From ‘rights-based’ to ‘rights-framed’ approaches: a social constructionist view of human rights practice

Since the mid-1990s, the dominant way in which a human rights discourse and practice has been formally embedded within international development NGOs' campaigns has been through what is referred to as ‘rights-based approaches’. Premised on a social constructionist view of human rights practice and reflecting on the findings of a recent research project, this contribution challenges the dominance of such approaches. It does this by offering a new framework for establishing an alternative approach, identified here as ‘rights-framed approaches’. The discussion concludes by highlighting some opportunities sociological research has to offer the re-theorisation of existing human rights campaign practice.