services closer to the people, thus leading to improved standard of living and sustainable human development in Abia state.

7. Issues that make RBA necessary • Statistical information • Population projection of Nigeria 170 million • Poverty index: 70% lives below $2 per day • This means 119million citizens are extremely poor • Nigeria earns $282.5 million from oil daily $8.475billion monthly, $101.7billion yearly. • This means N16.272 trillion yearly and N227. 808 trillion in 14 years. (this is only revenue from oil) • The question is why should over 119 million citizens be poor and 12000 projects abandoned in a country that earned over 227.808 trillion in 14 years? • Why do we still have bad road, unequipped health centers and hospitals, schools without basic learning and teaching materials, communities with access to clean water, total lack of basic needs, etc.?

8. Issues that make RBA necessary • The above figures disclose the following governance problems: • Too much fraud • Too much waste • Too much abuse of public resources Through: stealing, lying and cheating by those entrusted with power to manage our public resources. Under this circumstances, the rights of citizens is grossly abused.

9. Issues that make RBA necessary • Respect, Protection and Fulfillment of Human Rights are the foundation for the democratic, economic and cultural development of every democratic society. • That is why Human Rights Based Approach is a priority to all governments and development organizations

10. RBA implementation and Output THAILAND Thailand believes that the realization of the agenda on development and human rights should go hand in hand, as they are mutually reinforcing. Currently, Thai Government is applying a human rights-based approach in its development programs through the implementation of its welfare-oriented policies to ensure a better quality of life for all people. Their package include; the provision of monthly allowances for the elderly and disabled persons, the 15-year free education program, universal health insurance scheme, the distribution of state-owned land to farmers, the restructuring of informal debts, and the income guarantee scheme for farmers. These have placed Thailand as one of the fastest growing economy in the world.

11. Countries where RBA has worked • Germany The adoption and implementation of RBA in Germany has seen Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), integrate Human Rights and Human Rights principles in its sectors and country strategy. Target groups or people in need become holders of statutory entitlement, while the state and its partner countries become the duty bearer. Today Health, education, food security and other basic necessities are rights of citizens not privileges.

12. Countries where RBA has worked India The Government of India applied RBA initiative in basic education sector to bring more than 300,000 disadvantaged children to school, using techniques such as mobile learning centers to allow hard -to- reach children access to education. This success was achieved because the program target and other stakeholders were part of project initiation, implementation and evaluation. Again India is taking the lead in using RBA to realize housing for all. Justice R. Sacchar (1999) retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and Special Rapporteur on the right to housing ruled that the people in India could approach the courts to compel the domestic government to grant the rights contained under Article 11 of ICESCR. He opined that the International Covenant is enforceable even though there is no national law obliging the government to provide housing. Legal opinion has now shifted from the conventional opinion. The courts can directly enforce international law provided that it does not conflict directly with domestic law. Since there is no law in India prohibiting the government from granting the right to housing, the International Covenant is enforceable by the Courts.

13. Countries where RBA has worked, cont’d Uganda, This is one African country that has made tremendous progress by applying RBA. After the country enacted the Local Government Act of 1997, affirmative action policy was introduced for the marginalized groups of people including women, disabled people, youth, workers and the army. Since then, all those groups are represented in Ugandan politics at all levels including the Parliament. Uganda has a quota system where five Members of Parliament (MPs) represent people with disabilities (PWDs): Four MPs from four regions (Central, East, West, North) and one woman with a disability. Their sign language interpreters and personal assistants are paid by the government. There are seven MPs with disabilities in the Parliament at present, 47,000 disabled councilors work in the local government structure, of which half are WWDs. This single action has politically and economically empowered disables in Uganda and taking majority of them off the road into productive ventures.

14. Countries where RBA has worked, cont’d Vietnam In Vietnam, for instance, the steady application of a human rights-based approach to development cooperation has resulted in officials developing integrated and holistic inter-sectoralpolicies for health, education and security. This has led to massive development of health, education and security sector in Viet Nam.

15. Countries where RBA has worked, cont’d Rwanda In Rwanda, the Government, after their crisis which mostly affected young people, have supported national and local institutions in undertaking grass-roots consultations with children on the national Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy. This process led to children’s recommendations making their way into the final document. The implementation of this strategy has been successful with high impact on young people

16. Countries where RBA has worked, cont’d • Brazil Brazil introduced BolsaEscolainitiative which has all the facets of rights based approach to development. It resulted to the greatest development output of our time by moving over 50million known Brazilians out of poverty line into the middle class, in a very short period. This is the greatest impact of RBA of all times, was achieved during the reign of Lula Da silva.

