Rights-based Policy Research Articles

Rights-based policies for role-bearing people: Are geo-cultural norms a hindrance to cultivating safer sport?

Many (inter)national governments and sports organisations are implementing standardised Safe Sport policies and guidelines. However, the Western-born, rights-based norm that underlies Safe Sport can collide with pre-existing geo-sociocultural norms of local contexts. Drawing from a case study of South Korea's elite sport pathway where tightened regulations on abuse challenge the long-lasting relational hierarchy based on Confucianism, this paper examines how athletes and coaches manoeuvre within the fast-changing social order shaped by the new safeguarding policies and practices. Analysing data from semi-structured interviews with 48 participants around two Elite Sports Schools, the paper shows that the rights-based norm integral to Safe Sport is sifted through the Confucian hierarchy, generating two main shifts respectively in coaches’ roles (from caring disciplinarians to professional service providers) and senior athletes’ (from potential abusers to benevolent superiors). That is, individual actors re-script their relational template by negotiating between the familiar and new relational ethics. From this, the paper suggests that Safe Sport is not a straightforward process of modernising less advanced practices up to a certain standard; it requires understanding how individuals make sense of the process in their own socio-cultural contexts.

The role (and limits) of developmental neuroscience in determining adolescents’ autonomy rights: The case for reproductive and voting rights

Neuroscientific evidence documenting continued neural development throughout adolescence has been leveraged in advocacy for more lenient treatment of adolescents in the criminal justice system. In recent years, developmental science, including neuroscience, has progressed and enabled more nuanced interpretations of what continuing neural development in adolescence likely means functionally for adolescents’ capabilities. However, oversimplified interpretations equating continuing neural development to overall “immaturity” are frequently used to make the case that adolescents should have fewer legal rights to make decisions on their own behalf, including regarding reproductive and voting rights. Here we address ongoing debates about adolescents’ autonomy rights and whether such rights should be expanded or restricted. We review extant neuroscientific and developmental research that can inform these debates. We call for: (1) a more nuanced application of developmental neuroscience to specific rights issues in specific contexts; (2) additional research designed to inform our understanding of the developmental benefits or harms of rights-based policies on young people over time; and (3) the grounding of developmental neuroscientific research on adolescents within a human rights framework. We offer suggestions to developmental and neuroscience scholars on how to discuss the science of adolescent development with those seeking guidance in their design of law and policy.

Examining expert views on maternal mortality in Turkey: A qualitative study.

Maternal mortality ratio is one of the significant indicators of a country's healthcare quality and development. In recent years, Türkiye has made significant advancements in maternal and child health services. However, it has been discussed that stagnation has been observed in recent years, and the migration from Syria and the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly overshadowed this success. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current situation of the maternal mortality level in the country based on the experiences and views of experts working in this area. Key informant interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of academics, representatives of public institutions, and NGOs to understand the mechanisms of success in maternal mortality in the 1990s. Thematic analysis was used to understand the reasons for the stagnation of the decline in maternal mortality and to develop recommendations for reducing maternal mortality. Twenty-five key informant interviews were conducted. Positive developments contributing to the success of maternal mortality, problems and obstacles hindering further progress and suggestions/recommendations are the themes of this research. The key informants highlighted the health transformation policies, the lack of data on the impact of COVID-19, recent migration on maternal mortality, inadequate education and training on sexual and reproductive health (SRH), the absence of rights-based policies, and gender equality as critical issues in current policies. The outcomes of this study underline the importance of the availability, accessibility, and quality of SRH services and empowering women, girls, families, and communities to eliminate preventable maternal mortality levels.

Does the Government’s Regulations in Land Ownership Empower the Protection of Human Rights?

Protection of land ownership has been regulated in various policies to protect human rights. However, it is essential to comprehensively examine the government's role in protecting land ownership because there are still various land conflicts. This research analyzes the government's role in protecting land ownership based on human rights principles and compares it with the Netherlands. This research uses a normative legal approach, using laws and cases and comparing policies with the policies of other countries. The research results show first, the Indonesian government guarantees the protection of land ownership through basic regulations on agrarian principles and the Indonesian government is trying to protect land ownership by registering land, limiting foreign land ownership, and developing governance plans at the regional level. Second, the Dutch government protects land ownership through a systematic, transparent land registration system implemented effectively to provide legal certainty for owners, investors, and related parties. Thirdly, Indonesia's regulatory approach adheres to the basic regulations on agrarian principles system, and the Netherlands uses civil law. However, both countries experience the same problems, such as land ownership disputes and scarcity. Therefore, the government needs to implement human rights-based policies through a transparent and fast land ownership process and public consultation in resolving land disputes.

