A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy

A rights-based approach to social policy implies the introduction of a set of institutions and policies within a society that secure every member’s reasonable access to a social minimum. In practice a rights-based approach to social policy can be seen as incorporating the following elements:

• The definition and widespread communication of rights, entitlements and standards which enable citizens to hold public policy makers and providers to account for the delivery of social policy.
• The availability of mechanisms of redress where citizens can go if they are unable to enjoy specified entitlements or social minimums.
• A commitment to the equitable delivery of the specified rights, entitlements and standards to all on a universal basis.

Some of the most successful examples of applying a rights-based approach to social policy have emerged from developing and middle-income countries (India, South Africa, Chile, etc.) Drawing on experiences in South Africa and several Latin American countries, the Social Development Department in collaboration with the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UK Department for International Development and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is conducting a study on different rights-based approaches to social policy and their role in strengthening the institutional framework for social policy provision in the selected countries (see “Realizing Rights through Social Guarantees”). This study and a subsequent Policy Note “Increasing Social Inclusion through Social Guarantees” will serve as inputs to the OAS Meeting of Ministers and High Level Authorities of Social Development to be held in Santiago, Chile in May 2008. In addition, they will inform the ongoing discussions on the development of a social charter for Latin America.

These studies promoted the idea that a human rights lens can be applied to social policies by introducing a framework of social guarantees i.e. sets of mechanisms that determine specific entitlements and obligations related to certain rights, and ensure the fulfillment of those obligations on the part of the state.

Eight Latin American case studies and the case of South Africa were examined in order to suggest that countries can apply a social guarantee framework to consolidate their existing systems of service delivery.