Human rights-based approaches and European Union development aid policies

As the world's largest development donor in monetary terms, EU efforts to alleviate global poverty entail significant financial commitment as well as engagement from a complex array of institutional actors and funding lines. This briefing informs those responsible for formulating, applying and reviewing EU development policies by examining those policies against the core content of human rights based approaches (HRBA) and provides an advocacy tool for those seeking to strengthen EU accountability for HRBA.

The paper sets out the internationally agreed legal principles which underpin HRBA and is critical that these legal principles be clearly reflected in policies. The authors emphasises that the principles of HRBA apply equally to all areas of EU activity across spheres that are encompassed within international law’s holistic concept of development. While institutional structures or budget/funding lines may distinguish geographical regions or substantive themes or sectors – the legal principles of HRBA nonetheless apply equally to all spheres of competence, internal or external, however classified, development, trade, humanitarian aid etc. The final section of the paper outlines a number of recommendations for EU institutions, EU Member  States, development partner states and civil society development actors. These include:

• the current EU overarching development policy framework, the European Consensus  on Development 2005 fails to provide a clear and accurate definition of human rights based development, one which acknowledges and promotes human rights as both the means and the goal of development
  
• development policy concepts such as “coherence”, “effectiveness”, and “best practice” must be understood as, and made subject to, human rights obligations
  
• as a critical element of accountability, inputs into development policy and practice by
  the European Parliament should be systematically framed in terms of the principles of HRBA
  
• EU Member States and development partner states should insist that EU development policies and programmes are coherent with international law obligations