Child Rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Child Health-and-Rights Professionals across the World.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of a child rights-based approach to policymaking and crisis management. Anchored in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 3P framework-provision, protection, and participation-forms the foundation for health professionals advocating for children's rights. Expanding it with two additional domains-preparation and power-into a 5P framework has the potential to enhance child rights-based policies in times of crisis and future pandemics. The study aimed to (1) gather perspectives from child health-and-rights specialists on how children's rights were highlighted during the early phase of the pandemic in their respective settings; and (2) evaluate the usefulness of the 5P framework in assessing children's visibility and rights. A qualitative survey was distributed among child health-and-rights professionals; a total of 68 responses were analysed in Atlas.ti 9 from a multi-disciplinary group of policymakers and front-line professionals in eight world regions. As framed by the 5Ps, children's rights were generally not safeguarded in the initial pandemic response and negatively impacted children's health and wellbeing. Further, children lacked meaningful opportunities to raise their concerns to policymakers. The 5P framework holds the potential to shape an ethical child rights-based decision-making framework for future crises, both nationally and globally.

The True Cost of Financialization: Housing, Human Rights, and Climate Change

Local governments can play a pivotal role in the fight against the housing and climate crisis. Through their actions they can deliver healthy, happy, inclusive, sustainable cities, which ensure the protection of our environment. While this is clearly an essential enterprise, it will be no mean feat. To succeed will require a fundamental reimagination of our current housing system and the investment structures behind it. Globally, housing has become increasingly financialized. Rather than being treated as a fundamental human right—a place where individuals, families, and communities can live in peace, security, and dignity—housing is often primarily valued as a vehicle for generating wealth ( Farha, 2017 ). Real estate investment has transformed into an extractive industry ( Sassen, 2014 ). It incentivizes the construction of housing, generating greater levels of greenhouse gas emissions, while increasing rents and housing costs, all as a means of generating profit ( Farha et al., 2022 ). To protect our societies and our planet, governments must create policy frameworks that affirm housing as a fundamental human right and centralize the environment, thereby shifting housing investment toward more regenerative practices that contribute to the provision of decent, affordable, and sustainable housing for all. This Policy Guidelines article explores three ways in which the financialization of housing is negatively impacting both the climate and the right to housing and provides policy recommendations based on The Shift Directives: From Financialized to Human Rights Based Housing, to support governments in developing human rights-based policy that can address the climate and housing crises.

Children’s Rights and Education – the case of Scotland

Scotland is an interesting case regarding the incorporation of children’s rights. Scotland has recently moved beyond ratification towards direct incorporation of the CRC into Scots law. This paper presents a critical summary of some of the key issues which may be of interest to educationists facing similar challenges in other countries. The paper gives a brief overview of Children’s Rights, before considering some issues relating to translations of rights-based policy texts into practices. The recognition of translations provides a space to discuss current Scottish education policy and the possibilities and challenges adopting rights-based approaches afford to education. The paper illustrates that whilst the direct incorporation of the CRC offers potential, it is the manner of ist translations from policy text into the social, cultural and material practices that make up the everyday which will ensure its penetration into children and young people’s education.

IS ACTIVE AGING POSSIBLE IN ETHIOPIA? PERCEPTIONS OF RURAL OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Despite historical veneration of elders, older adults are increasingly viewed as a burden in many Sub Saharan African nations. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were conducted to explore the aging experiences of 20 adults aged 70 and older in rural Ethiopia. Themes that emerged from the interviews were analyzed in light of the three pillars of the World Health Organization’s Active Aging Framework: health, security, and participation. Despite facing multiple barriers to active aging including lack of health care, financial hardship, ageism, and social exclusion, study participants were determined not to withdraw from activities in an effort to retain their autonomy, independence, and sense of dignity. As one participant shared, "the government does not care about us because it considers us as a useless segment of the society." Three themes reflected their major struggles: dwindling health and lack of access to health care, financial hardship, and social exclusion tied to ageism. The fourth theme--willful and purposive engagement--reflects the older adults’ response to these struggles. Contrary to myths about rural aging, study participants faced multifaceted challenges that kept them from realizing active ageing as they were not provided with sustained opportunities for health, security, and participation. Study findings point to the need for policymakers and other concerned bodies to develop supportive policies and programs to promote older adults’ well-being. The study calls for a paradigm shift that involves adopting the WHO’s Active Aging Framework, developing rights-based policies and programs, popularizing active aging, and revitalizing intergenerational solidarity.

