Human Rights

Human rights include the right to be free from physical integrity violations; the collective rights of all citizens to enjoy political rights and civil liberties; and equality of opportunity and non-discriminatory access to public goods and services

On October 24, 2017, Fanis Lisiagali, Executive Director of Healthcare Assistance Kenya, leads the White Ribbon Campaign march and promotes their rapid response call center hotline which responds to violence against women in elections in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of IFES’s Kenya Electoral Assistance Program. Photo Credit: Carla Chianese, IFES

Preventing human rights abuses and protecting and promoting human rights are key development objectives. These rights include asserting access to basic services for everyone and countering discrimination that may prohibit access to those services and advancing rights, particularly in closed or closing spaces, through DRG sector programming.

Human rights programming can include work on support mechanisms for protection, mitigation, and response to violations of human rights, in particular human rights violations affecting the most vulnerable, preventing violations by strengthening human rights frameworks, institutions and oversight, and promoting human rights principles in accordance with universal values and international norms. Human rights activities include needs assessments and landscape analyses for effective design of human rights programs meeting local, country-level priorities as well as evidence-informed and data-driven learning and research.