A rights-based approach for sustainable livelihoods

This chapter aims to explore the potential contribution of a rights-based approach (RBA) to advancing sustainable livelihoods. Given the structural causes of poverty and vulnerability and the increasing influence of non-state actors (e.g. corporations and NGOs) on the lives of the poor, incorporating a human rights perspective into livelihoods programmes has been suggested to have added values and challenges. This chapter examines the relationship between a RBA and a sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) and the implications of that relationship for livelihood-related strategies and outcomes. It is structured in three parts: 1) Part 1 is dedicated to a reflection on a RBA in relation to its emergence, the theory of change, operational implications and major critiques, 2) Part 2 explores how the RBA and the SLA supplement each other based on the similarities and differences between the two, 3) Part 3 describes the ongoing attempts to incorporate the RBA into strategies for sustainable livelihoods drawing on case studies. This chapter provides insights into the complexity of development practices, noting possible tensions over different rights (e.g. environmental rights and rights to livelihoods), different identities (e.g. multiple individual and collective identities) and different strategies (e.g. confrontational and collaborative).