Human rights training in the field of cooperation: a special look to the Human Rights-Based Approach

The relation between poverty and human rights is undeniable. In fact, the international doctrine sustains that international cooperation for development must be supported by the international human rights standards, because to achieve those is the ultimate goal. The human rights model contributes to development by giving it a basis, the necessary tools for an effective realization and a different perspective of the concepts of poverty and development.   

Although in the formulation of development policies human rights are always mentioned as the fundamental principles and as the values that must always guide the policies, in the implementation process this frame gets lost in the way. The reason for this is the difficulty of developing a Human Rights approach and the lack of knowledge of the international standards in this field.

This course teaches the municipal technicians the tools for introducing a human rights approach in the field of cooperation and development, and enables them to face the challenges that may appear.  Only with this approach is it possible to promote a model of cooperation for development that takes into account guarantees, protection, integral respect, consolidation and effective exercise of human rights. 

Unit 1. Concept of Human Rights and its protection systems

In this first unit we will teach the foundation and the evolution of human rights, after which we will make reference to the different international mechanism of protection. From a general perspective we will explain how the promotion and protection of human rights is articulated in the UN system as well as in other regional systems. The UN has a key role in this field and this translates into the adoption of several international treaties that establish the universal standards of human rights and the creation of mechanism of protection. The task of promotion and protection continues at the regional level, such is the case with the OEA, the Council of Europe and the AU.

• Defining the concept and features of human rights;
• Identify the main international tools for promotion and protection of human rights in the UN;
• Understand the evolution in the task of promoting and protecting human rights inside the universal frame that the UN represents and which changes with the historical context;
• A deeper knowledge into the practice of the regional systems in the protection of human rights and its relations with the state systems;
• Learning the main bodies inside each system that are responsible for promoting and protecting human rights;
• Identify the most important treaties in the field of human rights at the universal and at the regional level and recognize the operating as well as the mechanisms of protection that they establish;
• Get to know the mechanism of protection of each system  

Unit 2. Development and the right to development. Policies of development cooperation and human rights

In this unit we will explain the evolution of the concept of ‘development’, especially in the sphere of the UN. Development will be explained as a human right followed by an explanation of the relations between development and human rights and between economical, social and cultural rights and development.  

• Learn the contribution of human development to the classical theories of development;
• Understanding development as a human rights and the repercussions;
• Understanding the relation between development and human rights in general, and with the social, economical and cultural rights in particular;
• Seize the relation between the Millennium Development Goals and human rights in general, and with the social, economical and cultural human rights in particular;
• Figure out the contributions that a Human Rights Approach could bring in the future of the development policies

Unit 3. The integration of human rights into development cooperation the methodology of a human rights approach in this field.

During this last unit we will learn the current model of development cooperation and the relation with human rights. In addition, we will examine the different ways of working with human rights in development cooperation and the new tools and methods of working and integrating the human rights approach. We will see the challenges and risks of their implementation.

• Understanding the current model of development cooperation and the relation with human rights;
• Seize the relation between development and human rights;
• Analyze the new tools and methods of integrating a human rights approach in the development cooperation

Unit 4. Practical excercise

Face-to-face workshop

This workshop will take place two different days. During the first one a practical case will be presented for the participants to start working on it, and it will be complemented afterwards with a theoretical explanation about the human rights approach, that will be studied in the virtual sessions. The second workshop will be for correcting the practical case and clarifying questions that might appear during the practical exercise.  

The course is thought for municipal technicians of the town council of Barcelona who work in the field of development cooperation.

If interested in enrolling in this course send a email to jsalasc@bcn.cat

AIDA GUILLÉN LANZAROTE, director manager of the IDHC. She has a degree in Physical Sciences and a master in International Relations. She has worked as an expert in the field of human rights for the OSCE in Kosovo and has also participated in several missions as an electoral observant in countries like Nicaragua, Ukraine, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia and Kyrgyzstan. She specialized in human rights and development cooperation and the right to the city. As a teacher, she has worked in many workshops on human rights and human rights approach, and she also works as a consultant for the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya in the Law degree and various other masters and postgraduate programs.

LIDIA SERRANO TUR, responsible for the academic department at the IDHC. She has a PhD on International Public Law at the Universidad Pompeu Fabra and a master in International Relations by the IBEI. She specialized in peace and security and has dedicated her investigations to the field of water as a human rights,  about which she has written several publications and articles and participated in different movements on the topic of water justice and the Saharan demands.