AFRO-NETS> Food for planning the right human thoughts (2)

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

Food for planning the right human thoughts (2)
----------------------------------------------

HUMAN RIGHTS BASED PLANNING: THE NEW APPROACH

Part 2 of 2

What is a Capacity Analysis?

8. To analyze any Human Rights situation it is essential to identify 
two main groups of actors: Claim Holders and Duty Bearers. (4)

9. Claim Holders are the groups whose universally recognized entitle-
ments are or are not being catered for by the societies they live in, 
and whose rights are thus being upheld or violated.

10. Duty Bearers are those individuals or institutions that are sup-
posed to uphold the specific right related to each entitlement.

11. For example, in the case of a child as a claim holder, the first-
line duty bearer is the mother; next are the father and other family 
members. But --forming a veritable pattern-- there also are duty 
bearers for children's rights further up the ladder: community lead-
ers, district and provincial authorities, national and international 
leaders and institutions. (2)

12. To recap, the end result of a good causal/situation analysis is a 
list of locally specific immediate, underlying and basic causes that 
determine the problems being addressed. The participatory AAA process 
that identifies all those causes then also comes up with the sug-
gested solutions for each cause identified.

13. It is here --when potential solutions have been collectively 
identified-- where Capacity Analysis comes in.

14. Capacity Analysis takes what is being proposed to be done for 
each determinant at each causal level and looks at what is already 
being done or not being done (and why) for that problem. It then 
looks at who should be doing something about it [individual and/or 
institution(s) who is (are) the corresponding duty bearer(s)] and at-
taches the name of that (those) person(s) or institution(s) to each 
proposed solution. This results in a list of the most crucial per-
sons/ institutions that have to be approached to push them to get the 
proposed solution(s) for each cause implemented. Note that, often, a 
particular duty bearer cannot meet her/his obligations because some 
of her/his rights are being violated by a duty bearer higher up (par-
ents without resources to pay school fees cannot be blamed). (2)

15. In a very simplified way, the end result of a good Capacity 
Analysis is a four or five columns table: 
* the first column lists the causes listed from immediate to basic; 

* the second column lists the respective right(s) being violated, for 
  which group of claim holders (for example, children) for each cause 
  (e.g. the right to food, the right to healthcare, etc); 

* the third column identifies the gaps between what is being done and 
  what still needs to be done (i.e. the actions needed --and one action 
  may push duty bearers to finally carry out several previously ne-
  glected duties); 

* the fourth column --to be realistic-- identifies the most critical 
  respective duty bearer(s) by name (individuals and/or institutions 
  responsible, often at more than one level); 

* a fifth column may be added to specify who is going to approach 
  those duty bearers and by when.

16. This table thus becomes an action plan to get the various Human 
Rights deemed to be violated redressed for each specific group of 
claim holders.

17. What this new Human Rights Approach to Planning does, then, is to 
couple the causal and the capacity analyses. At first glance, this 
may not mean much to readers being introduced to this new concept. 
But it is a powerful combination.

18. The coupling not only identifies what needs to be done, and at 
what level, but it also targets the person or institution that has to 
be lobbied/pressured, because they are legally responsible to do 
something about it under the Covenants of International Human Rights 
officially signed and ratified by almost all countries in the world.

19. The Human Rights approach, therefore, gives advocates of chil-
dren's welfare new powers: When appropriate, as advocates we can now 
approach duty bearers as 'guilty of not doing what they are legally 
(and not only ethically) supposed to do'. The Human Rights covenants 
currently in force are very explicit about this. (5) We just have not 
sufficiently used this added power in our work so far.

20. Duty bearers have to be approached using the Human Rights viola-
tion justification, and have to be made accountable to comply! (6, 7) 
Alleging a "lack of resources" is not a good enough justification by 
duty bearers not to uphold the rights being violated. They have to 
convincingly demonstrate to us that resources available (even if mea-
ger) are not being used for other less essential functions. (7)

21. If we all do follow this new approach, we may set a growing 
precedent that will further the cause of those claim holders (chil-
dren, for example) whose basic human rights are being violated world-
wide.

22. Issues are a bit more intricate than here reflected, but this is 
a good introduction.

Claudio Schuftan
Hanoi, Vietnam
mailto:aviva@netnam.vn

References:

(1) Annan, K., UN Secretary-General Reform Program, UN, N.Y., 1997.

(2) Jonsson, U., An approach to Human Rights based programming in 
    (UNICEF ESARO), SCN News No. 20, July 2000, pp.6-6, ACC/SCN, Geneva, 
    and UNICEF ESARO, Human Rights-based planning guidelines, mimeo, Nai-
    robi, Jan. 2000. 

(3) UNICEF, Nutrition Policy, UNICEF N.Y., 1990. 

(4) Jonsson, U., Nutrition and the Convention of the Rights of the 
    Child, Food Policy, 21:1, 1996, pp.41-55 

(5) Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN, N.Y., 1989. 

(6) Dandan, V.B., Monitoring, supervision and dialogue in the Human 
    Rights system, SCN News, No.18, July 1999, pp.34-38. 

(7) UNHCR, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 20th 
    session, Agenda item 7, Geneva, 26/4 to 14/5, 1999 (as quoted in SCN 
    News No.18, July 1999, pp.41-45). 

--
Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to:  `owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.