A Toolkit Orientation Programme on Rethinking Rights, Justice, and Development

Section 1: Programme
1.3   The Programme

It is to address these concerns that a 6 days orientation programme on rethinking question of rights, justice and development is to be held across South Asia. The programme is an outcome of ongoing South Asian project “Regional initiative for the sustainable livelihood and the enabling of social and political participation”. The programme in past one year has studied state policies and practices with regard to globalisation process and sustainability of rights of marginalised communities in collaboration with human rights organisations working with the marginalised groups in India and across South Asia, activists, policy analysts, and individuals working on these themes.

The education Programme will explore relations and bridge three sorts of divides:
(a) Between rights, justice, development and dignity;
(b) Between civil and political rights and the social and economic rights;
(c) And, between human rights and humanitarianism  

It aims to reach out to human rights and peace activists and thinkers, development activists, community leaders, social workers, protection workers, women’s rights activists, engaged in community protection activities. It will combine the best of the institutionalised education of rights and peace available in the country, and the non-institutionalised training and education that goes on continuously in the making of rights constituencies in the region in various ways, locations, and forms. The programme will thus gather strength from the ongoing work of human rights, and provide sustenance and service to the work of justice, dignity, protection, and human rights.

The programme would position itself at the interface between human rights and humanitarian work and would encompass the work on policy reviews and mapping the profiles of sustainable livelihood and socio-economic rights of marginalised communities across South Asia. It would be an opportunity to discuss the interpretation of rights prescribed and the antecedents found in international instruments such as ICCPR, ICESCR, SAARC Social Charter, and in national constitutions of each country, methodology for analysis of the rights, advocacy and development strategies, administering justice mechanisms, globalisation and the question of sustainability of rights and most importantly, transfer of knowledge, which empower groups and people to define, plan and forge their development. It would contribute towards the understanding of the rights based approach to development and governance making it more democratic and participatory. The enhanced understanding amongst participants of the globalisation processes, strategies of peoples’ struggles, key concepts of rights, justice, gender, peace, and development would strengthen the struggle for basic human rights for all. It is understood that understanding the roots and implications of these processes is fundamental for individuals if they are to effectively shape their own lives and play a role in democratic processes to influence local and global agendas.