Barriers to Active Aging in Rural Ethiopia: A Call for a Paradigm Shift to a Rights-Based Approach

ABSTRACT Despite historical veneration of elders in many African nations, older adults are increasingly viewed as a burden. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews were conducted to explore the aging experiences of 20 adults aged 70 and older in rural Ethiopia. Themes that emerged from the interviews were analyzed in light of the three pillars of the World Health Organization’s Active Aging Framework: health, security, and participation. Despite facing multiple barriers to active aging including lack of health care, financial hardship, ageism, and social exclusion, study participants were determined not to withdraw from activities in an effort to retain their autonomy, independence, and sense of dignity. Study findings point to the need for policymakers and other concerned bodies to develop supportive policies and programs to promote older adults’ well-being. The study calls for a paradigm shift that involves adopting the WHO’s Active Aging Framework, developing rights-based policies and programs, popularizing active aging, and revitalizing intergenerational solidarity.

GYPSIES IN TURKEY AND GYPSY RIGHTS

İnsan haklarının korunması konusunda her ne kadar tek tek kişilere görev düşse de bu konuda devlet, sivil toplum örgütleri ve diğer aktörler de sorumluluk sahibidir. Devlet, insan haklarının koruyucusu konumunda olup her türden hakkın özünün gerçekleşmesinde temel bir rol oynamaktadır. Türkiye’de insan haklarına dair politikaların geliştirilmesi ve insan haklarının korunması konusunda düzenlemelerin yapılması 1990’lı yıllarda başlamıştır. Çingeneler özelinde ise bu düzenlemelerin 2000’li yıllarla birlikte hayata geçirilmeye başlandığı ifade edilebilir. 
 Bu doğrultuda çalışmanın amacı Çingenelere yönelik hak temelli politikaları uluslararası gelişmeleri de dikkate alarak tarihsel çerçevede ele almaktır. Çalışmada Türkiye’de gerçekleştirilen hak temelli politikalar Çingene haklarına etkileri özelinde incelenmiş ve inceleme sonuçlarına dayanarak insan haklarının korunması ve iyileştirilmesi noktasında önerilerde bulunulmuştur.

Perspectives on HIV Self-Testing Among Key and Affected Populations in Kenya.

Kenya's Key and Affected Populations (KAP) - men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers, people who inject drugs (PWID), and young women aged 18-24 - often experience stigma and discrimination in Kenyan health care settings due to their identity and/or behaviors, which can deter facility-based testing for HIV. Kenya has promoted self-testing as a means to reach these communities. To identify KAP perspectives on self-testing and place our findings within Kenya's human rights and legal context. We conducted 4 focus group discussions (FGD) and 16 in-depth interviews (IDI). One FGD was conducted with each of the following communities: MSM, female sex workers, PWID, and young women aged 18-24. 1-4 IDI were conducted with each KAP community, and 1-3 IDI were conducted with health professionals working on HIV care in each study site. The semi-structured question guideline included one question soliciting opinions on self-testing. KAP support self-testing in concept, however prevailing concerns among participants included access to pre- and post-test counseling services, as well as risk for harms (self-inflicted and otherwise) that might result from a positive result. Kenya should ensure that human rights are promoted and respected through implementing rights-based policies and practices for HIV self-testing, including pre- and post-test counseling.

National disability strategies as rights-based cultural policy tools

ABSTRACT A growing attention to cultural participation of people with disabilities has been propelled by the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Being strictly connected to the implementation of the CRPD, the focus on cultural participation of people with disabilities has accrued outside the remit of national cultural policy. This article carries out a thematic analysis of national disability strategies across 27 Member States of the European Union plus the UK and explores the extent to which these strategies can be considered rights-based cultural policy tools. It identifies four themes recurring across those strategies: enhancing accessibility of cultural heritage, cultural institutions and cultural content; supporting persons with disabilities as creators of culture; awareness-raising about cultural participation of persons with disabilities; and protecting disability identity and culture. It then discusses the measures linked to these themes that national disability strategies adopt. On the whole, this article argues that national disability strategies can be, to varying degrees, considered cultural policy tools, and display significant rights-based elements. It concludes with reflections on the broader implications of those findings for cultural policy.

