Human Rights Impact Assessment Methodology HRIA and discrimination: from human rights violations to

1
Human Rights Impact Assessment Methodology (HRIA)
and discrimination from human rights violations
to human rights measurement

• Me Lucie Lamarche, prof.
• Faculty of Law
• U of Ottawa
• G. F. Henderson Chair in Human Rights
• llamarch_at_uottawa.ca
• Feb. 12th 2008

2
The Human Rights Framework (normative)

• Immediate respect of civil and political rights
  in ALL cases
• Social rights 3A approach accessibility
  adaptability affordability (core and progressive
  realisation)
• Non discrimination (intersectoral)
• Participation and consultation (ex ante ex
  post).

3
All Human Rights are Interdependent and
indivisible

• Projects, Policies and Programs must respect ALL
  human rights in a non discriminatory manner.
• All actors are accountable for human rights
  violations.

4
Discrimination and Human Rights

• Discrimination occurs when a legislation, a
  policy, a program or a strategy directly or
  indirectly produces exclusionary or prejudicial
  effects for a vulnerable group or for a member of
  such group in regard of one or of many human
  rights.

5
Core content of Human Rights

• Basic needs
• Human dignity
• Non discrimination
• Immediate claim
• No claw back
• Effective remedies.

6
Duty Holders and Human Rights

• State protect promote fulfill.
• Non state respect and not to be complicit.

7
Human Rights and Social Development from
Copenhagen to now

• How to assess development ?
• Are Human Rights only about violations ?
• The Added Value of a Human Rights framework

8
What is HRIA ?

• A goal ?
• A tool ?
• An evaluation benchmark ?
• An indicator ?
• A qualitative or a quantitative creature ?

9
HRIA and S. Development not an obvious encounter

• Some contentious issues
• What do you assess ?
• To whom is the agency accountable ?
• What is accountability ?

10
The Global Context

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - OHCHR
• Millenium Goals
• Global Compact
• Fight against Poverty

11
HRIA and the Politics of Human Rights

• Are Human Rights a science exacte ?
• Are we being kept busy monitoring human rights ?
• Are we keeping the experts happy ?

12
Why HRIA ?

• Because the State actor does not have the last
  word
• Because non state actors, including corporations
  and NGOs, ARE accountable
• Because the social justice movement is moving
  toward human rights accountability
• Because answering needs is not necessarily
  implementing HR
• Because result based can be any result
• Because accountability is a broader concept than
  HR violations.

13
But what is HRIA

• A methodology described as
• An empowering process for communities
• A universal benchmark in an era of globalisation
• A tool for accountability dialogues.