From a normative discourse to contextualised practices: a case study of a human rights-based approach in Bangladesh

Abstract

A human rights-based approach (HRBA) is a framework which integrates human rights standards and principles into development processes. It has been promoted since the late 1990s by the United Nations (UN), some bilateral aid agencies and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as an alternative discourse to needs-based and economy-centred discourses. The potential values and problems of a HRBA have largely been debated theoretically, with little attention to how it is understood and implemented in practice. With regard to human rights-based practices in development NGOs, the literature views local and organisational contexts as a constraint and local practitioners as lacking the knowledge and skills needed to implement a HRBA. This suggests a HRBA is viewed as a normative discourse, which should be applied by local practitioners as predetermined. Questioning this view, the thesis pays attention to changes in a HRBA influenced by the contexts and the roles of development practitioners. This research explores the particular understanding and practicing of a HRBA in ActionAid Bangladesh (AAB). AAB was selected because it belongs to the federation of ActionAid international (AAI) which adopted a HRBA in 1998, and because it operates in a country characterised as challenging due to its hostility to human rights advocacy. The research has drawn on interviews with 15 AAB staff and 13 staff of its local partner organisations. The interviews were conducted in Bangladesh in 2012. The information obtained was supplemented by documents produced by AAI and AAB. The interview transcriptions and the documents were thematically analysed. The findings of this research indicate that AAB has developed its own way of understanding and practicing a HRBA attuned to its contexts. For example, AAB’s differentiation between a HRBA and a rights-based approach (RBA) is related to the laws of Bangladesh. Combining a HRBA with a needs-based approach (NBA) is justified by AAI’s coinage of human rights and basic needs as ‘basic rights’ and by the fact that the needs of Bangladeshi residents are largely left unmet. AAB shapes its own HRBA influenced by the context of both AAI and Bangladesh This research suggests AAB’s HRBA is the product of contextualisation of a HRBA. In this thesis, the term ‘contextualisation’ means the process of shaping the HRBA to fit organisational and national contexts. This thesis argues that NGO practitioners play an important role in contextualising a HRBA, encouraged or moderated by their contexts. The research participants displayed their agency in challenging and recreating a HRBA. Exploration of the contextualisation process reveals that the exercise of agency requires some understanding of and commitment to a HRBA, which is conceptualised as ‘internalisation’ in this thesis. Noting the varied degrees of internalisation, this research provides a plausible explanation in terms of two factors: the extent of their exposure to a discourse and their involvement in field practices. Those who strongly internalised a HRBA tend to contribute toward shaping a HRBA to be relevant and applicable to their contexts. The discussion draws attention to context-related knowledge, which enables contextualisation of a HRBA. This research shows that individual workers’ knowledge about contexts is mostly implicit and informally transferred to colleagues. Organisational support is needed for amplification and legitimisation of individuals’ contextualised knowledge. Heightened understanding of the contextualisation process can contribute to both new knowledge and development practice. Building on theories about discourse and agency, the thesis adds knowledge of internalisation and contextualisation of a discourse. As a result of examination of contextual influences and the agency of local practitioners, it suggests a HRBA is an interactive process rather than a predetermined normative framework; and development practitioners are proactive discourse creators rather than passive discourse users. This study also provides development NGOs with practical insights into how to incorporate contextual consideration into a HRBA for relevant and appropriate practices. It emphasises the importance of organisational supports for the generation and circulation of context-related knowledge. In doing so, this thesis contributes to the field of development practices involving human rights principles and NGOs.