Acknowledging the Disabled in the Covid-19 Response: A Study on the Psychological Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic Upon Persons with Disabilities in Sri Lanka

This study intends to investigate the psychological impact of the crippling consequences caused by the Covid-19 pandemic upon people with disabilities in Sri Lanka. The global spread of the Covid-19 pandemic forced people to renegotiate their traditional ways of living to match the demands of the health authorities to contain its spread. Such changes plunged almost all the societies into chaos, the impact of which was heavily felt by people with disabilities, one of the most vulnerable social groups. Studies on the experiences of people with disabilities in Sri Lanka have primarily focused on its socio-economic impact, creating a lacuna in research that explores its psychological impact. Six semi-structured interviews have been carried out with persons with disabilities along with a review of legislations/policy documents that relate to the rights of the target group to gather data for this study, which have been analysed through a theoretical framework that draws on Mike Oliver’s social model of disability, Martha A. Fineman’s vulnerability theory and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality.It examines the impact of prolonged lockdowns, use of online platforms, false rumors regarding health risks and the impact of empathy upon self-worth to understand the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic upon the disabled, thereby addressing the said research gap. It argues for the importance of a rights-based policy framework that integrates disability and other sectors, improving communicational and technical skills and taking measures to prepare these individuals to face crisis situations in helping them to assimilate to these new realities.

COVID-19, chronic conditions and structural poverty: A social psychological assessment of the needs of a marginalized community in Accra, Ghana

In the African region COVID-19 infection and death rates are increasing (writing in May 2020), most deaths have occurred among individuals with chronic conditions, and poor communities face higher risks of infection and socio-economic insecurities. We assessed the psychosocial needs of a chronic illness support group in Accra, Ghana, within the context of their broader community. The community lives in structural poverty and has a complex burden of infectious and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Between March and May 2020, we conducted interviews, group discussions, and surveys, with members of the support group and their caregivers, frontline healthcare workers, and religious and community leaders. Data was analysed through the social psychology of participation framework. Community members understood COVID-19 as a new public health threat and drew on eclectic sources of information to make sense of this. Members of the support group had psychosocial and material needs: they were anxious about infection risk as well as money, food and access to NCD treatment. Some community members received government food packages during the lockdown period. This support ended after lockdown in April and while anti-poverty COVID policies have been unveiled they have yet to be implemented. We discuss the impact of these representational, relational and power dynamics on the community’s access to COVID-19 and NCD support. We argue that strategies to address immediate and post-COVID needs of vulnerable communities have to focus on the politics and practicalities of implementing existing rights-based policies that intersect health, poverty reduction and social protection.

Is the Mzungu phenomenon a help or hinderance?

The deprivation, adversity, and lack of protection for children on the streets of urban Uganda are well known; as is the reality that most of their support is facilitated by Western Missionary operated, non-government organisations (NGOs). However, their approach is problematised as ineffective, oppressive, and colonial. Yet there is a dearth of research from the children’s perspectives, capturing the meaning of such actors’ interventions within their lifeworld’s, and no such literature within the Ugandan context. Therefore, this case study focuses on the ‘Mzungu Phenomenon’, a theme unearthed from critical hermeneutic analyses of the life stories of 30 former street children within an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda. The Mzungu phenomenon refers to the meaning and influence of the Western Missionaries and volunteers that feature within the children’s experiences, captured within their narratives. Underpinned by Ricœur’s narrative philosophy, this study illuminates and problematises the way in which Western NGO actors feature within the children’s lifeworld’s, and the wider ramifications from postcolonial, and postcolonial feminist theoretical perspectives. This includes the perpetuation of colonial legacies, ideologies, and praxis, that contribute to disempowerment for children, their families, and their communities, and the dual oppression of women. Therefore, this piece argues that despite a need to enhance child protection measures in Uganda, the current approaches that do not align with national and international rights-based policies must be further critically examined, challenged, and reformed, to ensure the wellbeing of the children.

