A Human Rights-Based Approach to Securing Small-Scale Fisheries: A Quest for Development as Freedom

Abstract

Fishers, fishworker organizations, and supporting civil society organizations have played a critical role in the recent agreement by the international community of an international soft-law instrument that explicitly calls for the adoption of a human rights-based approach (HRBA) in small-scale fisheries development: the Voluntary Guidelines on Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). This chapter reviews some of the controversial views that have been expressed by social scientists about pursuing a HRBA in general and in small-scale fisheries specifically. While the experience of applying a HRBA in small-scale fisheries is still very limited, some concrete cases are presented where human rights advocacy and human rights law have helped fishing communities in defending their rights to livelihood, food, and culture.