“Rights-based approaches” are increasingly seen as a core component of development by donors, NGOs and governments alike (see, for example, Haussermann 1998, Maxwell 1999). With clearly specified, legally-enshrined and universal nghts, it is argued, citizens can voice their demands on the basis of clear, transparent legal provision, sometimes with constitutional hacking. With the law providing the basis for negotiation, parties are accountable and decisions are clear. More generally, particularly with a constitutionally enshrined framework, there is a basic political signal that rights matter, and that people should organise and claim rights through accountable political and legal processes. Such a vision is therefore very much in line with the liberal, democratic form of governance being promoted by development agencies around the world. For livelihoods potentially the broad range of human rights, political, economic and social, matter. But the key question, and one the Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa programme has focused on, is how can these be made real for poor people in rural areas?
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