Global Initiative for Frontloading and Costing Human Rights
Members of NGOs and academics from across the world agreed to establish a new initiative to advance understanding and practice of frontloading and costing human rights on Saturday 7th November, 2009. The decision to set up a new network of practice arose during the Workshop on Costing and Frontloading Human Rights hosted by Equalinrights in The Hague from 4th to 7th November 2009. To access the Workshop Report, click HERE.
The workshop participants came from:
- Democracy and Workers Rights Centre, Ramallah, Palestine
- Faculty of Law, University of Namibia, Windhoek
- Centre for Human Rights, Pretoria, South Africa
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje
- Shelter Forum Kenya, Nairobi
- Programme on Women's Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, New Delhi, India
- Centro Internacional para Investigaciones en Derechos Humanos, Guatemala City
The workshop provided the opportunity for the members to discuss in detail their experience and understanding of frontloading and costing human rights and to hear about the experiences of other practitioners. Presentations were given by Michael Windführ of Bröt für die Welt, and Daniela Gregr and Julia Kercher of UNDP in New York, who delivered their presentation using Skype video. The workshop report will be posted on this website in due course.
The aims of the workshop were twofold – to learn more about frontloading and costing by sharing experiences and to undertake action to put frontloading and costing into practice. The Global Initiative for Frontloading and Costing Human Rights will provide the means for frontloaders and costers organisations and individuals to collaborate, share, network and jointly work on costing and frontloading human rights.
The conceptual understanding of frontloading is still under discussion and its clarification forms one of the first objectives of the Global Initiative, but essentially it is characterised by the policy review and formulation that need to take place so that a human right can be realised and then be costed. It contrasts with post-hoc budget analysis work that forensically looks at how expenditure matches a State’s obligation to realise a human right, and instead it attempts to interrogate and define the policy and implementation details so that activities can then be costed.
Equalinrights is delighted to announce the birth of the Global Initiative for Frontloading and Costing Human Rights and, as its secretariat, welcomes organisations who are working on frontloading to join the group. Terms of reference for the Initiative and membership can be found HERE.
Contact: Lucy Royal-Dawson or Cornelieke Keizer for more information