17. Countries where RBA has worked, cont’d • Mongolia This is an Asian country uniquely applied the basic principles of RBA in their countries quest for privatization of public assets. This led to the offering of blue and red chips of stock to adult citizens for both social security and investment. Mongolia became the only country in Asia or Africa where privatization has recorded a huge success.

18. RBA in Nigeria • There are few verifiable examples in Nigeria where the application of rights based approach has generated good results. Although they are “agitation based results”, the participation of Nigerians changed the course of government actions. They include: • The defeat of “third term” agenda • The reduction of fuel pump price from N160 to N97 and the discovery of large scale corruption in the petroleum sector

19. RBA in Abia, cont’d • Passage of child Rights Act, UBE, FOI Act, FRA and national gender policy • Some successful elections which led to removal of incumbent elected representatives and enthronement of opposition candidates restored the rights of people to chose their leaders. • RBA introduction in Ekiti state, where the elderly are being paid monthly allowances is yielding positive development. These examples suggest that the application of RBA by communities and citizens has huge potentials to rapid development in Nigeria

20. How to step up the application of RBA in Abia state First Organizing and Raising Critical Consciousness • This step is to challenge and change people’s perceptions of themselves. supports people to critically assess their situation and to see it for what it is: exploitation, oppression and injustice. It is also the first step to empowerment for change– an inner realization that there is a possibility for change and a sense that people have the power to do something about it. It creates an environment in which people’s confidence can grow, and in which they can reflect upon and analyze their situation

21. How to step up the application of RBA in Abia state • Second. Solving people’s needs as rights they can claim This can take the form of education, health, housing, food, information or job creation/social security. However, we are also concerned to see that people meet these basic needs in the long-term by ensuring that they claim them from the state as their human rights and entitlements not as a reward or gift.

22. How to step up the application of RBA in Abia state • Third Ensure participation particularly by the poor and excluded people This is in stark contrast to a top-down, service-led approach where such decisions are made externally and where poor people do not participate in the processes that affect, simply because they are wrongly considered to be mere beneficiaries or recipients. It demands the highest level of quality in terms of participatory analysis and community organizing and planning

23. How to step up the application of RBA in Abia state • Four Better appreciation of what power is Central to our rights-based approach is the analysis of power relations and strengthening the power of poor and excluded people. In practice, the fulfillment of human rights is determined by cultural practices, behaviours, institutions and people that either embody or hold power. Policy changes and public opinion-building must go hand in hand with societal changes to transform the structures, attitudes, and values that are at the root of societal inequities and injustice

24. How to step up the application of RBA in Abia state • Five Deepening democracy at every level There is need to be open in decision-making at all levels, Duty bearers need to be made ready to change so that they become accountable and responsive to pressure from communities. The primary purpose of establishing political authority is to improve the protection of rights; people own their human rights and should never need to beg for them to be provided or respected.

25. How to step up the application of RBA in Abia state • Six Hold state (and non-state actor) accountable Human rights-based approach should be anchored on the firm belief that the state is the primary duty bearer and is responsible for respecting, promoting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of its citizens as well as socio-economic rights. This is because the state holds public resource and power, in trust.

26. The basic requirements from citizens • The preliminary actions in holding a state accountable involve working with rights-holders to understand the existing constitutional, legal and regulatory framework and policies. This helps to establish which rights are recognized and provided for, and where there are gaps , either in absolute terms or in relation to the international human rights declaration, conventions and treaties. This leads to the recommendation of two things communities and citizens of Abia state must do :

27. The basic requirements from citizens, cont’d • To demand the important rights for poor and excluded people that are not yet recognized in the constitution or laws and another, such as rights to employment and provision of basic necessities of life. • To analyse, understand and gather evidence on which rights that are already provided for in the constitution, laws (including budget) and regulations are not being fulfilled or are being violated by the state or non-state actors (corporations as well as citizens and society itself) and are not enjoyed by citizens especially by the poor and excluded-rights holders. • Rights-based approaches are based on a shift from a technical understanding of rights to a politically motivated understanding which is premised on three key components: that individuals have rights, the state or government is obliged to safeguard those rights, and people need to participate for the attainment of those rights (Eyben, 2005)

28. “Freedom comes from the mind” THE END Thank you for taking action