Food Sovereignty and Rights-Based Approaches Strengthen Food Security and Nutrition Across the Globe: A Systematic Review

This systematic review assembles evidence for rights-based approaches–the right to food and food sovereignty–for achieving food security and adequate nutrition (FSN). We evaluated peer-reviewed and gray literature produced between 1992 and 2018 that documents empirical relationships between the right to food or food sovereignty and FSN. We classified studies by literature type, study region, policy approach (food sovereignty or right to food) and impact (positive, negative, neutral, and reverse-positive) on FSN. To operationalize the concepts of food sovereignty and the right to food and connect them to the tangible interventions and practices observed in each reviewed study, we also classified studies according to 11 action types theorized to have an impact on FSN; these included “Addressing inequities in land access and confronting the process of land concentration” and “Promoting gender equity,” among others. We found strong evidence from across the globe indicating that food sovereignty and the right to food positively influence FSN outcomes. A small number of documented cases suggest that narrow rights-based policies or interventions are insufficient to overcome larger structural barriers to realizing FSN, such as inequitable land policy or discrimination based on race, gender or class.

Outside/inside: social determinants of mental health.

Individuals' mental health and wellbeing are dependent on many social factors including housing, employment, education and adequate nutrition among others. These factors can influence at personal, family and community levels. The interlinked and cumulative impact of these social determinants needs to be ascertained to aid appropriate patient management, as well as to establish prevention and health education programmes. Some of these determinants also have to be recognised at policy level. It is crucial for clinicians to understand the role social determinants play in the genesis and perpetuation of mental and physical illnesses, so that appropriate social interventions can be set in place. Clinicians have a role to play in their clinical practice, as well as advocates for their patients and policy leaders. In order to ensure that health is joined up with other sectors, such as education, employment, judiciary and housing, policy-makers must avoid silos. Every policy must have an impact assessment on physical health and mental health. Policy-makers need to understand scientific evidence and must work with researchers, clinicians, communities and patients to help develop and implement rights-based policies.

Operationalising children’s rights principles: an indicator framework for policy analysis

A pesar de los compromisos políticos de décadas de incorporar los derechos del niño en las iniciativas políticas, los instrumentos de seguimiento y evaluación basados en los derechos del niño siguen siendo inadecuados para este progreso. Como un esfuerzo por abordar esta brecha, el documento busca conceptualizar el enfoque basado en los derechos del niño y proponer su aplicación al análisis de políticas. Reconociendo a los niños como titulares de derechos y al Estado como el principal garante de deberes, el núcleo del enfoque basado en los derechos del niño es garantizar el disfrute y la realización de los derechos del niño a través de una serie de principios. El marco de evaluación propuesto en este documento se centra en la estructura legal del estado, las medidas de política y los resultados logrados en la realización y el disfrute de los derechos del niño y la evaluación del progreso de las políticas bajo las normas y principios de los derechos del niño. En consecuencia, el análisis de políticas basado en los derechos del niño está diseñado para basarse en dos conjuntos de indicadores que reflejan el compromiso político del estado y los principios de los derechos del niño.

A Rights-Based Approach to the Rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

This study conducted a rights-based policy analysis to assess the rescission of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which provides a reprieve from deportation to young people who came to the United States as children. Over 650,000 DACA recipients are threatened by potential risks of DACA rescission, including losing eligibility to stay and work, and limited participation in social, economic, civil, and political activities. The findings of this study indicate that DACA rescission would violate many articles of international human rights treaties. In conclusion, this study urges to establish policy improvement to advocate for immigrants' human rights in the U.S.

Gendered Struggles and Competing Discourses: Pathways to Shelter in Cambodia

ABSTRACT This study describes the perspectives of Khmer women on their pathways into shelters in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Their accounts emphasize the role of traditional gender norms and provide insight into how trafficking discourse and the insistence on victimhood makes it harder for non-government organizations (NGOs) to respond appropriately to violence against children and (mostly) women. Intensive qualitative interviews were undertaken with eighteen women who were formerly assisted by NGOs as victims of rape/sexual violence (n = 9) or sex-trafficking (n = 9). Whereas the former explained their transitions to shelter in the light of their escalating struggles for honor, justice, and safety, the latter described their own efforts to escape their captors and/or the interventions of NGOs and law enforcement agencies (LEAs). The women’s accounts emphasized how their perceived contraventions of traditional gender norms and their construction as “bad/broken” contributed to their ostracization, exploitation, and their need for protection and shelter. We argue that trafficking discourse has the tendency to obfuscate gendered social problems, impose symbolic violence on identified victims, and divert attention from rights-based policies aimed at addressing sexual and gender-based violence.