Transcript WRHC Presentation template

VCOSS Forum: Homelessness and
human rights in Victoria
HRBA: Achieving organisational change
Tuesday 16th November 2010
Overview
- Charter obligations
- From human rights obligations to culture
- The human rights based approach
- Sites for practical consideration
- Useful resources
Acknowledgment: Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
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Victorian Charter obligations
Section 7: Limitations on rights must be reasonable,
necessary, justified and proportionate
Section 32: Other laws must be interpreted
compatibly with rights
Section 38: Obligation on public authorities to
properly consider human rights and act compatibly
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Meeting Charter obligations
Check compatibility
ASK: Reasonable, Necessary, Justified, Proportionate?
USING: Human Rights Impact Assessment
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What is the objective being sought?
Which human rights are impacted/limited
What interests are being balanced? Is there a pressing need?
How important is it to limit rights to achieve the objective?
Are there other practical solutions or less restrictive options?
Demonstrate proper consideration
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Legal
Administrative
Economic
Moral
Social
Ethical
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Meeting obligations v good practice
Checking compatibility and giving proper
consideration will ensure minimum obligations are
met
Developing a culture of rights within a human
rights based approach will meet obligations and
create new opportunities
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HRBA: benefits
- Meeting contractual and legal obligations
- Contribution to continuous improvement, good
practice, accreditation, innovation
- Improved policies, procedures, service delivery
- Makes complex decisions easier
- Enhanced risk assessment and management
- Higher staff productivity, retention and morale
- Better client engagement and outcomes
- Arguments for additional funding streams?
Human rights based approach: PANEL
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Consider both what we do and how we do it (process and
outcome), in order to build a stronger culture of rights:
Participation: people are key actors not passive recipients, with
maximum independence, choice and control
Accountability: proactive, practical, transparent, assigned, monitored,
reported
Non-discrimination and attention to vulnerable groups: equal access
or treatment does not deliver equal outcome
Empowerment: capacity building to understand and access rights, and
understand and meet obligations
Linkage to human rights standards: explicitly links and assesses
activity against protected Charter and other rights
Ultimately, the HRBA aims to shift alleviation of disadvantage from
benevolent welfare to something rightfully claimed
Rights based approach versus…
Charity approach
Needs approach
Rights approach
- Focus on input not outcome
- Focus on input and outcome
- Focus on process and outcome
- Emphasises increasing charity
- Emphasises meeting needs
- Emphasises realising rights
- Recognises moral responsibility of
rich towards poor
- Recognises needs as valid claims
- Recognises individual and group
rights as claims toward legal and
moral duty-bearers
- Individuals are seen as victims
- Individuals are objects of
development interventions
- Individuals and groups are
empowered to claim their rights
- Individuals deserve assistance
- Individuals deserve assistance
- Individuals are entitled to
assistance
- Focuses on manifestation of
problems
- Focuses on immediate causes of
problems
- Focuses on structural causes and
their manifestations
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HRBA: key sites for consideration
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Organisational vision, goals, strategic planning
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Policy review, development and implementation
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Service delivery & complaint handling
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Communications & training
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Measuring impact: monitoring and evaluation
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Reporting and accountability
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Partnerships and contracts
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Client engagement and participation
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Useful resources
VCOSS: Using the Charter in policy and practice
CHP: Consumer participation resource kit
OOH: Consumer charter
VEOHRC: Principle to practice, implementing HRBA
VLGA: Human rights toolkit
DPCD: Aboriginal inclusion framework and matrix
International
BIHR: human rights changing lives
SCIE: practice guides (dignity, participation, etc)
Prepared by:
Jason Rostant
Manager Community Engagement, Planning
& Development
[email protected]
9680 1132
Tuesday 16th November 2010